6 Unforgettable Desert Hideaways

Desert Hideaways – Hoanib Valley Camp

COMPLIED BY Gina Dionisio PHOTOS Dook (Hoanib Valley Camp and Shipwreck Lodge, Sossusvlei Desert Lodge, Tswalu Kalahari Reserve); Homestead Modern (Monument House); Elsa Young/Bureaux (The Nest); Supplied (Motse at Tswalu Kalahari Reserve)


Off the beaten path.

From tented camps nestled in Namibia’s desolate Hoanib Valley to a colourful Modernist icon in Joshua Tree, these desert hideaways offer discerning travellers pure escapism. These local and international getaways from the VISI Archives highlight the enduring appeal of wandering off the beaten path.

Hoanib Valley Camp and Shipwreck Lodge

Desert Hideaways – Shipwreck Lodge

he drive will take us into the river bed, where we’ll hopefully see desert-adapted elephant, giraffe, oryx and perhaps some small antelope,” says our guide Mwezi Bupilo as he briefs us for an early-morning drive. He pauses before he continues, gesturing to the shale and granite mountains that surround us, glowing pink in the morning light. “But here in Namibia the landscape is also part of what we will see.”

He’s right. Whichever part of Namibia you visit, its arid terrain and endless horizons are a constant. Another is travelling great distances, and on our journey to Namibia’s North West we had a bird’s-eye view of its vast and varied topography from the small plane that collected us in Windhoek and deposited us in the heat of Sesfontein (with a middle-of-nowhere stop for fuel to remind us of just how remote we were). We marvelled at its desolate plains from the ground, too, as we bumped and rattled our way through the Kaokoveld Desert in an open-sided truck into the more verdant river bed that would lead us finally to Hoanib Valley Camp.

The day’s expedition aside, arriving here is quite something: Natural Selection’s tented camp in Sesfontein Community Conservancy is flanked by a remarkable metamorphic amphitheatre with sweeping views towards the ephemeral Hoanib River. You’re greeted by the warm smiles and joyous singing of the staff, a cool towel to wipe the dust from your eyes, an even colder welcome drink, and a desert vista that renders you mute with reverence.

Read the full story on the Hoanib Valley Camp and Shipwreck Lodge.


Monument House

Desert Hideaways – Monument House

Planted within a bouldered landscape, Monument House is a shape-driven abode that has garnered worldwide acclaim as a modernist architectural icon that follows in the footsteps of Frank Lloyd Wright’s nearby New City of Mentalphysics.

Recently renovated and designed by Josh Schweitzer in 1990 as a vacation escape for the architect’s close friends and family, Monument House consists of three separate structures, each in a different colour. The dusted blues, greens and reds adorning exteriors and continued in the minimalist, contemporary interiors reflect the colour palette of the unspoiled surrounds.

Read the full story on the Monument House.


The Nest

Desert Hideaways – The Nest

In the vast ancient desert of Namibia, nature is the greatest architect. Millions of years have refined the shapes of the shelters that birds and animals create for themselves here. The gigantic nests built by sociable weaver birds in camelthorn trees – vast domed structures of twigs and grass often 3m wide – are one of the most striking examples. “They’re architectural masterpieces,” says Swen Bachran, the entrepreneur and conservationist who established the Namib Tsaris Conservancy with his neighbours in the desert, not far from the famous red dunes at Sossusvlei and the haunting 700-year-old skeletons of dead camelthorn trees at Deadvlei.

Before he owned any land in the region, he and his designer and artist friend Porky Hefer visited a spot nearby the site of The Nest, as they dubbed this fantastical house modelled on these weavers’ nests, which they created over the next eight years. At that stage, Swen was still scouting around for a potential conservation project. “Porky came to the farm and we camped on this land together,” says Swen. They sat under the camelthorn trees and marvelled at the communal nests, their perfect efficiency suggesting countless lessons in biomimicry and possibilities for vernacular design.

Read the full story on The Nest.


Sossusvlei Desert Lodge

Desert Hideaways – Sossusvlei Desert Lodge

It takes a singular vision to renovate an existing property significantly yet sensitively – to make an original statement while retaining as much of the existing structure as possible.

To expand – yet maintain – the footprint while prioritising sustainability is especially challenging when the property happens to be located not just in Namibia’s remoteness, but in the world’s oldest desert. And when the brief is a total overhaul, as was the case with &Beyond’s Sossusvlei Desert Lodge – architecture, interiors and guest experience – it takes a team versed in the rigours of a certain type of multilayered hospitality that goes beyond quality linen. It requires a team that appreciates the tangible and intangible aspects of luxury; that knows how to offer guests an immersive experience.

After two decades at the helm of their award-winning multidisciplinary design agency Fox Browne Creative, Debra Fox and Chris Browne are specialists in this subtle alchemy. They collaborated with architect Jack Alexander, and worked with the existing buildings, constructed in the mid-1990s, to create something contemporary yet timeless and appropriate to the context.

Read the full story on the Sossusvlei Desert Lodge


Motse at Tswalu Kalahari Reserve

Desert Hideaways – Motse at Tswalu Kalahari Reserve

Nestled in a corner of the Korannaberg mountain range, Tswalu Kalahari Reserve offers just what the imagination conjures up when thinking “Kalahari”. Tswalu means “new beginning” in Tswana and South African-Namibian architecture firm Savile Row took this very much into account when presented with the project of revitalising Motse, a “village” of nine private houses in the reserve.

“The project upgrade client brief went something like this: ‘Returning regular guests must immediately notice the upgrade in comfort, luxury, intimacy and attention to detail, but it should all still feel comfortingly familiar’,” says Adrian Davidson, director at Savile Row.

In order to avoid compromising on luxury while maintaining a strictly eco-conscious stance, Savile Row’s main focus was to create a symbiotic flow between the lodge and the landscape beyond, making a seamless transition between the two spaces. The result is that guests never feel a divide between themselves and nature. “Our intention was to emulate the ecology of [the area], resulting in an approach that sees the small and rare being as beautiful and valuable as the vast and awe-inspiring,” Davidson says. “As much emphasis was placed on small details as on the architecture, and many of the furniture pieces are one-off pieces designed by our studio.”

Read the full story on Motse at Tswalu Kalahari Reserve.


Tarkuni at Tswalu Kalahari Reserve

Desert Hideaways – Tarkuni at Tswalu Kalahari Reserve

Remote, exclusive and eco-conscious – and complete with tawny desert sunsets – Tswalu Kalahari embodies all the elements of a memorable safari experience. The Oppenheimer family, committed conservationists and custodians of this tract of stark beauty for more than two decades, are driven by their intent “to leave our world better than we found it”. And they are succeeding.

Two camps – Motse and the private villa Tarkuni – shimmer graciously in the sun. We featured Motse in VISI #106; now we focus on Tarkuni, and the camps’ acclaimed Klein JAN restaurant. As with Motse, an artful revamp by multidisciplinary design practice Savile Row has given the spaces a fresh, contemporary feel that doesn’t compete with the dramatic landscape that unfurls around them.

As project architect and director Adrian Davidson explains, one of the key reasons for the renovation was to invite more light into the Tarkuni homestead, and to create a more connected flow between the indoor and outdoor living spaces.“We drew inspiration from the surrounding fauna, using a palette of earthy tones and dusty botanical greens for muted, cool, simple interiors,” he says. “There’s nothing fussy or layered in our approach – we wanted the extraordinary vistas to be the hero of the site.”

Read the full story on Tarkuni at Tswalu Kalahari Reserve.


Don’t forget to sign up to our weekly newsletter for the latest architecture and design news.