Huab Lodge & Bush Spa

The Villa @Huab Lodge – Nov/Dec 2024 My partner, Barbara, and I sought out an opportunity to spend a breakaway birthday long weekend and found Huab Lodge’s new Villa (room 9). We were the first paying guests and how lucky were we! Deon and Lidia, their manager Rihette, Ouma Ursula and the team made us feel so at home and from the moment we arrived we were spoiled to the extreme. The Villa is magnificently built, the woodwork is sublime and the furnishings take the Villa to a next level of luxury. Views aplenty from various angles and heights make the experience so brilliant, light floods into the many large windows and the expansive deck on the ground level offers so many options to entertain oneself. The Villa comes with a plunge pool which is a godsend and ensures that you can cool down at your whim and still enjoy the magnificent views of the surrounding hills. Bedroom and bathroom (with bath) plus a desk area is upstairs and lounge, kitchenette and bathroom (with shower) is downstairs. Spacious, lovely linen, luxury towelling and gifts galore awaited us. An easy walk to the dining room for breakfast, lunch and or dinner is an option or a drive from the Villa to the main lodge buildings can be undertaken. For a lodge well off the beaten track breakfast offered everything and more and dinner was shared with other guests and the owners. Menu options are explained by the chef and then “sold” in one of the local languages which added to the fun. Service is wonderful and friendly and everyone is only too happy to go the extra mile for you as a guest. I was spoilt with a full-on breakfast service at the Villa for my birthday. Everything was transported and set up and our every request was exceeded in leaps and bounds. We can highly recommend a visit to Huab Lodge for anyone seeking a break away where one can enjoy your own company or choose to go on a variety of drives with Deon “the white bushman” to view game and in particular Deon’s passion – the desert elephants. A spa is currently under construction. Additionally, a swimming pool and a hot spring (warmquelle) are available for use by all guests which makes a visit even more of a must! We spent 3 nights at Huab Lodge and it felt like a week to us so we highly recommend a absolute minimum of 2 nights stay there for all locals and tourists alike. We have vowed to return next year.

Wir haben 2 Tage in der wundervoll gelegenen Lodge genossen. Vollkommene Ruhe, sehr freundliches Personal, schöne Bungalows und ein tolles Ambiente. Die Gastgeber gestalten den Aufenthalt sehr familiär, sind sehr herzlich und immer ansprechbar. Das gemeinsame Dinner mit allen Gästen an einem Tisch, den Gastgebern und Teilen des Staff mag ungewöhnlich sein; aber die dadurch entstandene Gesprächsatmosphäre, die Ungezwungenheit der Gastgeber und die vielen Informationen, die wir austauschen konnten, haben uns sehr gut gefallen. Absolut empfehlenswert ist ein Game Drive zu den Wüstenelefanten. Die Fahrt geht durch ein getrocknetes Flussbett, landschaftlich toll und abwechslungsreich. Man ist (fast) allein, keine anderen Gäste oder Safaris stören die Fahrt. Der Schutz dieser seltenen Tiere ist dem sehr erfahrenen Besitzer, der auch Guide war, ein besonderes Anliegen. Auch die 31 km lange Anfahrt zur Lodge war problemlos. Wir haben uns nur geärgert, dass wir nicht mehr Tage in dieser Lodge gebucht haben.

Unique experience in a stunning natural environment!! Deon, Lydia and their staff managed to create a hospitable paradise from where you can experience the search for Desert Elephants in their natural habitat. By sunset the flocks of Quella's fly in dancing formations along the thatched main house.

This felt remote in the extreme - a long way down a gravel road, then a turn off and many kms down an even more gravel road, opening and closing gates on the way. A real gem in Damaraland. We were only there for a night, but it had a real family vibe. The meals were served at a communal table with a chance to mingle with others. Our daughter loved the fact the family had dogs and she could play with them. There was a thermal spa and an outdoor pool, as well as amazing views over the riverbed and the standard fire pit. In the evening we did a sundowner tour down the riverbed. Saw eagle nests with chicks in and a number of baboons, felt like we were really in the middle of nowhere. At dinner, we were intrigued by the trip to find the desert elephants and Dion put together a specific trip for us as we didn’t have time for the full trip. Was magical, setting off at sunset and going 60km down the riverbed, most of which was not a track. Felt like a real adventure and was amazing to find them and watch them feed, then a breakfast on the campfire. The service was excellent, the food was varied and great quality. The room was great, awesome shower and lots of room. WiFi was OK in the main lodge only, not in the rooms.

The Huab lodge is situated near the riverbed of Huab river; it offers several beautiful located small bungalows. It is not the cheapest lodge in the area but certainly it is worth the money you pay. The bushmans drive to unknow bushmans paintings is a must. The drive to find the elephant is also a lot of fun; specially if there are fresh traces (dung) an you know they are near, but are unable to find them. You are treated to a very good bushman's coffee with homemade boeren beskuit as well as a bbq'd lunch over open fire. In the evening good food with the possibility for very good wines against reasonable prices. Try the South African Fonkelwijn!!

An experience which will never be forgotten! Once we arrived in the end of the Kamanjab area, we have been so warmly welcomed by Lydia and her husband Dion. This couple lives a dream they have and they do everything that the guest feel comfortable and safe. During dinner a long table is set where all guests exchange the expressions of the day and Lydia and Dion are on the table and chatting with the guests; as a guest you feel immediately at home with friends. Dion is offering a full day scenery drive in the riverbed to “chase” the dessert elephants, including breakfast and lunch. He explains everything about the game in the dry river, as well as the projects they have to bring back more wilderness and game into the Huab region! We were more than impressed about the way this lovely couple handles everything at the Huab lodge. We will come back in some years to see how the dream has been realized