Lady at Little Kulala
Blog: A Lady in London - 7 November 2009
After my harrowing bush plane journey from Windhoek to Sossusvlei, I was relieved to be greeted on the ground by the driver from Little Kulala, our safari lodge in the great Namib-Naukluft desert.
After a 15 minute drive through the yellow bush, we crossed over a bridge that spanned a dry riverbed. I looked out the window and saw a lovely desert mirage: a semi-circle of bungalows with a large thatched-roof lodge in the center. We had arrived at Little Kulala, the jewel in the crown Namibian safari lodges.
As our Land Rover pulled into the driveway, we were greeted by Jennifer, the friendly South African in charge of our desert oasis. She took us up the stairs, where we were offered a refreshing fruit drink, then led us through an immaculately decorated open-air interior to the wrap-around balcony outside. The entire place was done in white and beige, with plenty of natural wood inspired by the feel of the surrounding landscape.
After a quick orientation and a warning to avoid any snakes and scorpions (we didn’t see any), we were led to our bungalow, one of 11 on the premises. The room was gorgeous. With floor-to-ceiling windows on two sides, we had an amazing view of the orange sand dunes and the 700-year-old dead acacia trees dotted along the barren riverbed.
Like the lodge, the room was decorated in white and pale beige, and the outdoor terrace offered a private plunge pool, a covered sitting area, and a roof deck from which we could gaze upon the unspoiled night sky. It was perfect.
The next two days were filled with desert safaris and leisurely afternoons. On our first evening we went to Sesriem, a desert canyon from which we could watch the sunset. We enjoyed our sundowners (aka sunset cocktails) and got to know our guide, who told us he had grown up in the desert not far from the camp.
At night we slept outside on our roof deck, a perk that Little Kulala is famous for. The staff set up a bed under the stars and we stayed up half the night watching the constellations drift slowly across the night sky.
Our wake-up call was at 4:30am, the earliest of the trip. We dragged ourselves out of bed and into our Land Rover, where our driver took us to the Namib-Naukluft National Park to watch the sun rise over the dunes.
I stood on a bright red-orange sand dune looking at all the nocturnal animal footprints while my boyfriend, who lacks an appropriate knowledge of the principle of friction, tried in vain to slide down the dunes.
But when the sun came up over the mountains to the east, we all stopped to watch. The sky turned from purple to orange as the dunes behind us were illuminated in their famous rust color.
Sun up, we quickly got back in the Land Rover and drove to Dune 45, one of the most famous dunes in the Sossusvlei area. We climbed the dune (harder than it looks!) and then took pictures of the surrounding area before heading off to visit Dead Vlei.
Dead Vlei was less threatening than it sounded. Vlei means valley, and Dead Vlei is a valley between two dunes. It is famous for its build-up of hard white clay and ancient trees that died when the rivers running to Sossusvlei dried up hundreds of years ago. The juxtaposition of the stark white valley floor with the orange dunes brings thousands of visitors to Dead Vlei every year. It was stunning.
That evening Jennifer was kind enough to give us a tour of the wine cellar at Little Kulala and do a private tasting for us. While we imbibed, she told us more about the lodge and how the interior decorator used Dead Vlei as her inspiration for the white floors and wood railings in the bungalows.
After two nights at Little Kulala it was time to go to Cape Town. Excited as we were about South Africa, we couldn’t help but want to stay a little longer in our desert oasis. We parted ways with heavy hearts, and I closed my eyes and held my breath for the entire bush plane ride back to Windhoek.
After a 15 minute drive through the yellow bush, we crossed over a bridge that spanned a dry riverbed. I looked out the window and saw a lovely desert mirage: a semi-circle of bungalows with a large thatched-roof lodge in the center. We had arrived at Little Kulala, the jewel in the crown Namibian safari lodges.
As our Land Rover pulled into the driveway, we were greeted by Jennifer, the friendly South African in charge of our desert oasis. She took us up the stairs, where we were offered a refreshing fruit drink, then led us through an immaculately decorated open-air interior to the wrap-around balcony outside. The entire place was done in white and beige, with plenty of natural wood inspired by the feel of the surrounding landscape.
After a quick orientation and a warning to avoid any snakes and scorpions (we didn’t see any), we were led to our bungalow, one of 11 on the premises. The room was gorgeous. With floor-to-ceiling windows on two sides, we had an amazing view of the orange sand dunes and the 700-year-old dead acacia trees dotted along the barren riverbed.
Like the lodge, the room was decorated in white and pale beige, and the outdoor terrace offered a private plunge pool, a covered sitting area, and a roof deck from which we could gaze upon the unspoiled night sky. It was perfect.
The next two days were filled with desert safaris and leisurely afternoons. On our first evening we went to Sesriem, a desert canyon from which we could watch the sunset. We enjoyed our sundowners (aka sunset cocktails) and got to know our guide, who told us he had grown up in the desert not far from the camp.
At night we slept outside on our roof deck, a perk that Little Kulala is famous for. The staff set up a bed under the stars and we stayed up half the night watching the constellations drift slowly across the night sky.
Our wake-up call was at 4:30am, the earliest of the trip. We dragged ourselves out of bed and into our Land Rover, where our driver took us to the Namib-Naukluft National Park to watch the sun rise over the dunes.
I stood on a bright red-orange sand dune looking at all the nocturnal animal footprints while my boyfriend, who lacks an appropriate knowledge of the principle of friction, tried in vain to slide down the dunes.
But when the sun came up over the mountains to the east, we all stopped to watch. The sky turned from purple to orange as the dunes behind us were illuminated in their famous rust color.
Sun up, we quickly got back in the Land Rover and drove to Dune 45, one of the most famous dunes in the Sossusvlei area. We climbed the dune (harder than it looks!) and then took pictures of the surrounding area before heading off to visit Dead Vlei.
Dead Vlei was less threatening than it sounded. Vlei means valley, and Dead Vlei is a valley between two dunes. It is famous for its build-up of hard white clay and ancient trees that died when the rivers running to Sossusvlei dried up hundreds of years ago. The juxtaposition of the stark white valley floor with the orange dunes brings thousands of visitors to Dead Vlei every year. It was stunning.
That evening Jennifer was kind enough to give us a tour of the wine cellar at Little Kulala and do a private tasting for us. While we imbibed, she told us more about the lodge and how the interior decorator used Dead Vlei as her inspiration for the white floors and wood railings in the bungalows.
After two nights at Little Kulala it was time to go to Cape Town. Excited as we were about South Africa, we couldn’t help but want to stay a little longer in our desert oasis. We parted ways with heavy hearts, and I closed my eyes and held my breath for the entire bush plane ride back to Windhoek.
Comment on the original post at A Lady in London
The article above originally appeared on A Lady in London; we selected it for our BlogSherpa program. We sign up the best travel bloggers we can find and publish their articles on lonelyplanet.com. Good for us, good for them – our bloggers gain new readers and make a bit of cash. Want to know more or be a part of BlogSherpa? Visit the BlogSherpa page on lplabs.com
