South of Sossusvlei, the NamibRand is a breathtakingly beautiful private nature reserve on the eastern fringe of the Namib Desert bordering the Namib-Naukluft National Park to the west and the Nubib Mountains to the east. At 172,000 hectares, it is one of the largest private nature reserves in Southern Africa, encompassing a wide variety of habitats including vegetated red-sand dunes, gravel and sandy plains, mountains and inselbergs, together with mysterious fairy circles which extend for miles around. The NamibRand is important for protecting seasonal migration routes for the desert-adapted wildlife. Animals include gemsbok (oryx), springbok, Burchell’s (plains) and Hartmann’s mountain zebra, kudu, giraffe, red hartebeest, blesbok, klipspringer, steenbok, porcupine and baboon. Predators in this vast wilderness include leopard, brown and spotted hyena, black-backed jackal, bat-eared fox, aardwolf, Cape fox, African wildcat, genet and caracal. New species of smaller desert creatures such as rodents, reptiles and invertebrates are continually being added to the species list as research continues. Around 150 species of bird have been noted in the NamibRand reserve, ranging from ostrich and Ludwig’s bustard down in size to the endemic dune lark and many more.
The lodges on the NamibRand are kept intentionally small and, with c.1000 hectares of expansive, beautiful wilderness per person, the reserve is a nature lover’s paradise. Lodges in the NamibRand include Sossusvlei Desert Lodge in the north of the reserve and properties in the Wolwedans collection further south: there is also the opportunity to hike in the far south NamibRand and sleep under the stars with Tok Tokkie Trails.
