Desert Homestead Lodge

The main house offers a swimming pool with sundeck and shaded areas, bar and restaurant, safety deposit box at the reception, laundry service, Wi-Fi and souvenir shop. Each room has a private shaded sun deck, mosquito nets, air conditioning and standard amenities.

Wildlife biodiversity is high in reptiles with around 70 species with 25 endemic or near-endemic to the Namib Desert. The wedge-snouted sand lizard, small-scaled sand lizard, web-footed gecko, barking gecko and Namib day gecko all dive beneath the sand when they sense danger. Small rodents include Grant’s golden mole which can ‘swim’ through the sand dunes, gerbils, the Namaqua dune mole rat, the Namib long-eared bat and Angola wing-gland bat which feed on the dune dwelling insects. This is also the home to Peringuey’s adder (Namib Desert sidewinder) – an ambush hunter that buries itself beneath the sand, with only the eyes and tip of its tail exposed, waiting for prey such as desert lizards. The Namaqua chameleon is also specially adapted to the desert, digging holes and changing colour throughout the day to help thermoregulation and excreting salt from nasal glands to conserve water. They stalk prey such as beetles, crickets, scorpions and lizards, and are in turn hunted by hawks, eagles and jackals.

Desert insects includes tiny endemic Namib Desert darkling beetles or “fog beetles” which use their bodies as fog collectors by assuming the characteristic fog-basking pose, while the ‘flying saucer trench beetle’ digs trenches to capture the fog’s moisture to drink.

Larger animals of the Namib include gemsbok (oryx) which can regulate their body temperature and survive for weeks without drinking, springbok, klipspringer, steenbok and Hartmann’s zebra towards the eastern boundary. Predators include spotted and brown hyena, cheetah, Cape fox and bat-eared fox. Other species such as baboon and leopard are mostly confined to the rivers.

Of the 180 bird species found in the Namib Desert, the most prominent is the ostrich. There are six endemic birds: the dune lark, Benguela long-billed lark, Gray’s lark, bank cormorant, tractrac chat, and Rüppell’s korhaan. As the environment is so harsh, most birds of the Namib are concentrated along the coastline, with hotspots in Walvis Bay and Sandwich Harbour areas.

The Desert Homestead Lodge is famous for its guided trail rides in the Namib desert. Guided rides are offered twice a day in the early morning and close to sunset. Horse riding safaris lasting several days can be booked by experienced riders as well as beginners. Spending the night in a romantic tent under the starry sky of the Namib desert will be an unforgettable experience.

There is a well-marked 10km walking or running track from the lodge. Guided hikes between lodges in the Sossusvlei region combined with two overnight stays at Desert Homestead Lodge and Desert Homestead Outpost can be arranged, or there are also shorter walks available from the lodge itself. Sunset hot air balloon rides over the Namib desert are available.