MyWorldReviews.com

Kulala Desert Lodge

Sesriem, Hardap, Namibia

We wanted to visit Sossuvlei, Namibia to see the dunes. We had seen pictures of them before, and wanted to experience them ourselves. We decided to stay at the Kulala Desert Lodge. It was comparable to most of the other luxury safari lodges we stayed at in Southern Africa, although perhaps just a bit more modest than average.

The communal area of the lodge was quite nice, and comparable to most other luxury lodges. The dining area had both a covered 'indoor' area (where most guests ate their meals) and a number of outdoor tables that looked out over the dunes. The lodge was located fairly close to the dunes (perhaps about 10km away), although the air quality was poor when we visited so we didn't have a very good view.

The lodge provided a communal laptop with free internet near the reception area that guests could use when it wasn't occupied. There was also a small pool, but when we visited in the winter (July), the water was very dirty.

In July, there were still a number of giant crickets about. I have never seen such huge bugs, and although they were harmless, they were pretty disgusting looking. We were a bit worried they would be able to crawl into the bedroom, but they appeared to be too large to fit through the space underneath the door. At nighttime, they did provide a nice background hum that was relaxing to fall asleep to.

Probably the biggest disappointment of the trip was how polluted the air was. Apparently there were a number of fires in Botswana that were burning, and the smoke made the air look very dirty. We weren't able to see the blue sky against the beautiful orange sand dunes - instead we had to settle for an ugly grey/brown color. The visibility was also quite poor, so we couldn't see the dunes too far in the distance.

Accommodations

The rooms at Kulala Desert Lodge were small individual cabins with clay walls around the bathrooms, and canvas walls around the rest of the room. Our room had two single beds pushed together to make a larger bed. There was no air conditioning or heating in the room, although there was a fan, and the staff brought hot water bottles to help heat up the bed in the winter.

The lodge also offered laundry service, but when we filled out the form and left our clothes in the bin, the staff forgot to pick ours up.

The rooms did offer a limited amount of hot water. Each unit had a little solar heater in the back that was used to heat the water. The water was warm at dusk, and there was just enough for two very quick showers. Electricity to charge devices was also available during the day.

The doors to the units had no locks, which was a bit weird. The "windows" (openings in the canvas) opened up to the neighbours and the path. Although we were situated in the middle of nowhere, we thought it was ironic that we felt we had little pirvacy.

Daily Itinerary

I thought there was a bit more flexibility in the itinerary at Kulala Desert Lodge when compared to some of the other safari lodges we visited. Since the times for different activities vary, dinner was the only meal with a rigidly fixed schedule.

In general, someone will wake you up early in the morning, the exact time depending on the activities you have planned for the day. Expect to wake you up around 5am (or earlier if you're taking a hot air balloon ride). When you're ready, you can walk unescorted to the main area of the lodge using the flashlights that the lodge provides for a simple breakfast. Depending on your activities, you may (or may not) be back for lunch in the early afternoon and tea around 3:30pm. Dinner was served at 7:30pm, with each group sitting at their own table.

Food

Breakfast was set out for at least a couple hours, as guests had a slightly staggered schedule (depending on their morning activities). It consisted of cold cereals, toast, fruit, bread, muffins, tea and coffee.

Lunch on our first day (right after we arrived) was a combination plate of four salads - some vegetarian (lettuce, hot eggplant), and others containing meat. Although a member of the staff said it was a light lunch, there was more than enough food on our plates to finish. It all tasted pretty good.

Dinner consisted of an appetizer, entree, and a dessert. On our first day we had a choice of entree, on the other it was a combination plate of three meats. There was a good variety of food, including meats and vegetables. The desserts were especially good.

On the day we visited the dunes, we had a picnic lunch in sossusvlei which included a few salads and homemade breaded chicken drumsticks. Upon returning from our outings we received a glass of gingerbeer or sherry.

In the afternoon we were at the lodge, tea was available around 3pm. Some light pastries were served in addition to with tea/coffee. Along with our daily sundowner drinks, we were also served an assortment of snacks including dried fruit, nuts, dried meats, and fantastic home made potato chips.

Activities

During all of our activities at Kulala Desert Lodge, we were grouped together with another family, so there was a total of 6 passengers for the outings.

Nature Drive

On the day we arrived, we had an afternoon nature drive and sundowner. The scenery was so beautiful, it felt like every drive in the property was a nature drive. Our guide stopped along the way to point out interesting animals, plants, and landmarks. We stopped at a rocky mountainside just before sunset where we were able to climb the rocks, and enjoy drinks and snacks as the sun went down.

The Dunes & Sossusvlei

The morning of the second day, we woke up early so we could get into the 4x4 by 6am. Kulala says they have a 'private entrance' to the park, but I think all entrances opened at the same time (6:30am). We made it to Dune 45 just before sunrise, and climbed the dune along with 100 other people. It was crowded. Strangely, when we drove by dune 45 later that afternoon, it was empty. Our guide was very patient, and we spent about 60 minutes walking all the way up to the top of the dune. Our guide walked up with us, and we didn't have any specific time we had to return.

When we were done at the top of the dune our guide suggested we run down the steep side slope. We thought he was joking, but then he demonstrated, and it looked like a lot of fun. It sure was! By the time we got to the bottom, our socks and shoes were full of sand.

After visiting dune 45, we drove to big daddy and the deadvlei. We started climbing from the base of the dune, and at the top of the first ridge, our guide suggested we could climb all the way to the top. We were already exhausted and getting hot as the sun was warming up and it didn't look very appealing. Instead, we ran down the slope from the first ridge, into the deadvlei. We had some time to walk around and take pictures there of the many beautiful dead trees that have been preserved for over 1000 years. We then drove over to sosusvlei where we had a picnic lunch and then had some time to walk around.

We took longer than expected with all the morning trips, so our guide suggested we go directly to the afternoon activity - a tour of a nearby canyon.

Sesriem Canyon

I thought that visiting the Sesriem Canyon was a little bit disappointing - especially after seeing the dunes. The canyon was fairly shallow, and although our guide told us it was quite long, we only walked a very small piece of it. We spent about an hour walking around in the canyon before going back to the 4x4. On the way back to the lodge, we stopped in at a tourist gift shop and cafe.