The Camp

Location: Okonjima, Namibia
Number of Tents: 9

Despite its wild setting, Okonjima Luxury Bush Camp’s deluxe accommodations redefine any preconceived notion of ‘roughing it.’ Eight individual chalets and one ultra-luxury suite are situated approximately 100 yards apart from one another, ensuring complete privacy. The chalets combine earthy ochre walls, khaki canvas and African-style furniture and art beneath a traditional thatched roof. Each chalet has one queen and one full-sized bed, a full en suite bathroom, mini-bar, private safe for valuables, and telephone. The front canvas panel of each chalet can be rolled up to unveil 180-degree views of the surrounding bush. Birdbaths, placed in front of each unit, draw a wide variety of birds and small mammals. Common areas include a reception area and curio shop, a cozy lounge with a rustic indoor fireplace, a full kitchen and dining area, an outdoor fireplace and swimming pool—all overlooking a waterhole where wildlife congregates.

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Facilities & Amenities

• En suite bathroom
• Shampoo and body wash (no conditioner provided)
• Room fan
• Mini bar (filled on request)
• Tea/coffee in room
• In-room safe
• Wi-Fi in room
• Local drinks included (house alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks)
• No air conditioning or hair dryer

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Wildlife Viewing & Activities

Okonjima is home to the Africat Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to conserving and protecting threatened cheetah, leopard and other wild carnivores of Namibia. Activities at Okonjima Luxury Bush Camp are centered on the foundation’s important work. Among the highlights are wildlife drives into the rehabilitation nature reserves to seek out radio-collared leopards, and guided nature walks to track large carnivores, including rehabilitated cheetahs and spotted hyenas. You can experience a day in the life of a San Bushman, learning the art of making traditional tools and discovering how the San have survived in this unforgiving environment for millennia. Okonjima also has miles of self-guided walking trails for those who wish to spend time alone in the solitude of the wilderness, or who want to spot some of the more than 250 species of birds in the area. Among them are endemics such as Carp’s black tit, Hartlaub’s francolin and the Damara rock runner.

The below chart illustrates major wildlife sightings in Okonjima. Other typical sightings may include both Burchell’s and Hartmann’s mountain zebra, aardwolf, various antelopes and a number of other mammals, birds and reptiles. Exact sightings will depend on seasonality and wildlife movements.

Climate

Conservation

When you stay at Okonjima Luxury Bush Camp you are supporting the AfriCat Foundation’s efforts to protect and conserve Namibia’s large carnivores. By working with commercial farmers, local communities, stakeholders, communal conservancies and the youth of Namibia, AfriCat supports environmental education, rehabilitation and welfare programs, provides solutions to human-wildlife conflict issues and conducts important wildlife research. AfriCat works closely with livestock farmers, assisting in alleviating losses from predator intrusion by providing a rescue-and-release and relocation program. Since 1993 AfriCat has rescued more than 1,000 cheetahs and leopards on Namibian farmland. Over 85% of these animals have been returned to the wild. AfriCat also provides an environment for previously non-releasable large carnivores to hone their hunting skills in a new 40,000-acre reserve on Okonjima. Carnivores learn to become self-sufficient, which gives them the chance to return to their natural environment. In addition, AfriCat supports the commercial and communal farming communities of northern Namibia in dealing with human-wildlife conflict issues.

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