Weltevrede Guest Farm

The stay

Where the mountains meet the dunes

Weltevrede is a family-owned working farm on the C19, with the Naukluft Mountains on one side and the Namib Sand Sea on the other. The farmyard garden is genuinely green, which in this landscape is startling, and the pool sits in the shade of it.

There are twelve rooms, each separate from the next for privacy, air-conditioned and en-suite. They look out over a waterhole and away towards the dune sea — so you can watch game and birds from your own room rather than driving out for them.

Dinners and breakfasts are cooked and served by the farm, and there is a self-catering unit for families or groups who would rather do their own. Four campsites complete it, each with its own private ablution.

What to do

Why stay at Weltevrede?

For the waterhole, first. The rooms look straight out over it towards the Namib Sand Sea, so you can sit with a coffee and watch game and birds arrive without going anywhere. That is unusual on this road, where most lodges face a view rather than a water source.

It is a family-owned working farm, and the green garden around the farmyard — with a crystal-clear pool in the shade of it — comes as a surprise after a day on gravel.

The farm is a genuinely good base for moving under your own steam: walking, hiking, running and cycling on animal spoor, single track, jeep track, sand and rough ground. Birders do well here too, and they keep a dedicated birding list.

The honest part is distance. At 47 km north of Sesriem, Sossusvlei is a proper early start rather than a quick run. If first light at Deadvlei is the whole point of the trip, Sossus Dune Lodge is inside the gate and we will say so. Weltevrede suits a longer, slower stay with day trips out.

Before you book

• 47 km north of Sesriem and 37 km south of Solitaire, on the C19 — allow for the drive
• Dinners and breakfasts are cooked at the farm — ask us what your rate includes
• Two of the four campsites are shaded during the day — ask for one of those in summer
• Every campsite has its own private ablution, not a shared block
• The swimming pool is open to all guests, campers included
• Park entry fees for Sossusvlei are payable at the gate
• The farm sits at 1,150 m, so nights are cooler than you might expect

Activities

• Walking and hiking on animal spoor, single track and jeep track
• Running and cycling on sand and rugged terrain
• Birding — a range of species, including some rare ones
• Game viewing at the waterhole, from your own room
• Photography, in conditions that are good most of the year
• Stargazing, particularly from the campsites
• Day trips to Sossusvlei, Sesriem Canyon, Solitaire and the Naukluft

Things to see

• The Namib Sand Sea, a World Heritage Site, from the farm
• The Naukluft Mountains on the other side
• Game and birds at the farm waterhole
• Sossusvlei, Deadvlei and Sesriem Canyon, as day trips
• Solitaire, 37 km up the road
• Sunset from the rooms — the thing guests mention most

Facilities

• Farm dining room, with dinners and breakfasts cooked on site
• Swimming pool in the shaded farmyard garden
• Green garden around the farmyard
• Waterhole with viewing from the rooms
• Air-conditioning in the rooms and the self-catering unit
• Private ablutions at the campsites

Getting there

• On the C19, 47 km north of Sesriem and 37 km south of Solitaire
• GPS: -24.177700, 15.979911; elevation 1,150 m
• Gravel roads — allow more time than the distance suggests