You’ve seen The Manor which was a Public Game Preserve. This time we chose The Little Ongava in Namibia. The difference is HUGE insofar as seeing the animals and really getting an idea of where the animals live. We used a small private plane to move from Tanzania to Namibia.
Designed for privacy, luxury and an intimacy with the land, Little Ongava is arguably Namibia’s most luxurious accommodation with pristine views across the Ongava plains.
Little Ongava is perched on the crest of a hill commanding magnificent vistas of the plains stretching for miles to the horizon, offering an extraordinary experience as the focal point of an Etosha journey.
This intimate camp has only three spacious suites each with its own plunge pool, en-suite bathroom, “sala”, and outdoor shower. The lounge and dining areas have amazing views of well-visited waterhole below the camp, the open deck allowing for relaxed, stylish dining under the African sky. Guests at Little Ongava enjoy a dedicated guide and vehicle, ensuring the best possible nature experience at one of Africa’s great wildlife destinations. Day and night wildlife-viewing drives, visiting hides overlooking waterholes, walks and rhino tracking with experienced guides can all be enjoyed exclusively on this reserve. Our guide was Willy. HUGE personality and always ready to have fun…..he made this incredible trip even better!
It goes without saying that this is NOT camping……not even “glamping”!! Pretty spoil-y….is that a word? Anyway, we got even luckier….the four of us were the only guests up here…..so, we had their wine pairing dinners on the viewing deck EVERY. DARN. NIGHT.
We had just arrived for our first “sundowner” (a charming African tradition of signature concoctions made fresh EVERY. SINGLE. EVENING……why don’t we implement this here??!!!) cocktail of the evening when our host Michael (combo Sommelier / Grantor of anything your heart desires) herded us to the Land Cruisers…….so exciting! We were taken down to a “viewing blind” …….
These two stayed for a bit before the elephants decided to show up…..
We were SO close to these animals. They are magnificent to watch. This would NEVER happen in a Public Preserve!
There is a little humor to share here…..so, on day two or three driving around the compound….I ask Willy if he ever gets a flat tire. There are no roads in the wild and it is sturdy brush and rocky sand. The question had no more come out of my mouth when one of the Land Cruiser tires blew out! By this time, it’s roughly 4:30pm…..the lions are roaring and cubs are wanting to be fed. Willy informs us that in order to change the tire we must get out of the vehicle. We are not more than 2 feet away from two lionesses and their group of cubs……..the thought was that we each only had to out run one person! Kind of a rough crowd to hang with when the going gets tough!
Small concern….the vehicles are brand new and ours did not have the correct “jack” in it…..we have to wait outside the car until the other vehicle can get to us……major increase in heart rate!!!
The other bit of humor involves the outdoor shower. I noticed that upon getting into the shower I had company…..about 100 of these little cuties sat on lava rock and watched…..kind of a “reverse” zoo thing, right?! Now I know how they must feel:)
We had so many great things happen here it’s tough to narrow it down to less than 5 hours BUT, prior to flying into Namibia we had literally driven on THE roughest land trying to find animals…..I really felt as though I’d lost some internal organs or cracked a few teeth during the journey. We land at Little Ongave (no official strip or airport…..lizards, dirt and rocks and GREAT pilots)…..and look who is here to greet us.
Willy really was the BEST guide…we even walked with the Rhinos while he stood guard on the top of an African Ant Hill…..
