Okonjima Bush Suite

The Select Private Bush Suite consists of two separate, private, en-suite bedrooms under a double-volume thatched roof. A modern, chef-designed kitchen with wine and soft drink coolers, gas and electrical cooking facilities and a double-door refrigerator with a built-in ice maker is also included. A wood-burning fireplace that brings together the spacious lounge and dining areas, as well as outdoor dining options makes it all the more luxurious as does a 13-metre private swimming pool.

Wi-Fi and cell phone reception is included. In each of the bedrooms you’ll find double volume thatched roofs with air-con, fans and heating facilities, two queen-size beds and doorways with roll-down, zip-fastened canvas partitioning with heavy-duty gauze screens – to give you a true sense of staying in the untamed African bush. There is also two large glass-panelled windows with 180-degree views of the surrounding vistas, an inside and outside shower as well as a bath, toilets and bidets with views of the Namibian bush.

The luxury cottage consists of two separate, private, en-suite bedrooms under a double-volume thatched roof. In each of the bedrooms you’ll find double volume thatched roofs with air-con, fans and heating facilities, two queen-size beds and doorways with roll-down, zip-fastened canvas partitioning with heavy-duty gauze screens – to give you a true sense of staying in the untamed African bush. There is also two large glass-panelled windows with 180-degree views of the surrounding vistas, an inside and outside shower as well as a bath, toilets and bidets with views of the Namibian bush.

Ample work space is included and the discreet hosts and chefs attend to all of the guests’ needs from turn-downs to gourmet meals to ensure a relaxed luxury safari experience at Okonjima’s Bush Suite that’s hard to rival. A fully-inclusive rate ONLY, which includes: park entry and environmental education fees; accommodation; three daily meals; all activities coffee/tea and fruit available throughout the day; and drinks, excluding premier and imported alcoholic brands.

Okonjima Bush Suite provides guests with a personal host or hostess and a private chef to prepare meals. Guests staying at the property also have access to a modern kitchenette should they wish to prepare food or snack for themselves between meals. The personal chefs at the property will be on hand to discuss the menu with guests before prepping and cooking meals, so that it is all catered to.

The Okonjima Nature Reserve sprawls over 200 square kilometres of undulating plains, mountainous outcrops, and riverine thickets, and it is here that leopard (Panthera pardus), the most adaptable of all the wild cats, thrive. These intelligent, solitary predators occur in high density in the expanse of Okonjima Nature Reserve’s multi-faceted topography. The Reserve’s predator research programme has spanned three decades, and its findings have provided great insight to leopard behavioural patterns as well as offered an upbeat prognosis for a sustainable future for the species in today’s Africa.

A two-day Okonjima stay offers the best chance to view wild leopard in Namibia, as well as those collared for research purposes, in their natural habitats. Research programme leopard are actively tracked, and their collars are an invaluable resource for locating, and then returning to the Reserve, cats which have migrated to surrounding farmland where they are perceived as threats to livestock.

The Okonjima Nature Reserve, a huge protected area set amongst the rugged commercial farmlands of central Namibia, comprises a diversified ecosystem representative of both the larger and small mammals of Namibia, as well as most of the country’s endemic birds. Game drives and guided bush walks offer visitors an intimate, up-close perspective of Namibia’s wildlife and, especially, its most protected species. The Okonjima Nature Reserve is home too, and runs extensive research projects on rare and endangered species, big and small.

Guests are invited to join a guided Off-The-Beaten-Track walk & drive activity. This undemanding combination of a short walking trail and nature drive in the Okonjima Nature Reserve is especially loved by our younger guests and families, due to interactive and informative demonstrations. This two-hour experience provides a stimulating insight into the flora and fauna, as well as culture, of Namibia.

Guests are encouraged to seek some self-reflection and solace in the Namibian wilderness, surrounded by Okonjima’s striking natural beauty and abundant wildlife. Between early morning and afternoon game drives, guests may go on a self-guided hike along one of three well laid-out hiking trails. The trails vary between four and six kilometres and, clearly marked, they meander along spectacular landscapes where wildlife abounds. The trails start a short distance from either of the Okonjima Lodge camps. Encounter all kinds of wildlife and birds whilst immersing yourself in the Okonjima wilderness.

Nature Game-Drive – looking for leopard: Morning or Afternoon

Off-the-beaten-track: Morning or Afternoon

AfriCat Carnivore Care and Information Centre: Morning, after Brunch, or Afternoon

Winter: Lodge Activity Times: Morning – departure at 6:30 Afternoon – departure at 15:30

Summer: Lodge Activity Times: Morning – departure at 6:00 Afternoon – departure at 16:00

After the sun has set and the temperatures have dropped, the African bush comes to life once again: bat-eared foxes roam about, aardwolves are on the hunt for insects, owls observe their surroundings from a height, while leopards and brown hyaena go out in search of unsuspecting prey. Guests are invited on a nocturnal game drive, led by knowledgeable guides around the Okonjima Nature Reserve.

The landscapes within the Okonjima Nature Reserve, with its elevated sandy plateau between the major escarpments of the Omboroko Mountains, boasts mixed woodland and acacia thornveld plains, making it the perfect birding destination. Keep your binoculars at hand and enjoy the chance to identify over 250 bird species.

