Fuerte Bootcamp by Augustin Kivunghe - Namibia Land of Wide Open Spaces 2022

Duration: Two options are available for Bushman walks at Wolwedans:
Bushman Walk
Duration
Morning walks
09h00 -11h00 AM
Afternoon walks
17h00 – 18h00 PM (ending with a Sundowner)
Fitness Level: Intermediate, walking required.

Description: Khoisan men, from the south of Namibia lead the bushman walk through the desert. They lead the walk through areas surrounding the sites and focus primarily on micro-fauna and flora. Activities from the previous night, like tracks and trails are sought out and small desert creatures are located, identified and explained to guests. This activity is the most popular at Wolwedans.
 

Duration: Four options are available for nature / scenic drives at Wolwedans:
Nature Drive
Duration
Sunrise drive
06h30 - 07h00 AM incl. coffee / tea
Morning drive (after breakfast)
09h00 – 12h00 AM followed by lunch at camp/lodge
Day drive
08h30 – 17h00 PM incl. bush picnic
Afternoon drive
16h00 PM – sunset incl. a sundowner

Fitness Level: None required. This activity takes place in an open air game-viewer. Disembarking the vehicle does require some effort. There is no wheelchair access.
Description: The drives are either southbound or northbound. The NamibRand Nature Reserve is home to various game, but not the Big 5. Many desert-adapted animals are found on the nature reserve. Nature drives can be done privately, at an additional cost. Keep an eye out for the Plains Zebra, Springbok, Hartebeest, Oryx, Bat-eared Fox, Lappet faced Vultures and sand grouse.

Duration: 17h00 – 17h30 PM incl. sundowner
Fitness Level: None required. This activity takes place in an open air game-viewer. Disembarking the vehicle does require some effort. There is no wheelchair access.
Description: A Sundowner drive is a short drive (30-40 minutes), with a short stop-over at a stunning location, whereby guests are spoilt by witnessing an incomparable Namibian sunset over the dunes (with their drink of choice in hand ).
 

The horseback riding offered at Wolwedans can be tailored to suit each guests’ riding ability. Our horses range from gentle souls to more lively rides – dependant on each guests’ level of experience.
Riding Capability:
Guests should be very considerate at selecting their horse riding ability.
 Beginner (D): - Never ridden before or have and is a nervous rider.
 Novice (C): - Comfortable at walk and trot on quiet horse. Has been on a horse before.
 Intermediate (B): - Able to walk, trot and canter on well-mannered horse.
 Advanced (A): - Comfortable on any horse, at any pace.
Duration: 1 - 1.5 hours
Fitness Level: Intermediate. This activity is guided. Previous riding experience is not necessary. All horse rides are for beginners, except for the day ride.
Description: Wolwedans horse guides will take guests on a 1 - 1.5 hr complimentary horse-ride, on our in-house horses.
 Guests have the option of either: a morning ride - or an afternoon ride.
 Should guests wish to have a longer horse-ride, additional costs will apply.
 Should guests wish to have additional horse rides throughout their stay, additional costs will apply.
 

Duration: 2 – 3 hours
Fitness Level: Intermediate. This activity can be guided or unguided.
Description: Fat e-Bikes is a term coined by the makers of these exciting new devices. The name refers to the size of their tyres, which are wider than the standard mountain or racing bicycle. These solar-powered, 500W electric motor assisted bikes are designed for the red sand dunes of the Namib and vast flat Chateau plains. They provide the cyclist with a dual powered experience that engages them physically, while also providing an extra push for up to 40km per charge, creating a truly exciting gliding effect and sand surfing-like experience.
Fat e-bikes make no noise and cause no damage to the natural environment, emit no poisonous exhaust fumes, have a zero-accident rate and leave such little track evidence that any traces are simply blown away by the next sand gust. As quad-bikes are completely off-limits in the NamibRand Private Nature Reserve, these super-charged fat e-bikes are the next best thing for nature lovers hoping to explore the desert environment up close. Bike tours on the reserve can accommodate large groups as well as couples and children. They also come with a 3-inch LCD colour display that provides interesting facts on your speed and distance while you’re gliding in the sand.
Availability: Strictly on a first come, first served basis. Guests are encouraged to book upon check-in at their lodge or camp.

