Family holidays in Namibia deliver tales from the ends of the earth

On a recent family holiday to Namibia, Siobhan Grogan discovered how to thrill mini-explorers with sand dune trekking, rhino safaris and nights filled with stargazing.

Sossusvlei dunes, Namibia © Wilderness Little Kalula

Children will feel like they’ve journeyed to the ends of the earth on a trip to Namibia, with its sky-high sand dunes, remote tented camps, wild animals, starry skies and campfires. And with just an hour’s time difference from the UK, there’s no jet lag to spoil the fun either.

Desert hiking on holiday to Namibia © Wilderness Little Kalula

Don’t limit yourself to one place on holiday to Namibia

Twice the size of France, it would be a mistake to stay in one spot in this extraordinary country. Self-drive is popular but distances are (very) long so a package with everything taken care of is a far easier option for families. Luxury tour operator Wilderness offer tailor-made bucket list itineraries, while prioritising the conservation of Africa’s wilderness: so far they’ve protected six million acres of land and aim to double that by 2030.

Wilderness Little Kulala © Teagan Cunniffe

Stay close to the legendary Sossusvlei sand dunes

We stayed in three entirely solar-powered lodges over six nights, hopping between them on a tiny six-seater plane that offered a bird’s eye view of the world’s oldest desert, before landing on remote airstrips without another soul in sight. Being able to tap the pilot on the shoulder mid-flight takes getting used to, but it definitely beats hours of hanging round Heathrow.

We knew this was no ordinary holiday the moment we stepped out of the jeep at each lodge. Every time, we’re welcomed inside by the staff, who spontaneously burst into song and dance at any opportunity and also encouraged children to join in on the djembe, a wooden African drum.

Our first stay is at Wilderness Little Kulala, close to the world-famous Sossusvlei sand dunes. The thatched, stilted suite overlooks vast desert plains where ostrich, springbok and Namibia’s national animal, the oryx, wander freely to the camp’s watering hole. There’s a stash of art supplies and even rocks to paint, as well as a private plunge pool and the outdoor beds are made up each evening with cosy duvets for unforgettable stargazing.

Rhino tracking, Namibia © Wilderness Desert Rhino Camp

A holiday to Namibia delivers wild wildlife experiences

Animal lovers should also visit Wilderness Desert Rhino Camp in the Damaraland region. Built in partnership with the Save the Rhino Trust and home to a monitoring team who protect the local population of critically endangered black rhinos, it has six canvas and stone rooms that feel like next-level glamping, with both indoor and outdoor showers, jars of homemade biscuits in the rooms and bedside books to help guests identify any passing animals.

Himba people, Serra Cafema © Serra Cafema

Serra Cafema is the perfect end for our holiday to Namibia

End your trip at Wilderness Serra Cafema, where eight canvas suites connected by a wooden gangplank sit on the banks of the Kuene River on the Angolan border. It offers e-fat bikes for family rides across the desert, thrilling 4×4 tours into mountains sparkling with crystals, and the chance to visit the semi-nomadic Himba people who own the land the lodge is on and live in huts nearby.

Stays include all food and drink so you won’t need to say no to that extra apple juice (or Sauvignon Blanc) at dinner. There are just two, always-delicious, main courses on the menu at each meal to cut food waste, but every camp also offers a reliable kid’s favourite like burger and chips. Grown-ups can enjoy more adventurous dishes including grilled stone fruit and sundried tomatoes with buttermilk dressing, or goat stew.

Plenty of other goodies are always on offer too, such as help-yourself jars of jellybeans and fresh popcorn, creamy hot chocolate after an evening safari drive and different flavours of oven-warm muffins each morning. There are homemade Kettle Chips and fizzy drinks alongside the usual gin and tonics at nightly sundowners, while afternoon snacks laid out to grab and go include freshly baked caramel cookies and homemade ginger beer.

Lodge deck, Serra Cafema © Teagan Cunniffe

Curiously named creatures will delight your kids

Keep your eyes peeled at all three lodges for thrilling animal sightings, and prepare to be amazed at the ability of the amiable Wilderness rangers to somehow spot wildlife barely visible to the naked eye. Though safaris here are not necessarily about sighting the Big Five, children will love hearing about the desert-adapted animals that sound straight out of a Roald Dahl novel including the Namib web-footed gecko, hairy thick-tailed scorpion, bat-eared fox, aardwolf, brown hyena and white lady spider.

Nile crocodile © Serra Cafema

Where to see rare black rhinos on holiday to Namibia

At Little Kulala, a brown-backed jackal races across our path as we drive through the Namib desert, while the occasional ostrich totters by the side of the road. On a boat trip from Serra Cafema, we glide, just-beyond touching distance, past a five-metre long Nile crocodile on the bank, his lengthy tail curled beneath him.

Desert Rhino is the place to cross your fingers and hope to see one of the world’s last truly wild black rhinos. When we head off at dawn, we’re warned that the animals are shy and may prove impossible to spot. Yet, within an hour, we’ve left the jeep and continued on foot to see one ambling across the wide-open plain. Soon after, we spot a second with her calf, and then a third, simply walking along a dried-out riverbed. All this is as well as sighting several giraffe lunching on a crop of trees.

Desert game drive, holiday to Namibia © Serra Cafema

Finally, scale some 5 million year old sand dunes, just for fun

With wide-open desert plains, towering sand dunes and craggy mountains all around, there’s no shortage of family activities, from sunrise hot air balloon rides and bumpy nature drives to songs around the campfire. Staff will happily host stargazing sessions with a laser pointer to make constellation-spotting easy for kids or lead braver ones out after dinner on intrepid missions to spy scorpion with a UV light.

Scaling the five-million-year-old dunes at Sossusvlei will be the highlight of any trip. We battled up one of the world’s tallest, known as Big Daddy, with the sand falling away under our feet as we climbed 325ft to the peak for panoramic views across the blazing orange dunes below. The best bit? Whip off your shoes at the top and you can run – or roll – all the way down afterwards in sand softer than freshly-fallen snow.