NAMIBIA - Desert Rhino Camp, Palmwag Concession
Desert Rhino Camp lies among rolling, rocky hills on the 450,000 hectare Palmwag Concession. This region is marked for its tranquil, minimalist beauty, surprising wealth of arid-adapted wildlife and the largest free roaming black rhino population in Africa.
Early morning fog generated by the icy Benguela Current in the Atlantic Ocean meets the warm desert air of the Skeleton Coast. The fog drifts inland over the Namib Desert, providing precious water to the flora and fauna in this very harsh environment.
The ochre-brown, flat-topped Etendeka Mountains dominate the scenery. The Uniab River cuts through the landscape and occasionally fill with water. The terrain is rocky but often covered with fine golden grasses and interspersed with large endemic Euphorbia damarana bushes. Other fascinating plants in the Palmwag Concession include the odd-shaped bottle tree, shepherd's trees, ancient leadwoods, salvadora bushes and unique welwitschias.
ACCOMMODATION:
Desert Rhino Camp is comprised of 8 Meru-style canvas tents accommodating up to 16 guests. The rooms are built on raised wooden decks with thatched roofs. An extension of the deck provides a verandah with comfortable chairs to enjoy the magnificent views of the desert and Etendeka Mountains. Each room is en-suite. The rooms are fully stocked with mini bar, mosquito netting and discreet air conditioning.
The romantic Fish Eagle Bar, overlooking the lagoon is a feature of this camp. The tented restaurant and lounge area also offer panoramic views. Evening meals are often served around the fire pit in front of the lapa, inviting guests to relax and socialize.
ACTIVITIES AND WILDLIFE:
Activities at Desert Rhino Camp include rhino tracking on foot or by vehicle. Other 4x4 outings are geared at exploring this vast, miraculous ecosystem with some of the most knowledgeable guides in Namibia. Bird life is prolific and diverse with most of Namibia's endemics present. Raptors include Greater Kestrel, Lanner Falcon and Booted Eagles, spotted in the sky or perching on a lonely shepherd's tree. Verreauxs' Eagle is often sighted around rocky hillsides.
The concession's freshwater springs support healthy populations of arid-adapted wildlife. Good numbers of Hartmann's mountain zebra, southern giraffe, gemsbok (oryx), springbok, kudu, dwarf antelope such as steenbok and klipspringer, scrub hare, meerkats (suricates), ground squirrels, black-backed jackal and small spotted genet can be seen.
In addition to the large, free-roaming population of desert-adapted black rhino, there is a healthy population of desert-adapted elephants. The Palmwag Concession also holds the core of the rarely seen desert-adapted lion population of north-west Namibia. Cheetah and leopard are also sometimes seen in this area.
OTHER:
Desert Rhino Camp functions as a collaborative effort between Wilderness Safaris and the Save the Rhino Trust (SRT). This Trust has been instrumental in the preservation of the rare, desert adapted black rhino. Having barely survived the slaughter of the '80s and '90s throughout other parts of Africa, the black rhino population has doubled since the formation of the SRT.