Duration: 1.5 - 2 hrs
Fitness Level: Intermediate, walking required. Some walking over dunes and down semi-steep slopes.
Description: From the basin to the shower, it’s easy to forget that there is a complex water system helping to provide the convenience of running water in the middle of the desert. The Wolwedans Water-Walk is a zero-carbon, zero-impact activity that takes visitors on a guided, or self-guided walk along the
water network, all the way to the state-of-the-art water pump room at our base village. It’s a journey of discovery and is designed to get guests active and learning, and encourage them to not only appreciate the miracle of the water supply, but also conserve it.
 

The Water Walk will answer all of these questions whilst providing guests with an invigorating dune walk. Guests are provided with a map and received at base camp with a refreshing glass of Wolwedans made ice-tea, home made from the pure-filtered water of the Namib Desert.

Duration: 1.5 – 2 hours
Fitness Level: Intermediate, some walking required.
Description: The Wolwedans Village Tour is an informative back-of-house walk that takes guests through our elaborate base operations. Guests are taken on a walk that visits the pump house, the solar panel field, the motor-vehicle workshop and the battery centre. Then past the stables and to the organic garden. Finally, it meanders past the pigsty, carpenter workshop, student and staff accommodation and ends at the trainees’ classroom opposite the base kitchen where all meals are prepared. The tour encourages guests to get a hands on experience of our operations, gives them the opportunity to ask questions and encourages a transparency of our back of house. This activity is highly rated by guests and agents alike.
Cost: None – Donations are welcome.
Availability: This activity is available all year round.

Duration: 1-2 hours
Fitness Level: None

Description: The first activity to really bring one back in touch - is aptly named “Solitude”. Solitude is a zero-impact, low-carbon activity, which takes visitors to some of the quietest places on the reserve and creates a solitary experience – to think, observe, meditate and rejuvenate.
Solitude is a meditative experience, giving guests the opportunity to experience the tranquillity and deep serenity of the desert silence. Guests are accompanied with refreshments and writing material. The guides leave the guests seated in a
comfortable chair with the desert silence as their friend. Guests may also choose to listen to the incredible piano fractals produced through the Stranger project, which visited Wolwedans’ Chateau Plains, by way of the CUBE project in 2018.
Cost: None

The Strand Hotel Activity & Adventure Travel Office, staffed by local professional Travel Consultants, will help Guests plan their sojourn in Swakopmund ensuring they experience and enjoy all on offer in Swakopmund, Walvis Bay and along this exciting and very unique Southern Atlantic coastline and neighbouring Namib Desert. Their sole objective is making sure that every guest's stay is personalised and filled with interesting, exciting, educational and cultural activities and adventures is their sole objective. It provides: * Airline Re-confirmations * Car & Bicycle Hire * Transfer Arrangements * Restaurant Reservations * Shopping Advice & Information * Personalised Consultation

During the two and half hours drive you will visit our baboons, caracals, lions, cheetahs, wild dogs and leopards. Watch them being fed by our experienced guides while they explain how these carnivores came to live on this reserve. Followed by a scenic drive with a good chance of spotting some of the other wildlife. This is not just a great way to learn about these amazing animals and how they behave in the wild, it is also a great up close photo opportunity.

A superb introduction to conservation and the work we do here at N/a'an ku sê.

(Pre-bookings Necessary)

This academy is a joint venture between the N/a’an ku sê Foundation and the Nyae Nyae Conservancy. It aims to serve as a reciprocal training venture where visiting San groups from the Nyae Nyae Conservancy stay at N/a’an ku sê to display their cultural heritage and skills to visitors.

