Safari Idea - Classic Namibia Safari

Guided afternoon/evening game drives take place on the private Ongava Game Reserve. The reserve is famed for its population of rhino as well as lion and other game such as antelope, including endemic black-faced impala. Private vehicles can be booked at an extra cost (subject to availability).

• Images

Ongava Game Reserve Credit: Ongava

Ongava Game Reserve Credit: Ongava

Ongava Game Reserve Credit: Ongava

Ongava Game Reserve Credit: Tom Hazel

Ongava Game Reserve Credit: Tom Hazel

Ongava Game Reserve Credit: Tom Hazel

Full- or half-day guided morning game drives in the Etosha National Park, Namibia’s prime savannah wilderness area (with a packed lunch on full day). See the massive saltpan as well as the perennial springs that provide the water required by the Park’s high-density big game population, including its elephant population. Private vehicles can be booked at an extra cost (subject to availability).

• Images

Etosha Credit: Ongava

Etosha Credit: Ongava

Etosha Credit: Ongava

Offered seasonally and subject to an available walking guide, nature walks through the area take in the abundant array of life, small and large; with a chance of potentially approaching white rhino.

• Images

Ongava Game Reserve Credit: Ongava

Ongava Game Reserve Credit: Ongava

Ongava Game Reserve Credit: Tom Hazel

Ongava Game Reserve Credit: Tom Hazel

The hide is a fantastic place to relax and while the hours away up close and personal with wildlife slaking its thirst at the camp waterhole. This arid environment where little water occurs makes this a popular drinking spot for game.

• Images

Ongava Hide Credit: Ongava

Ongava Hide Credit: Ongava

Guests can interface with science and research across the Ongava Game Reserve and part of this experience is an immersion into the world of natural history and science at the new Ongava Visitor Centre. With dozens of in-depth displays that feature information on the geology, animals, plants and ecological functioning of this fascinating region, guests are encouraged to meander through the self-guided exhibition area.

• Images

Ongava Visitor Center Credit: Ongava

Ongava Visitor Center Credit: Stefan Redecker

Ongava Visitor Center Credit: Stefan Redecker

Ongava Visitor Center Credit: Stefan Redecker

The Dream Cruiser is Onguma's newest and most unique under the stars sleep-out experience.

Arriving in time to enjoy sundowners and take a tour of your overnight accommodation, this sleep out in the wilderness of the reserve is on our custom built Land Cruiser, featuring a full bathroom on the lower deck and a bedroom with lounge area on the upper deck.

A night on the Dream Cruiser calls for al fresco picnic-style dining is delivered by our chef for you to enjoy as the evening turns to night and the stars dance in all their glory.
A ranger is on call via a two-way radio, so make the most of this time and relax in the safety and complete comfort of this unique space.

After a good night's rest, you can enjoy morning tea/coffee with homemade rusks before being collected for breakfast at the lodge.

• Images

Onguma's fabulous new water-level hide affords guests a great opportunity to calmly sit and enjoy nature unobserved. Amateur and professional photographers alike love the angles and light from this equipped hide.

There is a small ablution facility nearby, benches from which to view the surroundings and lots of windows and vantage points for creative camera angles.

• Images

Onguma Nature Reserve consists of 34 000 hectares of Namibian wilderness & is home to numerous plains game, more than 300 bird species ​and even 4 of the Big 5. ​The Reserve boasts over thirty different animal species. Plains game roam freely on the Reserve and predators although not always easy to spot, are nevertheless common residents of the area. Lions and Cheetahs are frequently seen and often heard. There is a healthy black rhino and leopard population and hyenas are also often seen and heard.

• Images

Etosha is a 22 750km² wildlife sanctuary in Namibia – one of Africa’s most stable and accessible countries. Etosha, meaning ‘place of dry water’, and refers to a flat calcrete depression (or pan) of about 5 000km². The ‘Pan’ (overlooked by the Onguma Reserve) provides a great, parched, silver-white backdrop of shimmering mirages to an area of semi-arid savannah grassland and thorn scrub. The pan itself contains water only after very good rains and sometimes for only a few days each year, but is enough to stimulate the growth of a blue-green algae which lures thousands of flamingos.

• Images

Africa takes on a new perspective when you experience it on foot as the first explorers did. A bush walk is a unique physical, mental and spiritual adventure through nature. Experience the sights, smells and sounds of the Namibian bush by conducting an early morning leisurely walk accompanied by one of our experienced armed rangers.

• Images

​Johan, our resident therapist, is a professional massage therapist with over 15 years experience, having lived and worked at renowned Wellness Centres in Asia and Africa. His passion for and dedication to massage therapy originated in the East, where he was trained and educated by the best teachers in their respective fields. Having the opportunity to spend considerable time with monks in Thailand, has also led him to incorporate focused awareness into his massage therapies. He has also upskilled three ladies from Onguma and they too are available and receiving great reviews!

• Images

Namibia can offer a truly memorable and interactive experience in the wilderness for families travelling with children by offering children's accommodation, specially designed game drives for children, activities and meals.

Onguma Nature Reserve welcomes children to explore and experience the uniqueness of the untamed African bush with its many wild animals both the big and small!

