Desert Rhino Camp, Damaraland

Set in the 400 000-hectare private Palmwag Concession in the heart of Damaraland, Desert Rhino Camp offers an original and exclusive wilderness experience, a good dose of tranquillity and the largest free-ranging population of black rhino in Africa.

This camp is run in conjunction with Save the Rhino Trust (SRT), an organisation that has been has been singly responsible for helping to ensure that these rare, desert adapted black rhino survived the slaughter that went on throughout other parts of Africa in the '80s and '90s. Guests gain an amazing insight into the ecology and conservation of this area, while at the same time a portion of guest revenue contributes to the Trust and its rhino conservation projects..

Today the population of black rhino is growing in numbers and the area boasts the largest concentration of rhino anywhere on the planet outside of a national park. Community game scouts who were employed by the Trust to help with the patrolling and monitoring all these years are now seconded to the camp and are its trackers and guides.

Desert Rhino Camp is located in Damaraland amongst rolling, rocky hills with scattered euphorbia, ancient welwitschia plants, scrubby vegetation and isolated clumps of trees. Yet there is a tranquil, minimalist beauty and a surprising amount of life in this concession.

Set in a wide valley sometimes flush with grass, has eight large Meru-style tents with en-suite bathrooms comprising hand basin, flush toilet and en-suite shower. A tented dining and living area offers uninterrupted views of the desert and mountains, while the extraordinary welwitschia plants dot the plain in front of camp.

Activities include rhino tracking on foot or by vehicle, full-day outings with a picnic lunch, birding and day and night nature drives to explore this intricate ecosystem. Dedicated guides will provide you with an informative and exciting experience.

The concession's freshwater springs support healthy populations of the famous desert-adapted black rhino, desert-adapted elephant, Hartmann's mountain zebra, giraffe, gemsbok, springbok, kudu and predators such as lion, cheetah, leopard, brown and spotted hyaena. Bird life is prolific and diverse with most of Namibia's endemics present.

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