A highlight at Okonjima is learning about their big-cat passion. The Okonjima Nature Reserve is home to the headquarters of The AfriCat Foundation, a non-profit organisation committed to long-term conservation of Namibia’s large carnivores. AfriCat has evolved over the past three decades, and what started out primary as a welfare organisation has, over the years, identified the need to incorporate a focus on education and develop an ongoing collaboration with researchers, scientists, and conservation authorities. This is undertaken through practical research of species-specific ecology and behaviour, as well as through the development of effective conservation and management strategies.

AfriCat’s Carnivore Care Centre is a by-product of the Rescue and Release Programme which started in the early 1990s. Some of AfriCat’s captive carnivores in their care today are too old or habituated to be reintroduced into the wild and will, therefore, remain under the expert care of the AfriCat Team. These animals have assumed the role of being Species Ambassadors for their wild counterparts. Find out more about the ambassadors and how you can help by Sponsoring a Carnivore. After an informative afternoon trail, end the day with a sundowner in an area of the Okonjima Nature Reserve which has a high density of the secretly-social and rarely-seen brown hyena.

There are a limited amount of rooms at the property, which avoids overcrowding the area and avoids taking advantage of the natural surroundings. The rooms each have a rustic design, both the interior and exterior reflecting the nature that surrounds it.

Any direct contact with wild animals is unnatural, especially when done for the entertainment of guests. It results in poor living conditions for the animals in comparison to the wild and causes un-necessary stress to the animal. This is why Okonjima does not allow for human-wildlife contact and actively educated their guests on the importance of this. Rehabilitation takes place in a humane manner to allow the animal to return to the wild.

Okonjima makes it clear to guests that under no circumstances should wild animals be fed and birds can only be fed where seeds are provided in the camp. The activities teach guests the importance of the conservation that takes place at the property and teaches them just how vital the work that AfriCat does is.

The main research project at the reserve investigates the interspecific and intraspecific relationship between different carnivorous species within the enclosed conservation area. Animals being studied include cheetahs, leopards and brown hyenas. The interaction between the animals in the reserve is monitored and studied with the aid of GPS collars and camera traps, helping the researches to assess the extent of predation and size of territories for individual animals. The study also provides valuable information on the success of carnivore rehabilitation in the reserve.

The Leopard Density Project is an in-depth assessment of the leopard population in the Okonjima Nature Reserve via the use of remote camera traps that provide researchers a detailed insight into the demography as well as special distribution patterns of these stunning creatures. A long-term monitoring pattern has been introduced and has been running since 2015, with constant updates being recorded. The wildlife is also protected within the nature reserve using a number of methods. The reserve spans over 200km squared so that they can still roam freely and the area is fully surrounded by electrified predator-proof perimeter fencing.

Based in Okonjima Private Nature Reserve, this centre was founded in the early nineties and registered as a non-profit organisation in August 1993. The foundation has grown significantly over the years and has identified the need to include education and collaboration with researchers, conservationists and scientists through the research of species-specific ecology. Working closely with the farming community also allows for studies to be conducted that provide valuable information on large carnivores and their long-term conservation in Namibia.

The ‘Rescue and Release Programme’ focuses on feeding, caring and providing a home for a number of animals that currently cannot be released into the wild. They are provided with expert care by the outstanding team at AfriCat. Research is conducted throughout the rehabilitation process and the information gathered allows vets to gain valuable insight into the health of these creatures in the wild. Ethical animal welfare is at the heart of everything this foundation does, ensuring that they can stay wild or be rehabilitated and kept safe if unable to return to their natural habitat.

The population of brown hyenas within the Okonjima Nature Reserve is being managed appropriately to ensure that they sustain themselves healthily for their ultimate survival. Launched in 2018 as a comprehensive scheme to observe the brown hyenas, the study collects data, analyses the information and makes recommendations on how to take action to preserve the population.

Many of the Pangolin species are classified as vulnerable by the international Union for Conservation of Nature, and four out of eight of these species occur in the African continent. These creatures are predominately nocturnal, making them difficult to study and monitor, especially in areas with a high concentration of predators. These creatures area also incredibly vital to the natural ecosystem, consuming around 70 million ants and termites a year. Research has revealed that N$600 million per year can be saved in crop loss due to the service of pangolins consuming ants and termites. Their natural behaviour also causes them to turn the soil as they burrow and feed, aerating the soil and increasing plant germination.

However, these animals are being trafficked illegally and exploited due to being seen as a delicacy in some countries. In 2014 they were categorised as the most trafficked animal worldwide which is why their protection and observation in their natural habitat is so vital. They are also at risk of electrocution by electrified fencing, which is why ONR has raised the wiring throughout the reserve so that they are unharmed. AfriCat has launched the AfriCat Pangolin Project that studies all detail of life for the ground pangolin in Namibia. This will help to understand their natural patterns, population dynamics, prey selectivity and overall ecology of the creatures to create conservation guidelines to better protect them.

The Aardvark Research Project aims to establish the potential impact of climate change on free-ranging aardvarks at the Okonjima Nature Reserve. Previous research has highlighted that these creatures are vulnerable to climate change, their patterns changing due to summer droughts and their body temperatures lowering during metabolically challenging periods. Aardvarks have specialised anatomy which enables them to feed on underground prey such as ants and termites. The loss of aardvarks can be detrimental to their ecosystems due to the loss of benefits of its naturally helpful burrowing behaviours.

These intriguing animals are considered to be a keystone species due to how they impact their communities and ecosystems. With the use of VHF tags, aardvarks across the reserve can be tracked to establish their home range sized and burrow locations. The camera traps allow them to be monitored and give researchers far more insight into the potential impact of climate change on these creatures.