Wilderness Hoanib Skeleton Coast
Luxury Wilderness in the Heart of the Desert
Wilderness Hoanib Skeleton Coast Is A High End Lodge Located In The Heart Of The Wilderness Offering Access To The Skeleton Coast.
Wilderness Hoanib Skeleton Coast is luxurious lodge that is best suited to fly-in guests who are comfortable with the lodge prices. The accommodation is extremely comfortable and the food and service is excellent, certainly one of the top properties in Namibia. However, the real reason to visit this lodge is its stunning location, offering access to the famous Skeleton Coast as well as the scenery and wildlife of the Hoanib Valley. This a harsh environment where life lives at the extreme, a landscape of rugged rocky hills interspersed with sandy plains and the vegetated course of the Hoanib Valley. There is an incredible feeling of natural space and remoteness, yet there is also a surprising amount of wildlife to see. Access to the desolate shoreline of the Skeleton Coast, on a half day expedition, if often a highlight experience.
Rooms
The camp accommodates a maximum of 18 guests in seven twin/double tents and one family tent. The spacious tents are built onto low platforms and shaded by a strong canvas outer roof, and have large glass windows with views down the stark valley towards the Hoanib River and mountains beyond. Each tent is very comfortably furnished, with king or twin beds, a writing desk, comfortable chairs, en suite facilities (including shower, double vanity and separate toilet), and an outside shaded deck area. The family tent includes two standard tents, each en suite, linked by an external lounge and dining deck area. Each tent includes a standing fan, yoga mat and weights, and tea and coffee making facilities.
Central Areas
The central areas include an open plan bar and lounge area, indoor dining room, swimming pool and sun deck and safari boutique. There is also a Research Centre (see further details in the conservation and community section). In room spa treatments are also available (extra costs apply).
Facilities
Wi-Fi – Yes
Power for Charging – Yes
Swimming – Yes
Habitat & Wildlife
Kaokoland and the Skeleton Coast offer some of Namibia’s most remote and dramatic landscapes, beginning in the Hoanib Valley and stretching north to the border with Angola. The interior of this rugged wilderness is defined by towering mountains punctuated by the sandy valleys and deep gorges of several ephemeral rivers, including the Hoanib, Hoarusib, Tsumeb and Kunene. The terrain is challenging and remote, with the vast distances between remote settlements emphasizing the region’s wild character.
Along the Hoanib Valley, wildlife is abundant despite the harsh conditions, mostly found along the river bed. Desert-adapted elephants, giraffe, oryx, springbok, Hartmann’s mountain zebra, elusive desert lions and the occasional cheetah can be seen. More secretive creatures include brown hyaena, African wild cat and caracal. Birdlife is plentiful, with raptors often seen circling above the valleys.
Towards the coast, where the mountains end, the inhospitable Skeleton Coast National Park is primarily made up of wide gravel plains and roaring sand dunes, bisected by seasonal river beds such as the Hoanib and the occasional rocky outcrop or oasis. Along the often mist-shrouded coastline scattered shipwrecks attest to centuries of maritime history, whilst seal colonies are patrolled by brown hyena and black-backed jackals who scavenge along the beaches and dunes. Desert adapted species such as oryx and springbok will venture throughout the park, whilst whales and dolphins can be seen off the beach.
Unique Coastal and Inland Activities
The camp activities stretch far and wide and including exploring the Palmwag concession itself, the Hoanib River valley, famed for its concentrations of giraffe and desert elephant, and the nearby Skeleton Coast National Park where you’ll find desert oases. A three night stay includes a fantastic excursion to the Atlantic shoreline to explore the shipwrecks, roaring dunes and seal colonies. This trip usually involves a drive through the wilderness of Skeleton Coast National Park, and then a light aircraft flight back over the desert to camp (however when roads are impassable after rain, you may fly both ways, and also if weather conditions prevent flying it is occasionally necessary to drive both ways). Guided nature walks are also possible in the rocky hills away from the Hoanib riverbed (subject to the availability of a walking guide).
Please note that fog from the Skeleton Coast can exist inland as far as the area of the camp, and mornings can be foggy. On very foggy mornings (most likely from April to August) the sun may take until lunchtime to burn through, but it is on these mornings that the chances of seeing the rare brown hyaena on the coast near the seal colonies are very high.
Seasons
Skeleton Coast Camp is open all year round. April to August is dry but night time temperatures can be low and there is a greater chance of fog. November to March is warmer with less chance of fog, but you may also experience some rain.
Children are accepted from six years and above, and there is a family tent with the bedrooms linking externally. However the remote nature of the experience and the length of the activities makes this lodge most suitable for families with older teenage kids.
Wilderness Safaris has established two non-profit organisations to achieve their mission of protecting and expanding Africa’s wilderness through conservation and community empowerment.
The Wilderness Wildlife Trust is involved in research and conservation, anti-poaching and community empowerment and education initiatives. The Trust has many projects throughout Namibia. Wilderness Hoanib Skeleton Coast Camp is a centre for research and the conservation of the desert-adapted carnivores of this harsh region: lions, brown hyenas and elephants. The lion research project was initiated in 1998 due to human-wildlife conflict and the number of lions killed by local livestock farmers. The project aims to collect ecological data and develop a conservation strategy that’s beneficial to both lions and humans. Wilderness Hoanib’s Research Centre began the first official density survey of brown hyenas in Namiba’s Skeleton Coast National Park, in collaboration with the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism. Wilderness’s Sustainability Fund made possible the purchase of camera traps, memory cards, and batteries so that this vital conservation survey could begin. The camp also serves as a crucial base for the Desert Elephant Conservation Study, which has been monitoring elephant populations across the Uniab, Hoarusib and Hoanib regions since 2005.
Children in the Wilderness (CITW) is dedicated to youth empowerment and education, empowering the future leaders of Africa to become the protectors and custodians of their natural heritage. Areas of focus are eco-training for mentors, eco-clubs in schools, an annual camp for children hosted in one of the Wilderness camps, the Youth Environmental Stewardship programme which focuses on children identified in eco-clubs as having potential to progress further in environmental education, and school and tertiary scholarships. Children in the Wilderness Namibia works with 13 schools across Namibia, with 400 children taking part in our Eco-Clubs. A number of children are sponsored through our Scholarship Programme.
In addition, the camp is part of a joint venture partnership with three local neighbouring conservancies, so guests’ visits benefit the people of the area.
