Four cattle farms once covered this stretch of central Namibia, until the Hanssen family returned them to the wild as the 22,000-hectare Okonjima Nature Reserve. Okonjima Plains Camp is its leopard-tracking base. Guides follow the pulse of a radio collar in open vehicles. It leads them to cats whose movements the researchers have logged for years, so a sighting here rests on long-term data, not on chance.
Guides follow the pulse of a radio collar in open vehicles.
Because the reserve holds no lions or elephants, some of the tracking leaves the vehicle behind. White rhino are followed on foot with the anti-poaching team. After dark, guests staying at least two nights walk out with a guide or researcher to trace pangolin. Brown hyena tracking is a recent addition to the programme, and night drives go looking for aardvark, aardwolf and bat-eared fox.
Cattle were the Hanssens’ living on this ground, and predators took a steady toll of the calves. Birdwatching guests began arriving in 1986, and tourism became a different living. The family’s original farmhouse lodge gave way in 2014 to Okonjima Plains Camp, built on the edge of open grass plains with mountains on the horizon. The farm has never quite left.
Beyond the glass, zebra and oryx wander to the waterhole to drink.
The Barn stands at the centre of camp. Its beams are left bare and floor-to-ceiling glass runs across the front. Beyond the glass, zebra and oryx wander to the waterhole to drink. Inside, murals of ranch work cover the walls. Meals face the water, and the pool was built to look like a farm dam.
The Hanssens named their foundation AfriCat, after the idea of a free cat. Its first work was practical, persuading farmers to kraal their livestock at night and leave the cats alone. Research now centres on the reserve itself, and the camp’s guides log collar signals on their drives for the study. The leopard study has run for decades, and its records now follow several generations of the same leopard families. When a collared cat strays onto neighbouring farmland, its signal lets the team find it.
The first outing leaves in the early morning, after tea and coffee with warm muffins in the Barn, and comes back to a full brunch. The second heads out in the late afternoon. The sun drops behind the plain, and later black-backed jackals call out in the dark. Dinner follows in the Barn. Two nights give the leopard tracking room to work, with a second morning in reserve. It is worth planning ahead, too: every activity is booked separately, and some can only be arranged at camp.
The sun drops behind the plain, and later black-backed jackals call out in the dark.
The larger View Rooms are spaced well apart along the plain, each with a day-bed on its veranda. The Classic Rooms are closer together, with director’s chairs on a smaller veranda. Every room has two double beds and woollen rugs underfoot. There is air conditioning and a twin shower. Four-bed family units with an interlinking door take children from three, and the far rooms are a proper walk from the Barn. Big windows look out over the grass plains.
Plains Camp is about halfway between Windhoek and Etosha National Park. The drive from the capital takes two and a half hours, or it is an hour by charter to the reserve’s airstrip, a few minutes from the rooms. Stays run on dinner, bed and breakfast, with a set-menu lunch on offer, and breakfast is the kitchen’s strongest meal. For those who want to go deeper than the drives, there is the research itself. Launched in July 2026, Into AfriCat, Behind the Science gives two and a half to three hours to it: guests practise telemetry, study camera traps and EarthRanger data, and trace the lineages of individual leopards.
accommodation
Plains Camp has about two dozen rooms in two styles. The larger View Rooms are set further apart along the plain, and Classic Rooms have compact verandas. Each has two double beds, air conditioning and fans, with a tea and coffee station, minibar, safe and twin shower. Four-bed family units join two rooms by an interlinking door.
activities
All tracking takes place on the private Okonjima Nature Reserve: leopard and brown hyena by radio telemetry from open vehicles, white rhino on foot with the anti-poaching team, and pangolin on foot at night. Game and night drives, guided hikes and the Into AfriCat research tour are on offer.
conservation
The AfriCat Foundation, started by the Hanssen family, runs long-term studies of leopard, brown hyena and pangolin across the Okonjima Nature Reserve, with camp guides logging collar signals on their drives. Collars help the team find leopards that stray onto farmland, and guest stays fund the reserve the research depends on.
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.
rated five stars by our clients
01
02
03
04
05
06
07
08
09
10
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.
