Hoanib Skeleton Coast Camp

Location

Hoanib occupies a scenic valley within the private 550,000-hectare Palmwag Concession, where basalt mountains and gravel plains meet towering yellow sand dunes shaped by volcanic eruptions approximately 132 million years ago. This is the Kaokoveld one of Africa’s last genuine wilderness frontiers, where Africa and South America once formed Gondwana. The camp’s position is strategic: close enough to Skeleton Coast National Park for full day excursions to the Atlantic shore, yet deep enough in the private concession that underground aquifers sustain a ribbon of vegetation along the riverbed, drawing elephants, giraffes and predators through an otherwise austere landscape.

The name “Hoanib” derives from the Damara language, meaning “place of elephants,” with a clicking consonant most visitors never quite master. It is an apt designation: the Hoanib drainage supports one of the largest concentrations of desert-adapted elephants in Africa, their movements between ana trees and distant water sources tracked by researchers using the camp as their base.

Rooms

Eight tented suites curve in a gentle crescent from the central lodge, designed to embrace rather than fight the desert. Pale olive canvas walls reflect the surrounding landscape while floor-to-ceiling glass dissolves the boundary between shelter and wilderness. The double-canvas construction, entirely solar-powered, maintains comfort across extreme temperature swings—warm enough when nights plummet below 10°C, cool enough through midday scorching heat.

Standard Suites occupy elevated wooden platforms with polished concrete floors, each overlooking the waterhole where elephants, giraffes and occasionally lions come to drink. Inside, a king-size bed (convertible to twins) sits draped in mosquito netting, flanked by integrated reading lamps and white bedside tables. A sitting area stretches along the glass wall, positioned for wildlife watching without leaving the room. The bathroom, separated by a floor-to-ceiling mirror, features twin stone basins on a wooden vanity, a large rain shower and separate toilet. Full toiletries are provided. Each suite’s private veranda includes a shaded lounge with comfortable seating, tree-stump coffee tables and a mini-fridge for self-service cold drinks between activities. There is no cellular signal; a communal computer station in the main area provides internet for those who cannot fully disconnect.

Communal Areas

The main lodge rises from a rocky knoll beneath a geodesic canvas roof, its neutral palette of beige, cream and natural wood punctuated by splashes of colour in cushions and local décor. The lounge centres on an open fireplace with contemporary seating and panoramic waterhole views. A long communal dining table accommodates shared meals, though intimate tables outside offer privacy.

A modest, narrow pool designed for cooling off occupies a terrace flanked by sun loungers. Evening gatherings migrate to the fire pit beneath some of the darkest, most star-saturated skies on the planet.

Hoanib’s most distinctive communal asset is their research centre. Resident researchers from the Desert Lion Conservation Project and Skeleton Coast Brown Hyena Project share findings with interested guests, offering presentations on predator ecology, human-wildlife conflict and remarkable adaptations to extreme environments. When researchers are in residence, their insights transform wildlife encounters from observation into genuine scientific engagement.

Activities

This is not traditional safari country. Wildlife densities are low, landscapes are vast, and the experience pivots on understanding how life persists against improbable odds.

Nature Drives Explore the Hoanib riverbed in closed 4WD vehicles with pop-up roofs—essential for temperature swings from freezing dawn to midday scorching. Track desert-adapted elephants, Angolan giraffes, gemsbok, springbok and Hartmann’s mountain zebra. Lion sightings are possible but far from guaranteed; the Kunene’s approximately 60 adult lions range across enormous territories. Brown hyenas appear most often during early morning or late afternoon drives.

Nature Walks Reveal the desert’s intricate smaller-scale ecology: fog-basking beetles that harvest moisture from Atlantic mists, Welwitschia plants that may exceed 1,000 years in age, and vestiges of Strandloper (beachcomber) settlements from centuries past.

Skeleton Coast Excursion Included for stays of three nights or more. This signature experience begins before dawn with a four-to-five-hour 4WD traverse along the Hoanib floodplain and through rolling dune fields to Klein Oasis Spring—a surreal freshwater seep that attracts elephants and flamingos. Enter Skeleton Coast National Park to reach Möwe Bay and the wild Atlantic shoreline, where Cape fur seals carpet rocky outcrops in their thousands. A small museum documents shipwrecks claimed by the Benguela Current. Lunch on the beach precedes a scenic 15-minute flight back to camp, offering aerial perspectives of landscapes that seem to stretch beyond Earth’s curvature. Note: Weather and flooding occasionally require modified itineraries (both legs by vehicle or air) prioritising guest safety.

Research presentations Deeper engagement with ongoing conservation work: Desert Lion Conservation Project: Founded by Dr Philip Stander in 1998, has monitored Kunene’s lions for over 25 years, documenting human-wildlife conflict as the primary driver of adult lion mortality. Skeleton Coast Brown Hyena Project: Led by Emsie Verwey, conducting important density surveys for brown hyena in the national park.

Stargazing requires no equipment beyond clear skies, which the Namib delivers with remarkable consistency during dry months. The camp’s isolation from light pollution creates conditions approaching the theoretical limit of naked-eye visibility.