Take the opportunity to visit the San Bushmen in their traditional village and witness their ancient culture and traditions first hand. The San will show you plants they use for medicinal purposes, how they make fire and set traps, tell you how they hunt and regale you with stories, song and dance.

Take a walk with our habituated caracal and our guides. During this walk you will get to see how these animals behave in the wild, stalking birds and small mammals as they regain their natural instincts and hone their hunting skills. You will also experience the serenity of the Namibian veld and no doubt be accompanied by a wide variety of bird species.

Follow in Marlice’s footsteps and get an intimate view of the workings of a wildlife reserve and sanctuary. On this in-depth activity you will gain insight into the real N/a’an ku sê world and the inner workings of sanctuary life and the myriad of animal species currently being cared for. Enter the riveting world of research carried out at N/a’an ku sê, and gain intimate knowledge into the field of human-carnivore conflict mitigation. Become smitten with our gorgeous sanctuary orphans and bond with the baby baboons (there’s nothing like it). Become fully immersed in Marlice’s magical world!

(Pre-bookings Necessary)

Experience the wonders of our wildlife from a saddle! There’s nothing quite like it. A two hour

horse ride through the bush will give intermediate and advanced riders the unique chance to

observe our wild game closer than ever before – and you may even be lucky enough to ride

amongst our gorgeous giraffe family. Our experienced coordinator will provide you with all of

the necessary safety equipment and will guide you on a fabulous afternoon.

Meet our playful primates and experience the joys of monkey fun on a not-to-be-missed baboon walk. All of our baboons came to N/a’an ku sê either after losing their mums (Namibia’s Chacma baboons are tragically persecuted on an almost daily basis), or having been rescued from situations of abuse. Our baboon buddies adore the interaction and bounding through the bush on their daily walks. Why not join in and get to know firsthand just how incredible these animals are?

Take the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to enter N/a’an ku sê’s very own “Meerkat Manor”, and spend a magical two hours witnessing the delightful antics of the bushveldt’s most beloved residents. Meerkats are early risers, emerging from their dens from approximately 6.15AM. Hence you will be met at the main lodge building and then it’s off to enter a madcap meerkat world on N/a’an ku sê’s picturesque reserve. *Please note that even though we always do our utmost to ensure significant meerkat sightings, the animal kingdom plays by its own rules, thus sightings cannot be guaranteed.

Habituated cheetahs have lost their fear of humans – a fear that is crucial in elevating their survival chances in the wild. For this reason, some of the magnificent spotted sprinters at N/a’an ku sê need to remain in captivity, having come to the sanctuary from various conflict situations at very young ages, requiring dedicated care to ensure their survival. At N/a’an ku sê we fully nurture and encourage their natural behaviour, captivity resembling the life of their wild counterparts as closely as possible. Enjoy time with our habituated big cats, in the hands of an experienced and knowledgeable guide. Simply not to be missed!

Our experienced guides will take you with our well-equipped open game drive vehicles around the

pristine 9,000-hectare reserve, showcasing some of the most incredible wildlife in Africa! Early drives at

sunrise are ideal to observe the Namibian plains waking up, while evening drives reveal the elusive

beauty of the nocturnal savannah. An experience that you will never forget…

The Zannier Reserve by N/a’an ku sê is home to the Shiloh Wildlife Sanctuary, a valuable center aiming for caring rhinos or elephants that have been injured or orphaned in poaching incidents. Enter this wildlife animal clinic managed by the N/a’an ku sê Foundation and discover the incredible work of passionate vets who are rescuing and taking care of endangered animals.

Put your hat on, pull up those sleeves and jump on the back of the bakkie. We are going to

feed the rhinos! Get on the back of the bakkie and drive to the shed, load your own lucerne

bail, about 6-8 bails will be loaded & continue to the feeding spot. Watch while feeding take

place, about 11-13 rhinos will be fed at once.