Roxanne Reid's Blog, page 4

Greater Mana Expedition camps: Sapi and Mana Pools Zimbabwe

By Roxanne Reid
If the word adventure gets your pulse racing, you’ll love this six-night journey of exploration. Discover the wilderness on foot, by vehicle and by canoe, feel the thrill of being close to nature and wildlife while on safari, spend your days with a guide who knows tons of stuff he can’t wait to share. It’s the Greater Mana Expedition and you’ll find it at Sapi and Mana Pools Zimbabwe. By calling it the Greater Mana Expedition, Great Plains Conservation Zimbabwe has evoked t...

Mpala Jena: superb addition to Zimbabwe safari lodges for a Victoria Falls safari

By Roxanne Reid
Inside the Zambezi National Park, a short drive from the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe, something magical has mushroomed. Imagine how thrilled I was to be invited to experience the enchantment for myself. Come and explore Mpala Jena with me: a superb addition to Zimbabwe safari lodges for a Victoria Falls safari. Using recycled hardwoods, flowing canvas and solar energy to ensure it treads lightly on the Earth, Mpala Jena Camp sits along the Zambe...

Mesosaurus Fossil Camp: camping in Namibia near Keetmanshoop

By Roxanne Reid
What kind of camping makes your heart beat and your soul sing? For me, it’s not crowded resort-style camping but bush camping in the peace of the wilderness. If that sounds like you, you’ll love Mesosaurus Fossil Camp and the chance to go bush camping in Namibia near Keetmanshoop. Mesosaurus Fossil Camp is 42km north-east of Keetmanshoop in southern Namibia. It’s a great alternative to Keetmanshoop accommodation, especially if you want to see a festival of quiver trees stru...

Kalahari Farmhouse: a relaxing oasis in the Kalahari, Namibia

By Roxanne Reid
You know the feeling when you smell the yeasty aroma of freshly baked bread then bite into it to discover the taste is even more heavenly? Now imagine you watched the swirl of spinach threaded through the roll being harvested earlier that day. That’s when you know that the concept of farm to fork is thriving here at the Kalahari Farmhouse, a relaxing oasis in the Kalahari, Namibia. But it’s not only the veggie gardens at Kalahari Farmhouse lodge near Stampriet that are spec...

Kalahari Anib Lodge: enjoy a sundowner drive in Namibia

By Roxanne Reid
This is the thirstland, a place of thorn trees, giant weavers’ nests and creatures adapted to life among the red sand dunes. It’s the Kalahari in south-eastern Namibia and it’ll share its wonders with anyone who looks with an open spirit. When you visit Kalahari Anib Lodge near Mariental, don’t miss the chance to enjoy a sundowner drive in Namibia and feel the Kalahari's heart beat. The 10,000-hectare Gondwana Kalahari Park where Kalahari Anib Lodge stands is home to many K...

Kalahari Anib Lodge: 12 things to do in Namibia’s Kalahari

By Roxanne Reid
Kalahari. The word conjures scenes of long-horned oryx striding across terracotta-coloured sand dunes, huge sociable weaver nests in camel thorn trees, tiny meerkats digging through flying sand for beetles and scorpions. Experience all this and more at Kalahari Anib Lodge some 25km east of Mariental and enjoy these 12 things to do in Namibia’s Kalahari. The Kalahari Desert stretches across some 900 000 square kilometres of Namibia, Botswana and South Africa. Technically, it...

Twyfelfontein Country Lodge: nature drive to see desert elephants

By Roxanne Reid
If you stay at Twyfelfontein Country Lodge in Kunene (Damaraland), Namibia, there’s lots to see and do in the area – like the Organ Pipes, Twyfelfontein engravings, Petrified Forest and Damara Living Museum. You can read more about the lodge and sights in my blog post here. But whatever you do, don’t miss a nature drive to see desert elephants. We set out late afternoon with guide Lukas Paulus from Twyfelfontein Country Lodge to explore the ephemeral Aba Huab and Huab river...

Twyfelfontein Country Lodge, Namibia: 8 reasons to visit

By Roxanne Reid
Late afternoon and the heat had ebbed. From the stoep of our room at Twyfelfontein Country Lodge we watched the sun burnish the rocks, silky grasses ripple on the plains and distant mountains march along the horizon. A mountain chat chirped and a lizard came to visit. It was a reminder why Namibia is such a rewarding destination. Here are 8 reasons to visit Twyfelfontein. Tucked into the curve of the hills, Twyfelfontein Country Lodge is about 100km from Khorixas in the Hua...

20 reasons why you shouldn’t visit the Kalahari

By Roxanne Reid
The Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park is one of South Africa’s most popular, especially with more adventurous visitors who don’t mind a bit of rough and tumble, some dust with their morning eggs. Who knows why, when there are at least 20 reasons why you shouldn’t visit the Kalahari.  1. The sunrises and sunsets are unspectacular. 2. The sand dunes are orange-red and everyone knows that’s the wrong colour. 3. The wildlife is boring; there are only so many lions,...

Karoo National Park: the ultimate guide

By Roxanne Reid
Stark, denuded and barren are words that might be top of mind for any first-time visitor to the Karoo National Park just outside Beaufort West in South Africa. But that would be to ignore everything that makes this area special. Find out more in Karoo National Park: the ultimate guide. Think vast panoramas and silent grandeur, spectacular night skies, and the softening of all this austerity into gentle shades of pink, greyish-blue and lilac at dusk. Take a slow, inquisitive...