Hoanib Valley Camp

With just six tents, this luxury camp offers a relaxed and welcoming home away from home with a communal vibe, in addition to excellent game viewing in one of Namibia’s most remote and wild environments.

• The camp’s location on the bank of the Obias River, nestled within a hidden valley surrounded by jagged mountains and overlooking the Hoanib River Valley
• The camp’s “clean and green” ethos, running off of solar power alone and leaving virtually no footprint on the area’s sensitive eco-system
• The simple yet luxurious eco-friendly tents, each with their own private veranda
• The camp’s partnership with the Giraffe Conservation Foundation

Opened by Natural Selection in June 2018 as a joint venture with the local communities and the Giraffe Conservation Foundation, this intimate tented camp has a large and inviting lounge as well as six sleek tents that blend beautifully with the camp’s unique and rugged setting in a small mountain canyon overlooking the Hoanib River Valley. The Hoanib River only flows seasonally—sometimes a few times a year, sometimes not at all—and the valley itself is made up of dry riverbeds, grassy plains and sandy dunes.

The six spacious tents, including one family tent, are raised on large decks made of bamboo, wood and 70 percent recycled-material composite, each with their own private covered porch. Each tent has a desk, small seating area and en-suite bathroom with separate toilet. Décor is simple, contemporary and fresh, drawing on natural colors such as beige, grey, brown and a reddish-orange that evoke the camp’s surroundings. All materials are sourced locally, so guests will find baskets woven by the Omba Project in Windhoek and furniture built by local Himba carvers and Rundu carpenters.

Early morning wake-up calls invite guests on game drives to track desert-adapted elephants, giraffe, lions, mountain zebras, oryx, springboks, rhinos and more before the day’s heat sets in and the animals retreat to the shade. While some animals are fairly easy to find, the desert lions and rhinos are more elusive. The camp offers a full-day rhino-tracking activity by both car and foot with local rhino trackers; it must be booked in advance and costs extra. Thanks to the camp’s partnership with the Giraffe Conservation Foundation, guests can photograph and collect data on any giraffes they spot in order to update a reference book to aid in the conservation efforts. Nature walks to see smaller desert flora and fauna and visits to local Himba, Herero and Damara communities are possible, as well.

Breakfast is a small buffet with an option to order a hot dish, and the multi-course lunches and dinners are served communally—a great opportunity to meet other guests and swap animal-sighting stories.

Couples or families with adult children who have an affinity for tented camps and prefer a more boutique hotel experience or appreciate communal meals. While the property does have WiFi in the main tent, hairdryers are not permitted, since they consume too much power.

Three nights