Real Namibia: Namibian Lodges

“In Namibia, probably somewhat more than a half of all accommodation establishments bear the name ‘lodge’, the rest being made up of assorted hotels, guest farms, bed and breakfasts, camp sites and spare back rooms that the family uses to earn a bit of extra money to pay for junior’s braces.”

Many lodges are not visited by any but the most intrepid. Now you know why.

According to the dictionary definition of a lodge, it is either a hotel or a place where the gatekeeper and cleaning staff stay. Given some experience of hotels that call themselves lodges in larger cities, I am inclined to combine the two and take that as the truth.

On the other hand, in the days of yore, lodges were places from which servants were evicted at the beginning of the hunting season so that aristocrats and their hunting companions could stay closer to the woods instead of riding out from the manor every morning. As a result, a certain number of gate keepers probably lived in some measure of luxury when their masters weren’t out decimating the wildlife before breakfast.

In Namibia, probably somewhat more than a half of all accommodation establishments bear the name ‘lodge’, the rest being made up of assorted hotels, guest farms, bed and breakfasts, camp sites and spare back rooms that the family uses to earn a bit of extra money to pay for junior’s braces.

Of course, the quality varies wildly. In fact, the only two things that lodges have in common is that the addition of the word ‘lodge’ to the name of the establishment pushes up the price quite substantially, and very few lodges are found in towns.

In a nutshell, a lodge is usually a hotel in the bush.

Some of them are near attractions and offer trips into the nearest game reserve or the desert. Others are essentially stopovers, conveniently located between two attractions. All lodges offer ‘activities’ which include walks, hiking, horse-riding, mountain biking and ‘sundowners’, a quaint ceremony in which everyone uses the sunset as the occasion to begin working on tomorrow morning’s hangover.

The layout of many lodge differ from that of a hotel. Instead of sticking up a hideous three or four story, pink, stucco altar to the shrine of ugly Tuscan architecture, lodges usually consist of bungalows around a central complex in which is found the reception, bar and restaurant.

The pool, and I cannot think of a lodge that doesn’t have a pool, is usually adjacent to the main complex. Even lodges in the middle of the deepest desert will make some attempt to have standing water for their guests, even if it is just a one meter by two meter tiled trench, more reminiscent of a Jacuzzi, though without the bubbles.

You know you have arrived at a really smart lodge when you find wooden gangways to keep feet out of contact with whatever wildlife and phenomenon of nature you have come to see. The ultimate is the lodge that has its own waterhole. This is particularly useful as it allows you to view the animals, usually from the comfort of a sofa with an expensive drink in your hand.

The fact that a lodge is located in the bush will normally pose certain constraints. Many of the lodges run on generators, which are turned off at about ten o’ clock or slightly later. The capacity for service outside of the hours between six o’ clock in the morning and ten o’ clock at night will also be limited. Bear this in mind if your late request for room service results in delivery by a manager in pyjamas.

The closest approximation on the star system that you can expect is two or three stars. The rooms will be comfortable, often luxurious, and they will have the obligatory expensive mini bar. But if there is a television, it will probably be in the central area.

The compensation for all of this is the view and the closeness to nature. And after all, you didn’t come to spend time in your room, goggling at the amenities. You came to see Africa.