The Desert Rhino Camp Experience

When my colleague Yokany Oliveira tells me about an adventure we are about to embark on to Damaraland for two nights, I am incredibly excited, considering I’ve never been. The pickup time is 05h00 on Saturday and although I’m a zombie in the early hours, off to the Kunene region we go.

Our driver is sales and marketing manager Clement Lawrence from Wilderness Safaris, who doubles as our DJ and guide. With Toni Braxton in the background, I gaze over the green horizon with a smile and Lawrence shares the same sentiment – something he describes as “epic”.

The road to Desert Rhino Camp is extremely rocky. Turning off a couple of kilometres from Khorixas, we reach a gravel road and we all become participants of the rollercoaster ride of a lifetime.

The scenery completely changes as you head west; mopane trees spectacularly flourish on the plains alongside the Euphorbia damarana, or the Damara milk-bush, extremely poisonous natives of the desert (to humans). From what we are told, rhinos and several animals tend to make a meal of this deadly plant.

I never thought the desert would be mountainous, but it is. “The contrast of geology and landscape in Namibia is so interesting. It can act as a great marketing tool,” Lawrence shares as we take in our surroundings. We have now entered the Palmwag Concession, a 450 000-hectare, highly monitored area known for the conservation of wildlife.

“It exists because of the free-ranging desert-adapted black rhinos,” Lawrence adds. The area houses the world’s largest population of the animal. Although poaching is a concern, the Save the Rhino Trust (SRT), in collaboration with the Ministry of Environment and Tourism as well as the communities in and around the conservancies, put their foot down against this vile act.

The biggest threats to the Kunene region’s rhinos are “poaching, habitat loss and human-induced disturbance”.

“The community is aware of who’s suspicious and who’s not,” SRT’s management and field teams chief executive officer Simson Uri-khob said of poachers in the area. There hasn’t been a poaching incident in the area for a long time and the team is proud of this.

As we arrive at the lodge, we are armed with rules which are easy to abide to: Don’t walk around at night. Equipment you need in case of an emergency is available in your room. Most importantly, enjoy the experience.

We’re back in the field and briefed about the next day’s main activity – tracking a black rhino by road and foot. Trackers have divided the area into four zones, and we are assigned to one. Wearing camouflage is key, being extremely observant is a must and following orders is a lifesaver.

After a delicious lamb shank dinner with pap and berry pie served by our waitress Janet, we head to bed before another 05h00 start.

Breakfast is short and sweet, but we’re hyped up and ready to track a black rhino, if we’re lucky. The feat can be rare. According to our guide Bons Roman, game tracks are similar, but you’d able to tell a rhino by its markings. “Rhinos leave their dung in their footprints to mark their territory.”

We stop by a riverbed kilometres from our intended location as trackers have found evidence of a rhino nearby and communicate this to us via radio.

Anxiety flares because our target is close. Mind you, black rhinos are known to be quite aggressive. One wrong move and they will charge, but it’s important not to disturb the animal but rather observe it in its natural element.

At some point, the trackers hop in our ride and we find a rhino named Katri whose meal we have interrupted. Quiet and careful, we settle along rocks as the trackers identify Katri by his markings through range finders. We’re just over 100 metres away, and I have to say, it’s an experience like no other.

Katri was born in 1995 and although he was dehorned a few years ago, he’s been growing healthily and flourishing in his environment.

Just like that, our goal has been reached and it’s back to the lodge to catch up on some down time. Although I am eager to explore, I immediately pass out and meet up with the Desert Camp team for an appetising afternoon meal later. The exclusive camp features a tented dining and living area decorated with a chessboard, books, a mini curio shop and a breathtaking view of the rocky desert.

Guests are also welcome to swim, but the pool is best suited to relaxing rather than swimming laps.

Our sundowner is up next on the agenda so it’s off for a ride into the wild. To my absolute surprise, a place called Welwitschia Valley exists where thousands of welwitschia plants are scattered across the land. I’ve only seen one, so this was an overwhelming sight.

Inside the heart of a welwitschia, Roman shows us a welwitschia bug, an insect that helps with the pollination of the slow-growing plant. Some welwitschia plants are uprooted – our guide says elephants ate the roots.

We also catch glimpses of rock kestrels, spotted hyenas, the elusive Ludwig’s bustard and butcher birds. If you’re armed with binoculars as I was, you’re guaranteed to see a whole lot more.

After claiming a spot for ourselves, we chat the night away and head back to the lodge where the staff prepare a braai under the stars, just for us. I am not eager to say goodbye the next morning, but hundreds of kilometres to the city await.

As a goodbye gift, the staff sing for us to wish us well on our journey home. Their well wishes bring me luck – I spot a leopard on the prowl along a slope near a village.

A place of peace and somewhere to immerse yourself in nature, given that there’s no cell reception, Desert Rhino Camp might just be one of the best trips of your life, as it was for me.

– Mickey Nekomba on Facebook; @MickeyNekomba on Twitter

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