MUSHARA LODGE – ETOSHA NATIONAL PARK

Mushara Lodge is located only 8 kilometres from the Von Lindequist Gate on the eastern outskirts of the Estosha National Park and is well situated for independent travellers visiting the park. The lodge has 18 spacious chalets and rooms – including a family room.

The name Mushara derives from the Purple Pod Terminalia tree which grows in the in the lodge grounds and the surrounding area. The thatched public area consists of a small library with a selection of good books, a bar with an extensive wine cellar, airy lounge with welcoming fireplace for winter evenings, a dining area and well stocked curio shop.

Your days can be spent absorbing the peaceful bush surroundings or exploring Etosha National Park on guided game drives, while in the early evening you can sit around the campfire and exchange stories of the day’s wildlife sighting.

LOCATION

Mushara Lodge is located 8 km from Etosha National Park’s Von Lindequist Gate. Access is either by road – the distance from Windhoek is 500 km, the distance from Tsumeb is 100km and the distance from Etosha National Park is 10 km.

Alternatively, if flying by light aircraft you can land at Mushara Airstrip where you will be met and transferred to camp.

LODGE

Mushara Lodge is an ideal overnight stop for visitors to the game reserve and has ten spacious chalets, one family unit, a triple room and two single rooms.

The thatched chalets are arranged in a horseshoe shape around the swimming pool. All the chalets and individual rooms are extremely spacious and equipped with air-conditioning, mosquito net, mini-bar, safe, tea and coffee station, sockets for charging storage batteries and direct telephone connection. WIFI is available in the rooms/tents and common areas but is slow.

The bathrooms are ensuite with separate toilet. The chalets and single rooms have a shower, whereas the triple room and the family house have a shower and bath.

The main area has a reception, comfortable lounge, a library and a fireplace for the winter months. Dining is offered both inside and outside and the lodge has a wonderful swimming pool surrounded by green lawns which are kept perfectly manicured by visiting local wildlife.

Bungalow number one and triple room number 11 are wheelchair friendly i.e. easy excess without steps.

ACTIVITIES AND WILDLIFE

Etosha National Park, proclaimed in 1907, is one of Southern Africa’s finest and most important game reserves. The Park covers an area of 22,270 km² and is home to 114 mammal species, 110 reptile species, 16 amphibian species, more than 300 bird species and one species of fish. The 4,731 km² salt pan – the largest of its kind in Africa – is the centre piece of the park. The pan’s shimmering white crust of salt crystals extends as far as the eye can see. In previous times this was a lake the size of Holland fed by several rivers, probably including the Kunene as well. When the rivers gradually changed their course the water in the lake started to evaporate until only the huge dry depression remained.

Guided Game Drives into the Etosha National Park – great numbers of plains game such as zebra, kudu, Oryx, wildebeest, giraffe, springbok, impala and eland can be found on the grasslands while elephants can also be seen in large herds. Lions dominate the predator food chain and cleverly use the waterholes as hunting grounds and smaller predators like the black-backed jackal are common. Since every animal needs water there is constant coming and going at the waterholes and the diversity of species drinking at the same time can be staggering and waterholes are the best places to watch Namibia’s greatest daily wildlife dramas unfold.

GIVING BACK

All of our camps and lodges run on a “solar grid feed system” – we can produce a maximum of 70% of our electricity needs by solar – the difference comes from the power grid. All globes are energy saving LED. Hot water geysers run on a timer – maximum time on per day is 4 hours – geysers which are not used are switched off – this is managed daily!

All our waste is recycled on the reserve. We have three different bins – one for material that burns, a second for material which does not burn and a third for kitchen waste.

Our kitchen waste is used on our compost heaps. We produce a significant amount of our own vegetables and herbs and a smaller amount of fruit – all of these benefit from the compost.

Paper and plastic get burned in an incinerator and glass and metal gets stored on a secure sight on the property

We do not believe in carting our burnable and none-burnable waste to the landfills in the next town as these landfills are not managed well.

Water is used wisely. All wastewater is treated naturally by bacteria in three chamber French drains. The water flows from the first to the third chamber and once it is in the third chamber it is clean enough to be pumped out into the veld where it is absorbed by the soil and can filter into the ground.

Our way in reducing the carbon footprint is by using as much as possible solar power and reduce the usage of cars, trucks and generators.

With regards to sustainable procurement, we source all vegetables and herbs that we cannot produce ourselves from local producers. Our fresh fruit juices come from a local farmer who also supplies us with local homemade jam/marmalade. All services are from local suppliers – refrigeration, electrical, mechanical. When possible, we employ staff from the surrounding communities.

We are active with conservation efforts on our reserves and environmental sustainability is on ongoing effort at the Mushara Collection of Lodges.

MUSHARA LODGE IS OPEN ALL YEAR ROUND

THE LODGE WELCOMES FAMILIES WITH CHILDREN OF ALL AGES