The Town Built on a Rock
April 24, 2018How to Travel Green the Namibian Way
April 25, 2018
Imagine sundowners at one of Namibia’s most iconic attractions, Sossusvlei. Kanaan boasts its own version of this iconic landscape. Except, here you have the beauty of the place all to yourself and you can stay until long shadows stretch across the orange sand. Toast the ancient camel thorn trees and watch the dramatic scene that plays out on the fiery horizon before the sun finally retreats behind the dunes. And as the air settles into a crisp, comfortable coolness you sit back in your seat on the game viewer which moves across the haunting landscape back to the lodge.
Your stay at the Kanaan N/a’an ku sê Desert Retreat is bound to be memorable. The 35 000 hectares of land served as a sheep farm before it was gradually returned to its natural state. The Kanaan N/a’an ku sê Desert Retreat shares 36 km of its border with Namib- Naukluft National Park. Its desert landscape is characterised by the same rust-coloured dunes and dramatic grey clouds when a thunderstorm approaches.
Kanaan is part of a larger conservation network, the N/a’an ku sê Foundation. An appointed area within the retreat serves as an enclosure for rescued cheetahs caught in the crossfire of human-wildlife conflict. A visit to the enclosure is exciting, educating, an up-close experience of the fastest animal on the planet.
The beautiful lodge sits astride a mountainside, its buildings made from canvas, wood and glass, ensuring minimal impact on the environment. Eight exclusive en-suite tented rooms, dotted along the hill in the shape of a crescent and overlooking the surrounding mountains, beckon guests for a siesta.
The next morning, before you leave? Get seated on top of a red sand dune, watch agile Dune Larks flitting about and a group of gemsbok pass languidly. Another ceremony is about to begin: the start of another day. All around you the desert wakes up before you get into the car and drive off into the sunrise.
N/A’AN KU SÊ FOREST CONSERVATION REVEGETATION PROJECT
This project involves setting up economically viable and ecologically sustainable nurseries at Neuras Wine and Wildlife Estate and Kanaan Desert Retreat in Namibia’s southwest.
Indigenous seeds of various native tree and shrub species are collected and propagated using recycled water. These seedlings are then planted into areas where existing native vegetation has been reduced or lost because of human interference.
The project outcomes will act as a framework to encourage and guide those interested in forest conservation within Namibia and across southern Africa, and as a catalyst for future forest conservation projects.
