Namibia – Little Kulala Desert Camp

So they told us to be at the airport 2 hrs in advance of our international flight to Namibia……..pretty dumb when check-in doesn’t even open until 90 minutes prior, and the terminal was deserted except for another 20 or so stupido’s like us, but nonetheless we were on our way to Windhoek, the capital of Namibia to pick up our first small plane flight of the journey. The destination was Little Kulala, a camp on the eastern side of the Namib Desert. Our plane was a single engine Cessna and I was given the co-pilot seat just in case anything went wrong and I had to take over the controls…….consequently had fantastic views all the way for the one hour flight.

We landed on a dirt airstrip and were met with a warm smile by Mamsy, who would be our best friend for the next few days as she would be our guide here in the desert. The Little Kulala Lodge was a 20 minute ride away in the beefed up 8 seater Toyota Land Cruiser, and gave Mamsy a chance to fill us in on life in the desert and what we might see and do during our visit. We scheduled a drive for 5pm that evening to take a look around and stop for “sundowners” (cocktails while watching the sun go down), an African tradition that works for me.

Mamsy + scenes from Little Kulala……our room, outdoor living space w/plunge pool, deck at the main lodge, main lodge pool, our bedroom

There are 9 individual suites at Little Kulala……..all pretty much identical, separate buildings with outside covered lounge area and cold plunge pools, spacious rooms/bathrooms, including outdoor showers. We were also taken up on the roof of our unit where there was a bed for sleeping out under the stars………just ask and it will be set up for you……..we decided maybe tomorrow…….or maybe not. We were in #6, the farthest unit from the main lodge, and quite a walk through burning hot sand…….40 degrees today………we tried out the plunge pool.

To the rooftop open air bedroom

All the buildings, including the main lodge are well designed and just what you would expect to find in the African desert. We stopped into the main lodge for a late lunch, and watched the staff working away outside sweeping the blown red sand off the decks, and shaking it out of the loungers and pillows. This would be repeated at least twice daily during our stay. Seems like the wind picks up here every afternoon and whips the sand about…….gets into everything and hurts like a bitch if you catch a blast in the face.

We were joined by a German couple for our desert ride……..they arrived just after we did on their own chartered plane…….you can do that down here…….just grab a plane/pilot and off you go. Mamsy was just great…….very cheerful, full of knowledge, and picked a lovely spot for our first sunset and sundowners. Along the way we spotted some ostrich and oryx……….turns out oryx was on the dinner menu that night also, so nice to see what you would be eating later that night.

There is a man made water hole just 40 meters from the lodge which attracts a lot of attention 24hrs a day…….the well is 2-300 meters deep…….water is extremely scarce here as you can imagine, so I’m sure the animals and birds appreciate the open bar.

Water hole at night……oryx coming for a drink

There is AC in our room, but with no insulation in the thin walls and a grass roof, it can’t keep up with the heat of the day…..nice to return after dinner and find it catching up for our first sleep in the desert.