Grootberg Lodge

Grootberg Lodge was Namibia's first mid-market lodge to be 100% owned by the community conservancy it sits within: the #Khoadi //Hoas Conservancy set aside 12,000 hectares of the Etendeka Plateau for the venture in 2005, and every member of staff is a conservancy member. Sixteen stone-and-thatch chalets line the plateau's rim above the Klip River Valley, each with a private deck, solar-powered lighting and views that stretch for miles across Damaraland. An infinity pool sits at the lodge's edge, looking straight down into the valley where black rhino and desert-adapted elephant still roam free.

Guided walks and drives head into the conservancy in search of black rhino, tracked in partnership with Save the Rhino Trust and community rhino shepherds, or desert elephant along the dry riverbeds. Visits to Damara homesteads offer a different way into the area's history, and meals draw on vegetables sourced from local conservancy farmers. Grootberg sits midway between Etosha and Swakopmund, making it a natural stopover as much as a destination in itself.