Encounter by Ongava

Encounter by Ongava is a nine-tent camp set further into the Ongava reserve than any of its other camps, in a secluded valley below a dolomite hill and wrapped in mopane woodland. The camp is unfenced, so wildlife moves freely between the tents, and a waterhole below the deck is floodlit after dark. Eland, waterbuck, rhino and elephant come to drink there, with the occasional lion; closer by, there is the rustle of mopane leaves and rock hyraxes slipping between the boulders.

Ongava means “rhino” in the Herero language, and the reserve grew out of dry, worn-out farmland restored as a haven for white and black rhino alongside lion, leopard, cheetah, giraffe, gemsbok, springbok and the rare black-faced impala. Stays are fully inclusive: accommodation, all meals, two scheduled activities a day, laundry, airstrip transfers and local drinks, with premium imported brands and champagne charged separately.

Activities range across the reserve and into neighbouring Etosha:

• game drives in the early morning or before dusk, in open 4x4 vehicles carrying no more than six guests, each with an outside seat;
• night drives with a searchlight, looking for jackal, owls, bushbabies and other creatures of the dark;
• guided walks with a ranger to approach elephant or rhino on foot;
• guided excursions into Etosha National Park for lion, elephant, rhino, leopard and zebra, and for flamingos on the Etosha Pan after the summer rains;
• birdwatching, with more than 300 species recorded on the reserve;
• a visit to the Discovery Centre, with displays on the region’s geology, wildlife and plants;
• a boutique of handcrafted pieces by African artisans.