André Louw built Camp Kipwe into a kopje of granite above the Aba Huab Valley in Damaraland. He shaped the bungalows, the pool and the open-air bathrooms around the rock rather than over it, so the camp seems to have grown out of the hillside itself. What he began others now carry. Stefan Horsthemke runs it as general manager, while Louw’s wife oversees the interiors.
Inside, the outdoors is carried in through local stone and red basalt
Inside, the outdoors is carried in through local stone and red basalt, mopane poles and thatch. The furnishings stay deliberately plain, because nothing here is meant to compete with the valley. And there is much to defer to. Below camp, a herd of eighteen desert-adapted elephants moves through the Aba Huab riverbed, drawn in part to a waterhole the camp has widened to keep water within their range.
The search for these elephants is the reason most guests come. They can go days between drinking and cover long distances on little forage, and the hunt draws the morning out into the dry riverbeds where the herds pass. The ground itself works in the guests’ favour. Camp Kipwe sits inside the Uibasen-Twyfelfontein Community Conservancy, land managed by the local community rather than by the park authority.
The search for these elephants is the reason most guests come
That freedom lets guides range across the river systems tracking elephants and, occasionally, desert black rhino, free of the constraints of national park rules. Those drives pair with the rock art and geology nearby. A single afternoon can hold Twyfelfontein and its ancient San engravings, the dolerite Organ Pipes and the scorched slopes of Burnt Mountain.
Mornings and afternoons work to different rhythms. The desert elephant drive leaves early, before the heat builds, and runs four to six hours along the Aba Huab and Huab riverbeds, drinks and snacks carried along. Guides track by dung and footprint, and explain how the elephants survive on so little water, pointing out the geology and desert flora as they go. Black rhino, gemsbok, springbok, mountain zebra and giraffe move through this ground too, yet the elephants remain the draw for most who come.
The afternoon turns to the rock art at Twyfelfontein, about two hours on marked paths through one of the region’s oldest galleries of San engravings, held under UNESCO World Heritage status. Many pair it with the dolerite columns of the Organ Pipes and the scorched slopes of Burnt Mountain, or with time at the Damara Living Museum, where Damara families demonstrate traditional skills and daily life. Back at camp, the day slows again. The rock-hewn pool stays cool between the boulders, and birds come to drink from water seeping through the rock in the main lounge.
Guides track by dung and footprint, and explain how the elephants survive on so little water.
Twelve rooms make up the camp. Nine dome-shaped bungalows are built from local stone to echo the boulders around them, each with a private veranda and an open-air bathroom set into the rock. Higher up stand the thatched Kipwe Suite and two Luxury Suites, the latter with private lounges, air-conditioned bedrooms and heated splash pools. Above them all, a climb of around a hundred steps reaches a viewpoint where drinks are set out as the sun drops over the plains. Comfort here keeps its distance from the grid, hot water drawn from wood-burning donkey boilers and solar geysers, Wi-Fi and phone signal thin by design.
That restraint runs through the camp’s purpose too. A concession fee is paid for every guest’s stay, feeding directly into the Uibasen-Twyfelfontein Conservancy, and most of the staff are drawn from the surrounding communities. Alongside its sister camp, Camp Kipwe helps fund the Desert Lion Project, which works to conserve the desert-adapted lions of the northern Namib. Meals draw on fresh local and international cooking, served in the open thatched dining area or, some evenings, around the fire in the boma under an unlit sky, with wind, birdsong and the occasional jackal call for company.
accommodation
Twelve rooms in total: nine dome-shaped bungalows built from local stone to mirror the surrounding boulders, each with a private veranda and an open-air bathroom set into the rock, plus the thatched Kipwe Suite and two Luxury Suites with air-conditioned bedrooms, private lounges and, in the Luxury Suites, heated splash pools.
activities
Early-morning desert elephant drives of four to six hours follow the Aba Huab and Huab riverbeds, with a chance of desert black rhino. Afternoon excursions reach the Twyfelfontein rock engravings, Organ Pipes and Burnt Mountain. Sundowners at the boulder-top viewpoint, swimming in the rock-hewn pool, and visits to the Damara Living Museum round out the days.
conservation
Camp Kipwe pays a concession fee to the Uibasen-Twyfelfontein Community Conservancy for every guest and draws most of its staff from local communities. With its sister camp, it helps fund the Desert Lion Project, which works to conserve desert-adapted lions in the northern Namib, and it expanded a nearby waterhole to secure water access for the resident elephant herd.
Get in touch and let’s start the conversation. An initial consultation helps us understand what you’re looking for, whether that’s specific experiences, luxury touches, or marking a special occasion, and from there we’ll guide you through what’s possible so you can decide if we’re the right fit.
Most guests fly in. You arrive into Windhoek at Hosea Kutako International, and the light aircraft safari charters lift off from Eros, the smaller airport in town, for the roughly one and a half to two hour hop onto a Damaraland airstrip and a short transfer to camp. We can also arrange this leg as a private charter, typically a Cessna Caravan or Pilatus PC-12, timed to your arrival into Windhoek.
You can drive it instead, but it is a long day of around six to seven hours, much of it on gravel once you leave the main roads. We usually build the flight in to save you a travel day and the corrugations, and we will confirm the exact airstrip and transfer when we plan your route.
Damaraland is a low-risk malaria area, and the risk is seasonal. This dry desert country holds little standing water for mosquitoes, so risk is at its lowest in the cool, dry winter from about June to October, which is the main time to come, and rises a little in the green summer months after the rains.
Health guidance can shift from year to year, so we always suggest confirming the current position with a travel clinic or your doctor before you travel, and taking the usual precautions against bites after dark.
Pack for a big daily temperature swing. Days in Damaraland are warm to hot, often into the thirties, while nights and dawns turn cold, and in the winter months of June to August the temperature can drop close to freezing after dark.
Layers are the answer: light, breathable clothes and a hat for the heat and dust, then a warm fleece or jacket for early game drives and cold evenings, along with something warm to sleep in. Bring sun cream, sunglasses and a scarf or buff for the dust.
Children are welcome, and there is no minimum age to stay. Children under six are not taken on the scheduled game drives, though we can arrange a private vehicle for a family with younger children, subject to availability.
The days here are built around long desert drives to find elephant, so the camp tends to suit slightly older children who are happy with time in the vehicle. Tell us their ages and we will set the activities and any private vehicle up before you arrive.
Do not count on wifi at Camp Kipwe. It is a remote conservancy camp and any connection is limited and unreliable at best, so this is a place to switch off rather than stay online.
If you need to be reachable at some point during your trip, tell us and we will plan the wider itinerary so you have a window of proper signal elsewhere along the way.
The heart of a stay is tracking the desert-adapted elephant that move through the Aba Huab and Huab riverbeds, on morning drives that typically run four to six hours. These are animals that cover long distances on very little water, so finding them takes time in the vehicle while your guide reads the tracks and the riverbeds to reach them.
Because the camp sits on a community conservancy rather than inside a national park, guides can leave the road to follow the herds, and there is an occasional chance of desert black rhino. Sightings are never certain in open country like this, but the search itself is the experience.
rated five stars by our clients
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our approach
Every journey starts with a conversation. We take the time to understand your vision before we start planning.
Whether by phone or in person, we work with you directly to shape something that is considered, personal, and expertly delivered.
