Near the Huab River valley, Damaraland Camp was one of the earliest camps in this area, having first opened around 1996, although it's been upgraded and changed several times since then. Its beautiful location, away from any main roads, makes it a great base from which to explore the many attractions of this stark but richly diverse region.
In 2008 the Damaraland Camp was completely rebuilt; all its facilities were upgraded. The stone-built central area now comprises the dining area, fireplace and bar; and next door to this is a lovely swimming pool. Evenings can be spent having a relaxing pre-dinner drink around an open campfire before dining in the outdoor 'boma' on calm evenings.
Constructed from a mixture of adobe and canvas, each of the ten new chalets is raised up on a wooden deck. Covered by a thatched roof, to help temperature regulation, they all have a tastefully decorated bedroom, en suite facilities, a large walk-in dressing area and an outside seating area. The chalets are now nearly twice as big as the old tents used to be!
In keeping with the philosophy of the old Damaraland Camp, emphasis has been placed on making everything as eco-friendly as possible whilst maintaining its high quality standards.
Activities at Damaraland Camp focus on wildlife, the scenery and culture – and options include guided nature walks, mountain biking and day excursions to the famous rock art at Twyfelfontein.
However, the main attraction for most people are the guided nature drives in 7-seater open 4WDs. These go in search of the area's game, most notably the small herds of desert-adapted elephant which seasonally frequent the dry bed of the Huab River. There is also a chance of spotting black rhino, cheetah and the elusive brown hyena if you are lucky, as well as the more common plains game – like Hartmann's mountain zebra, giraffe, gemsbok and springbok.
A joint venture between a good safari company, Wilderness Safaris, and the local community from the surrounding area, theTorra Conservancy, Damaraland Camp has proved hugely successful. It's a model of how community-based tourism can work – which is looked at by other camps in Africa for inspiration.
The camp is now largely run by members of the local community, many of whom have been at the camp for years – and gradually worked their way up. Visitors often return commenting on just how positive and happy the atmosphere is here, so it is well worth a visit of two or three nights.
To sum up, Damaraland Camp is a smart camp which offers a friendly base from which to take in the wonderful scenery, track desert elephant and visit Bushman rock art.
Desert adapted elephants at Damaraland
When we arrived at the parking area for Damaraland camp, we discovered that our 4WD vehicle was capable to make the off road journey to the camp, which was a bonus for us.
The location of the camp...
Our first safari trip
We felt we need not to have been collected from the road, our car, a Nissan Xtrail, athough not a 4x4 did have sufficient ground clearence to drive to the camp.
We had good welcome on our arrival...
Damaraland Camp review
The camp and staff were good. We stayed 3 nights ,which you have to do to see the desert adapted black rhinos. This was a terrific trip,you should perhaps promote it more.
Raymond our guide set ou...
We want you to understand more about Damaraland Camp. We're also confident that a trip there with us cost you the same or less than booking it any other way, even directly. So follow the links below.
Damaraland Camp Visit the Wilderness Safaris website, hover over the camps tab at the top, and find Damaraland Camp's page for more information about this lodge
