Desert Homestead Lodge keeps its own stable of horses in a grassy valley of the private Namib Tsaris Nature Reserve, some 30 km south-east of Sesriem. They go out twice a day, at sunrise and again before sundown, across open plains below the Tsaris mountains. The horses are docile and easy to handle, and the guides shape each ride to suit beginners and practised riders alike.
Ahead of the horses, oryx and springbok move off across the plain.
The overnight ride goes further, crossing the reserve in stages. Camelthorn trees line the dry riverbeds along the way. Ahead of the horses, oryx and springbok move off across the plain. The ride ends at a tented camp, where dinner is cooked over the campfire and riders spend the night under a sky full of stars.
The main house is modelled on a stud farm manor, with thatched, whitewashed chalets spread out below it, and the lodge runs on solar power. Inside, dark wood and leather sofas carry the ranch theme, and the bar is a shady spot for a cold drink. When the afternoon heat builds, two pools wait, each with a shaded terrace.
After dark the valley goes quiet and the sky fills with stars.
Afternoons bring tea and coffee on the veranda, and dinner is hearty farm-style cooking, by candlelight on the wide veranda when evenings are warm, indoors by the fire when they are not. After dark the valley goes quiet and the sky fills with stars. The Tsaris mountains lie far from any city light, and after the heat of the day the early mornings are fresh.
Sunrise rides cross the plains while the air is still cool and the light runs low across the grass. Along the way, herds of oryx and springbok are very likely, and mountain zebra are often seen. Mixed groups work well, because the guides shape each ride to the people on it, from first-timers to confident riders. For those who want more, the overnight rides run from a single night out to longer trips away from the lodge.
Broad grassland fills the valley, ringed by mountains with the Tsaris rising to the east, and far to the west the dunes of the Namib show on the horizon. The private Namib Tsaris reserve adjoins the NamibRand Nature Reserve, and mountain zebra are among the animals that riders and walkers meet on it. Through the day, oryx come down to the small waterhole near the chalets. On foot, a short self-guided trail loops a nearby hill and guided walks go further, while sundowner drives end with a drink as the light leaves the mountains.
Through the day, oryx come down to the small waterhole near the chalets
Sossusvlei and Deadvlei lie inside the Namib-Naukluft National Park, entered at the Sesriem gate. A guided excursion from the lodge starts early to make the most of the park’s opening hours, and the morning goes to Sossusvlei and Deadvlei. The drive to the gate is longer than from lodges closer to the park, but the reward at the end of the day is a private valley to come home to. For a view from above, balloon flights over the dunes are arranged with an outside operator.
Children of all ages are welcome at Desert Homestead Lodge. The family chalet pairs a double bedroom with a twin, each with its own bathroom, either side of a shared lounge with leather armchairs, and has its own terraces. Paved, lit paths connect the chalets to the main house, so the walk back from dinner is easy for small legs in the dark. Young swimmers need an adult close by at the pools. For the adults, Wi-Fi is available in the main lodge, which leaves the chalets as an easy place to switch off.
accommodation
Some 27 thatched chalets are spaced apart for privacy. Each has wide windows and its own shaded terrace, so the desert stays in view from the bed. Inside there are mosquito nets, a safe and solar-powered air-conditioning.
activities
On the private reserve: sunrise and sundowner rides, overnight sleep-out rides to a tented camp, sundowner drives, guided walks and a self-guided hill trail. Beyond it, guided trips into the Namib-Naukluft National Park for Sossusvlei and Deadvlei. Balloon flights arranged through outside operators.
conservation
Sheep once grazed this valley. Profits from Desert Homestead Lodge now go into restoring old sheep farms as wild reserve, on land that adjoins the NamibRand Nature Reserve. Solar power runs the lodge, from lighting to air-conditioning.
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.
By road, for most guests. The lodge lies just off the C19, about 30 kilometres south-east of Sesriem, the gate into the Namib-Naukluft National Park, and about 310 kilometres from Windhoek, a drive of around five hours with the last part on gravel. It sits as naturally on a loop up from the south as on the road from Windhoek to the coast at Swakopmund.
To save the drive, we can arrange a private charter from Windhoek's Eros airport, typically a Cessna Caravan or a Pilatus PC-12, onto the Witwater East gravel airstrip beside the reserve. The strip is only a couple of kilometres from the lodge, which meets the aircraft, and the flight is timed around the rest of your route rather than a fixed schedule.
It is in a very low risk area. The lodge lies in Namibia's Hardap region, and TravelHealthPro, the UK's official travel health service, rates everywhere outside the country's northern and north-eastern regions as very low risk. The American CDC lists malaria only in those northern regions, calls it rare in the rest of the country and advises insect bite precautions there. Low risk is not the same as no risk.
We are travel planners, not doctors, so any decision about medication sits with you and your own doctor or a travel clinic, who can weigh the official advice against your health and your dates. The practical side is simple: in the warmer months, cover arms and legs from dusk and keep repellent with you.
No. Riding is what the lodge is known for, and its own stable takes out beginners as well as practised riders, with guides who match the horse and the pace to each rider. Rides leave twice a day, in the early morning and towards sunset, across open plains and dry riverbeds in the private reserve, home to oryx, springbok and mountain zebra.
The overnight ride goes further, out to a tented camp in the reserve for dinner by the fire, a night under the desert sky and breakfast before the ride home. It takes an evening and a morning, so it fits best into a stay of at least two nights. Tell us your level and how much riding you want, and we will book the rides with the stay.
On the lodge's guided full-day excursion, in an air-conditioned vehicle with a guide, an early breakfast before you leave, drinks and a packed lunch, with park entry covered. It sets off in time for the park gate at Sesriem, which opens at sunrise, and from the gate it is another 60 kilometres to the dunes, the final stretch to Deadvlei on deep sand that only four-wheel-drive vehicles can manage.
The excursion is extra to the room, and we arrange it for you. For a dawn hot-air balloon flight over the desert, the lodge drives you to the launch site, and a separate balloon company flies it. Self-drivers can also make the trip in their own car, as long as it stops where the tar ends unless it is a four-wheel drive.
A private nature reserve on the south-eastern side of the Sossusvlei area, bordering the NamibRand Nature Reserve. It was made up of old sheep farms that never paid their way in this rainfall, bought over a number of years and joined together, and the land is being given back to wildlife: oryx, springbok and mountain zebra on grass plains below the Tsaris mountains.
Desert Homestead Lodge is one of two lodges on the reserve, and the profits from the lodge go into conserving it. The lodge runs entirely on solar power, hot water included. For guests, the reserve means room to breathe: walking trails from the lodge, sundowner drives and rides across private land rather than the public road.
May to September, the dry winter months, with warm, clear days, cool nights and the long early shadows on the dunes that photographers come for. March and April, October and November sit either side, hot at midday but quieter. December to February is the hottest stretch, often above 40 degrees, with far fewer people at the dunes and, on the rare day it rains, a desert transformed.
Pack for a wide daily swing: light clothes, a hat and strong sun protection for the day, and a warm jacket for early starts and winter evenings. The morning and sunset rides dodge the worst of the heat in any season, and for riding, long trousers and closed shoes with a small heel are the essentials.
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.
