Setting the Scene
This Damaraland camp is all about the views. Wedged in between a jumble of boulders and rust-red hills, Mowani Mountain Camp has views that could easily pass for Mars – particularly gorgeous at sunset with a gin and tonic. For road-trippers, this is a perfect stopover between Swakopmund and Etosha National Park. It’s a stone’s throw from the ancient rock engravings at Twyfelfontein and the eerie stone columns of Organ Pipes. Mowani is also a pretty epic base for tracking down the desert-adapted elephants that call this odd, beautiful landscape home.
Nesting arrangements
Fifteen thatched-roof, canvas-sided rooms are wedged between boulders in a way that feels faintly Flintstones. Layouts and valley views vary from room to room. Our pick: a Superior View Room, for a panorama that takes your breath away. Inside, earthy tones and warm lighting are designed to talk your nervous system down a notch. The Luxury Rooms come with heated pools on the deck. The Mountain Suite goes one step further with a pool, standalone bathtub, and a deck roomy enough for a private dinner for two. Honeymooners, take note.
Food philosophy
Breakfast covers all your morning cravings. A buffet with the usual spread (cereals, fruit, yoghurt, bread and juices) and a hot meal made to order. Lunch is something light, like salads or sandwiches. Dinner is where things get more serious: a three-course set menu situation, featuring classic comfort food such as steak with mushroom sauce or grilled fish (veggie options are available too).
You’ll have your meals in the main dining area, indoors or out on the deck, depending on your mood and the weather. But the real MVP is the sundowner spot. Prop yourself up on a boulder and look down on the valley as the sun drops behind the hills and the whole valley glistens gold. This is a non-negotiable.
Secret sauce
Mowani is near one of Southern Africa’s major rock art “hotspots”: Twyfelfontein, a UNESCO World Heritage site. History buffs, this one’s for you. The area is thought to have been inhabited for thousands of years by San Bushman hunter-gatherers and later by Khoi herders.
The Late Stone Age petroglyphs (rock engravings) mainly depict animals such as rhinos, ostriches, giraffes, and people hunting with bows and arrows, too. There’s even a seal, which shows that these folks really did get around (the ocean is about 100km or 60 miles away – quite a walk).
For the geologists and landscape lovers, on the way to Twyfelfontein, you can see two other famous sites. Burnt Mountain, a volcanic ridge with an 80-million-year-old solidified lava flow at its foot, and Organ Pipes, a rock formation of tall basalt columns.
One more thing…
There’s a pretty solid chance of tracking down desert-adapted elephants on a game drive from Mowani. Head out with a guide who knows this landscape like the back of their hand (because the herds don’t exactly drop a location pin). Prepare for a long drive. Out here, the tracking is half the thrill, and the payoff is an elephant that’s figured out how to survive somewhere most things can’t.
