11-Day Namibia Photographic Highlights Self-drive Safari - Luxury - RACK

If you can imagine yourself in a fine countryside manor house overlooking orchards and then at the same time imagine you are in an urban chic, modern hotel, then you could see yourself at The Weinberg Windhoek for sure. Cape Town meets Stellenbosch in central residential Windhoek.

Previously named, Am Weinberg Boutique Hotel, this elegant 42-room hotel is built around a heritage building. It offers contemporary amenities with a touch of class and sophistication without being presumptuous. They've perfected the balance between lavish and homely, unpretentious, yet certainly gives you a feeling of being in the presence of the elite.

From colours, textures and materials used, the well thought out décor makes you feel right at home, if the home is that of your wealthy, but down to earth aunt and uncle perhaps. Nothing is out of place and be assured every fine detail has been thought out to ensure a top class stay.

Colonial meets modern, fine country living and 21st century all in one, in harmony. Add great service, multiple dining options, roof–top terrace and world class spa and you find yourself in one of the best up and coming places to stay in Windhoek, without actually feeling as though you are in the capital city at all.

Sossus Dune Lodge sits in an enviable location as it is the first of only two lodges built inside the restricted Sossusvlei area.

Built against low lying mountains, Sossus Dune Lodge offers views across the plains to the dunes. It has a total of 25 chalets (including 2 honeymoon suites): 13 are on the left of the main area, with views of dunes; and the remaining 12 chalets, on the right of the main area, have mountain/canyon views.

All the chalets are very well linked by wooden walkways a few metres from the ground and each chalets is furnished in leather, dark wood and suede and has a large en-suite bathroom. The staggered chalets, looking like huts, ensure you can sit on your balcony in total privacy.

Situated within the park, guests benefit from being able to reach Sossusvlei before sunrise, and stay until after sunset. The lodge is also within walking distance of the Sesriem Canyon.

It's these privileges that sell this property. Although the lodge covers the basics, one should be prepared to sacrifice on standard for the added advantages of being the first or the last into the park.

Built from the ground up across from the Walvis Bay lagoon esplanade, Flamingo Villa Boutique Hotel opened for business in September of 2016 to instant acclaim.

Looking more like a Bauhaus block of seaside apartments than a cheery seaside hotel, the rather imposing exterior belies an explosion of colour and life going on inside. Flamingoes and their pink underbellies feature in motif form throughout the hotel and with good reason - look across the bay and you'll see hundreds of thousands of them, greater and lesser, doing their groovy shuffle or hunched down against the biting cold wind that skims off the polar sea current.

The rooms - standard, luxury and suites - are all enormous with high quality finishes and furnishings. Decor is reigned in for a more neutral, relaxing pose and the floor-to-ceiling windows frame the bird-filled lagoon and setting sun rather well.

Room amenities satisfy all but the most critical of boutique hotel definitions including air con, satellite TV, mini bar, coffee station, WiFi, gadget-sized personal safe, universal plug points and high quality toiletries, towels, robes and linen. If you're staying in a suite, you'll also receive a bouquet of flowers and a complimentary bottle of sparkling wine too.

Fulfilling the grand promises made by the plush finishes and modern amenities, the service at Flamingo Villa is top-notch: warm smiles attach themselves to an attentive attitude giving one the distinct impression the staff here genuinely care about your comfort and happiness. At every turn, the place positively oozes professionalism but nowhere is this more evident than the restaurant.

Open to the public for a more convivial atmosphere, the small but varied a la carte menu gives Namibia's excellent local produce a worldly makeover. Seafood of course is the order of the day with some wonderful venison additions. The wine list is well-thought out pitting South Africa's noble vintages against the new kids on the block.

Between Walvis Bay and Swakopmund you've got a menu of activities to suit every appetite and taste. Birding is a big attraction at Walvis Bay, the lagoon, salt pans and dune fields being highly regarded hotspots. The lagoon supports flamingoes, pelicans and hundreds of waders; seals, dolphins, mola mola, whales and some might game fish thrive on the nutrient-rich waters welling up from the Antarctic Benguela current.

