Little Ongava, Etosha, Namibia

Little Ongava is the super-luxurious, exclusive sibling of Ongava Lodge, within the same private 300km2 Ongava Game Reserve on the southern boundary of Etosha National Park. Set on the crest of a hill, the lodge overlooks the reserve, which boasts a wide range of wildlife including lion and rhino.
Located in the Ongava Game Reserve, Little Ongava is one of Africa’s great wildlife destinations – and one of the world’s most astonishing luxury wilderness resorts. This is one of the few places in the world where you might get a glimpse of both black and white rhinos, as well as lions, elephants, gemsbok, springbok, and red hartebeest. Observe wildlife from your room or the dining area, on game drives by day or night, or on the Namibian savanna from an open Land Rover.

Activities & Facilities:
Wooden walkways wind around rock boulders to link the suites to the relaxed main thatched area. Here a large lounge furnished with a library and a stone fireplace opens out onto a large viewing deck which overlooks a waterhole below. This is a great spot for a sundowner drink and on our last visit we watched a rhino and her calf come to drink, followed by two lions. Ongava Lodge also has a small open-sided chapel that can be used for weddings.
Activities at Little Ongava include day and spotlit night drives in open 4WD game-drive vehicles. Morning drives usually head into Etosha National Park whilst afternoon drives take place on the Ongava Reserve. Visitors can also opt to go on guided safari walks or sit in the nearby hide waiting quietly for animals to pass or drink from the waterhole.

Wildlife at Little Ongava:
Little Ongava features almost all of the characteristic wildlife of the area, with plains game such as springbok, gemsbok, wildebeest, Burchell’s zebra, Hartmann’s mountain zebra, waterbuck, red hartebeest, giraffe, eland and endemic black-faced impala seen, while Etosha itself has elephant to add to the list. In Etosha, large herds of plains game concentrate around the waterholes in the dry season, making for exciting wildlife viewing. Lion move between the Park and the Reserve and both black and white rhino can be seen.

Rooms & Suites:
With just three large suites, Little Ongava is a very private lodge with very personal service. Each spacious stone-and-thatch suite is divided into three main areas, all cleverly lit and separated by a series of wooden sliding doors. The bedroom forms the centre of the room, and behind is a separate dressing room. To one side is the lounge, where comfortable armchairs face an open fireplace and drinks are kept cool in the minibar. Glass doors in the lounge and bedroom slide back for access to a private deck complete with its own infinity pool.

Dining:
The dining and lounge areas share wonderful views over the waterhole below. Guests may dine under the sky or under the cover of a thatched roof.