A new lodge will soon be added to the Gondwana Collection: last weekend the first sod was cut for Damara Mopane Lodge, some 20 km east of Khorixas on the C 39 (tarred road). This is an ideal location in several respects. The new lodge will be suitable as a stopover on the way from the coastal town of Swakopmund (320 km) to Etosha (200 km), as a basis for excursions to Twyfelfontein (130 km), the Petrified Forest (55 km) and the Vingerklip rock stack (50 km), as well as a starting point for tours through Damaraland and into Kaokoveld. Or, coming from Swakopmund, one could spend the remaining day visiting Twyfelfontein and the Petrified Forest and then check into Damara Mopane Lodge for the night. Because of the ancient rock engravings, estimated to number around 2,000 and thought to be several thousand years old, Twyfelfontein was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in June 2007.
| The main building, the chalets and the walls around the individual plots of Damara Mopane Lodge will be designed in the style of African wattle and daub constructions; plans are to adorn many walls with copies of the rock engravings. Mysterious, labyrinth-like symbols found in Twyfelfontein provided the idea for the layout of the lodge complex: the 55 chalets will be connected with one another as well as with the restaurant and reception by an intricate system of paths – in which guests won't get lost, however; instead, they will quickly find the shortest way to their respective chalet.
Each of the double room chalets will have a veranda and its own little plot with a vegetable and herb garden enclosed by a low garden wall. Maize and mahangu – which are typical of the small homesteads in northern Namibia - will be planted together with lettuce, tomatoes or radishes to create a feeling of spending the night in an African village.Nevertheless there will be no lack of conveniences: air conditioning and mosquito nets in the chalets will see to it that you can also enjoy a rest during the day and that you sleep well at night. The main building and the swimming pool will be situated between the big old Mopane trees, to which the lodge owes part of its name. A viewing point just 300 m away will be the perfect spot for enjoying glorious, colourful sunsets and the magnificent southern night sky. |
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The 'Dancing Kudu': Rock engraving at Twyfelfontein
Path for visitors at Twyfelfontein. The engravings are part of the World Heritage |
Dinner will be as novel and unusual as the lodge complex: after a hot starter guests can compile their own platters from a choice of light but scrumptious fare. The many fresh ingredients will largely be taken from the vegetable gardens at the chalets.
Other attractions apart from the rock engravings at Twyfelfontein are the Organ Pipes, a striking rock formation of basalt, the Burnt Mountain and the many fossilized tree trunks from primeval times. Tourists also like to stop at the Vingerklip rock stack in the valley of the seasonal Ugab River. The rock is 35 metres high and consists of stabilized sediments. Furthermore, the western parts of Damaraland are home to the famous desert-adapted elephants, which mainly move around in the dry riverbeds and live on the foliage of trees and shrubs provided by the seasonal rivers like a lifeline.