No joke, you’ll feel like you’re in a modern art installation. On another planet. A remote desert one. This place is cool. Stylish, contemporary, minimalist it’s literally embedded into the rocks of Spitzkoppe.

Set in open desert, this place mixes old and new. 15 private chalets sit between massive 150 million year old granite boulders. Everything’s been created to blend into the environment - including the pool which is landscaped into the rocks. The deck is split level and there’s a fire pit too. The sun sets in front of you, behind the Brandberg mountains, and there’s a 360 degree view to the boulders which are lit at night. It’s a long drive - 4 and a half hours from Windhoek and 3 from Swakopmund but it is closer than Mars. Which is a bonus.

The chalets are spaced out so you’ll see them but it’s up to you if you want to be sociable and wander back to the main lodge and pool.

Each chalet has a private bathroom and you’ll have your own deck. It’s all raised on stilts and connected by long, elevated walkways across the sand. You might want to hire a bike or make use of the golf cart shuttle to get back to base.

There’s a bit of grandeur with the zebra skin floor rugs and the decor is all icy blue drapes and white bed linen. Uber stylish. Your roof’s a tent so it might get flappy at night but grab your earplugs and just watch the stars unspoilt by light pollution.

Okaukuejo is one of only six lodges inside Etosha National Park. They are all in front of floodlit waterholes, the one at Okaukuejo being regarded as the best of the lot.

Okaukuejo (pronounced oka-KOO-yo) is a simple lodge with bungalows, a bar, a buffet restaurant, and a generous swimming pool. They have useful facilities like a filling station, a shop, and camping; it also houses the administrative and research offices of Etosha National Park.

One of only six lodges inside the park - all owned by the parastatal Namibia Wildlife Resorts - Okaukuejo has a floodlit waterhole that is famous for producing some spectacular wildlife action. Elephants, black rhino and lion frequent the permanent water source and they often do it at the same time.

You'll opt to stay here for the benefit of being inside the park, the accommodation and amenities are basic with the service and food fairly decent. Mind you if you're spending all your time enjoying the waterhole, then you'll happily overlook the rest. 

Namutoni is one of six safari lodges inside Etosha National Park. Overlooking a floodlit waterhole and Fisher's Pan, the game viewing comes first and the accommodation tries its best to catch up.

Namutoni is one of the few possible options to stay inside Etosha National Park and all of these lodges are owned and managed by the parastatal Namibia Wildlife Resorts.

Located on the eastern edge of the vast Etosha Pan and south of Fisher's Pan, Namutoni is a basic, no-frills lodge that overlooks a floodlit waterhole. The German fort around which it is built makes for a bizarre first encounter and the morning and evening bugle calls add to the surreality.

Accommodation is in bungalows of varying size or self-catering camping. The rooms are all air-conditioned and have en suite bathrooms. The large and popular pool is shaded by some grand Makalani palm trees and the lodge has a buffet restaurant and a well-stocked bar.

Okonjima Luxury Bush Camp is the luxury option at Okonjima - a family-owned portfolio of lodges on a private reserve between Etosha and Windhoek.

Bright versions of earthy tones and an open-plan design give the place a relaxed and informal atmosphere. The eight chalets and junior suite are spaced well apart from each other and are built like an African hut - with some essential modifications. The front half of the chalets roll up to reveal nothing but the African bush; each has an en suite bathroom, mini-bar, telephone, ceiling fan and a safe. You'll also have your own private open-air sala for ultimate relaxation.

The living area, or lapa if you want to get into the swing of things, is an enormous open-sided thatch construction that looks out over a waterhole and the wilderness. Inside its earthen-coloured walls is the dining area, a large lounge with a raised fireplace, and a sunken bar area; next to it is the swimming pool.

Okonjima Bush Camp is the luxury option and the Main Camp is the original lodge that offers home-grown comfort; Okonjima Villa and Okonjima Bush Suite are the pinnacle of luxury and seclusion.