Nomad African Spa – True African Zen

Text and Images Marita van Rooyen

Prepare for the ultimate – African-flavoured – relaxation experience: Nomad African Spa will literally knock your socks off. As a matter of fact, it will knock you right out of your outfit and into flip-flops and a sarong, or slippers and a robe – depending on the season and outside temperature.

Do not expect it to be just another treatment where you take an hour out of your day, hop in, get a massage, and half-heartedly go back to your office job; this one is a true embodiment of African Zen, and you need to come with time.

The experience kicks off true to the beat, as the team greets you with song and sway, and a sunset- coloured long drink. Namibian baskets, local artefacts, knob kierries and a large image of a stately Himba woman further adds to the ambience.

Once you’re properly knocked out of your outfit, one of the leading ladies will show you to one of a variety of treatment rooms – both located in and outside – where the real rejuvenation starts. It is here where local therapists like Uasora Tutjavi (meaning ‘good’, or ‘the good of God’ in Otjiherero) do more than her name suggests. The women of the house are trained to work with calabashes, a massage aid unlike any other, working weary muscles with just the right amount of pressure.

Treatment room. Photo ©Marita van Rooyen

Inside the treatment room. Photo ©Marita van Rooyen

All treatments end with a light lunch under the lapa, prepared in-house in the spa café. Extras include a bar, showers, and storage facilities for travellers, plus enough nooks and crannies to hide away with a book.

Lunch under the lapa. Photo ©Marita van Rooyen

Find Nomad African Spa on the corner of Sanderburg and Jan Jonker Street in Windhoek, or contact the team at 081 494 5005.