Sossusvlei Desert Lodge
Sossusvlei Desert Lodge is set on the lower slopes of a rocky outcrop. It looks across an open plain to the stunning coloured dunes of the NamibRand Nature Reserve in Namibia, and is about an hour’s drive from the entrance to the Sossusvlei dunes. Children of all ages are welcome.
Accommodation & Facilities
The camp has ten huge air-conditioned suites, each with en-suite bathrooms and a large lounge with a fireplace. The bed is elevated to enable guests to enjoy views out of the front windows and a star gazing skylight is set above it. The suites have plunge pools on their outside shaded front terraces. Sossusvlei Desert Lodge has a family Star Dune Suite with 2 bedrooms, ideal for children under 18 or friends travelling together. A third child’s bed can be added to a tent to make a triple room if required. The main lodge has a lounge, dining room, bar and curio shop. There is also a swimming pool and a wine cellar well stocked with vintage wines.
Eating & Sleeping
The chefs are used to catering to children of all ages and dietary needs. Children are offered the standard meals or there is a children’s menu. If there are specific dietary requirements please request in advance to allow the kitchen to make the necessary purchases and plan the menu.
There is an Au-pair at the lodge who is available at a cost of NAD60 per hour for listening or babysitting services. This can be arranged and booked on the day of arrival.
Wildlife & Activities
Activities at Sossusvlei Desert Lodge are varied and include nature drives or quad biking (from 16 years) to see desert wildlife and smaller desert fauna and flora. Many guided or self guided walks (from 12 years) are also available starting from the lodge or further afield. Drives to see the Sossusvlei Dunes at daybreak (from six years), scenic flights and ballooning can all be arranged at extra cost.
Specifically for children …
Children can take advantage of the WildChild Programme. This offers fun, interactive activities and expeditions tailored to the children’s age and interest. Each young traveller will receive a WildChild backpack and goodies and they will find an assignment for the following day’s expedition laid out on their pillow. Activities include:
• Ostrich shell arts and crafts – make your own pencil or jewellery box and decorate using traditional designs. This activity is ideal for keeping young minds stimulated and charmed by local cultural practices.
• Sand painting and crafts with the red dune sand – because of its magnetic qualities, this red sand is an ideal activity that can be used in many arts and crafts.
• San bushmen art and rock drawings – use locally found stones to show young guests how to get pigment and colour from nature as well as papier-mâché to mould recycled paper into delightful art.
• Astronomy – each evening guests are invited to join resident astronomers as they unlock the mysteries of Namibia’s skies in the lodge’s observatory, complete with a Meade LX200R 12 inch telescope. Children are welcome to attend these sessions and arts and crafts activities that tie into the astronomy aspect are a great learning opportunity for younger guests.
• Leather bracelet from locally sourced kudu leather – older children will enjoy making leather bracelets or necklaces with beads either for themselves or as gifts.
• Scorpion viewing – UV lights are used to spot scorpions in the rocky surroundings of the lodge. This is very safe (no touching, just viewing and learning) and informative activity that is very popular.
• Kettie target practice – most Namibians grow up with a ‘kettie’ and learn to use it to scare birds from crops. Young guests are shown how to use this tool with a fun outdoor target shooting session.