At Onguma Bush Camp there has always been an emphasis on family and the Lodge encourages families. The staff go out of their way to make sure the young ones have the time of their lives and the parents get their own satisfying safari experience. The bushveld of Onguma is a wild wonderland, a child's dream come true, and the Lodge delights in being able to share her secrets with the next generation.

• Images

LEOPARD TRACKING
The Leopard ‘experience’ will take you out into the Okonjima Nature Reserve and will allow you to spend more time with our experienced guides and participate in the research data collection for our long-standing leopard project and newly introduced brown hyaena programme. Some of our adult leopards are radio collared which enables the guides to track them with a specialised telemetry device contributing to frequent viewing, giving visitors an opportunity to observe these magnificent predators in their natural habitat and experience the fascinating behaviour and interactions between these two species while they compete for food. Although this significantly increases the chance of an excellent sighting, it cannot ever be guaranteed as they are wild free-roaming predators.
Morning activities (seasonal times): Departure 06:00 / 06:30 AM; Return 09:30 / 10:00 AM.
Afternoon activities (seasonal times): Departure: 15:30 / 16:00 PM; Return 19:00 / 19:30 PM.

• Images

Leopard Tracking Credit: Crew 10

AfriCat Credit: AfriCat - Karen Codling

Leopard Tracking Credit: Crew 10

Leopard Tracking Credit: Pie Production

RHINO TRACKING on foot: (Specialized Activity) - subject to weather and availability.
On this trail, no telemetry device is used to track the rhino, the guide and guests are joined by our dedicated Okonjima anti-poaching team who have spent many hours, getting to know each individual, dedicating their time towards the fight for the conservation of the rhino in the Okonjima Nature Reserve. This activity can only be booked directly at the Lodge.

• Images

Rhino Tracking Credit: Crew 10

Rhino Tracking Credit: Crew 10

Rhino Tracking Credit: Jandre Germishuizen

Rhino Tracking Credit: Crew 10

BROWN HYAENA TRACKING
This Hyaena ‘experience’ offers more time to appreciate and understand the Okonjima Nature Reserve as a balanced ecosystem, with a focus on the ‘secretly social’ and rare brown hyaena. Since the private nature reserve was primarily established for the conservation of some of our more vulnerable mammal species, it offers an improved opportunity to encounter these relatively rare animals.

• Images

Brown Hyaena Tracking Credit: Freda Bauer

Brown Hyaena Tracking Credit: Freda Bauer

Brown Hyaena Tracking Credit: Freda Bauer

Brown Hyaena Tracking Credit: Crew 10

PANGOLIN TRACKING on foot: (Specialized Activity) – exclusive for guests staying 2 nights
The choice of going with the researcher or guide, will be determined by circumstances, weather and operations. Sightings are not guaranteed, as this complex, vulnerable species needs a gentle and respectful approach. Tracking on foot will be done in silence and maintaining a discreet distance. The Pangolin tracking is a specialized night/day (seasonal) activity. During the summer months this activity tends to take place between 10pm and 6am and during the winter months from 5pm to 11pm. As this would be the most active period of the day for these mostly nocturnal animals. You will join a guide and tracker on a walking trail in the dark within the 20 000ha Okonjima Nature Reserve. We limit participation to a max of 6 people per pangolin tracking. This gives the client insight into this secret life of the very endangered Ground Pangolin. A flashlight and walking shoes are compulsory.
This activity is reserved for guests that are staying for a minimum of 2 nights with us.

• Images

Pangolin Tracking Credit: Crew 10

Pangolin Tracking Credit: Freda Bauer

Pangolin Tracking Credit: Crew 10

GAME DRIVE
Experienced guides will entertain you with their knowledge, sharing interesting and enlightening information about the history of the Okonjima Nature Reserve and the research gathered over the past 30 years of conservation on Okonjima. On this trail, no telemetry device is used to track any of the carnivores researched by the AfriCat Foundation. Wildlife is the focus of the drive. Visitors are offered insight as our guides attempt to foster a general appreciation of the natural habitat of the Nature Reserve.
Morning activities (seasonal times): Departure 06:00 / 06:30 AM; Return 09:30 / 10:00 AM.
Afternoon activities (seasonal times): Departure: 15:30 / 16:00 PM; Return 19:00 / 19:30 PM.

• Images

Okonjima Game & Nature Drive Credit: Crew 10

Okonjima Game & Nature Drive Credit: Crew 10

Okonjima Game & Nature Drive Credit: Pie Production

Into AfriCat – behind the Science will present the current research and conservation work of the AfriCat Foundation. This experience will complement all existing Okonjima activities, offering guests a deeper understanding of the purpose, methods, and importance of AfriCat’s conservation research within the Okonjima Nature Reserve.

• Images

Into Africat Credit: Crew 10

Into Africat Credit: Okonjima

Into Africat Credit: Freda Bauer

Into Africat Credit: Okonjima

Self-guided walking trails for those guests who want to spend some time alone in the solitude of the Okonjima 2000ha wilderness area. Maps available at reception desk.

• Images

Nature Trails Credit: Okonjima

Nature Trails Credit: Freda Bauer

Nature Trails Credit: Pie Production

Nature Trails Credit: Pie Production