Dabis Guest Farm: Our full report

Dabis Guest Farm is situated about 10km north of the small town of Helmeringhausen, surrounded by a limestone ...

... plateau in the south of Namibia. It has been owned by the Gaugler family since 1926 and is now run by the fourth generation, Michelle and Jorg Gaugler. Dabis is still a working sheep farm and has achieved a good balance between welcoming guest and operating as a sheep farm. When staying here only one set of travellers are booked at a time, so you may find that it is just you and your party booked in. This is to ensure maximum personal attention to each visitor.

Dabis Guest Farm has seven simple but comfortable farm-style twin-bedded rooms with en-suite showers and flush toilets. One of the rooms has a bath. The rooms are very basic and are sparsely decorated but clean and comfortable. Each has a little sitting area, a dressing table and towels and small guest soaps are provided. The rooms do not have fans, air-conditioning or mosquito nets, instead the windows are covered with a gauze screen, as is the front door, which means that visitors can leave these open without having any concerns about insects. Outside each room, on the veranda, each room has its own sitting area.

The main building at Dabis, which is also Michelle and Jorg's own house, comprises of a small lounge and dining area. There is no bar, but drinks are available and kept in their kitchen. The garden has beautiful green lawn with big trees providing lots of shady areas to relax under.

There is a tennis court with rackets available should you want to have a game – which is fairly unusual to find at a guest farms in Namibia – and also a swimming pool here. However, the real highlight of most visitors' time here is the farm drive, where Jorg will share his knowledge on the area and explain to you how the farm works. These drives typically last for an hour or two and really are interesting as they allow the visitor to get a much deeper understanding of farming in this arid land. The farm is self-sufficient and Michelle and Jorge use home grown produce to create delicious meals for the guests.

Our view

Dabis Guest Farm is one of our favourite places to stop between Luderitz and the Namib Naukluft National Park. The farm has a very welcoming atmosphere and on our last visit, in June 2011, we felt very at home here. Michelle and Jorg do their best to make sure that your stay comfortable and enjoyable, and they made delicious meals, mainly prepared from farm produce.

Sabina Hekandjo

Namibia expert

Geographics

Location: Southern Namibia, Namibia
Ideal length of stay: One or two nights is ideal to stay at Dabis
Directions: Dabis is situated 10km north of Helmeringhausen on the C14 towards Maltahöhe. From the turnoff it is about another 7km along a farm road to the farmstead.
Accessible by: Self-drive

Food & drink

Usual board basis: Half Board
Food quality: Dabis Guest Farm offers very good farm style cooking. For dinner on our last visit we had lamb stew with rice, beetroot salad and butternut. Delicious!

Breakfast is a simple affair. Cereal, yogurt, juice, fresh baked bread, cheese, salami and of course, tea and coffee. Fried eggs are available too.

Tea/coffee and cake is served in the afternoon. We had freshly baked banana bread with real butter.
Dining style: Group Meals
Dining locations: Indoor and Outdoor Dining
Further dining info, including room service: No room service are included
Drinks included: No drinks are included. Soft drinks cost between N$7 – N$9. Beer is approx. N$15 and wine anything between N$35 and N$92

Children

Attitude towards children: Dabis Guest Farm is family-orientated and children are very welcome
Property’s age restrictions: No age restriction
Special activities & services: None
Equipment: A highchair is available.
Generally recommended for children: Yes
Notes: Children will love the farm drive!

Communications

Communications: The area has weak mobile phone reception; there are no phones in the rooms or internet facilities.
TV & radio: None

Health & safety

Malarial protection recommended: No
Medical care: The closest doctor is about 250km away but the farm has an airstrip about 15km away for emergencies.
Dangerous animals: Low Risk
Security measures: None
Fire safety: There are fire extinguishers outside the rooms

Activities

4WD Safari
Self-guided walking

Extras

Disabled access: Not Possible
Laundry facilities: Available at an extra charge
Money: There are no safety deposits in rooms and currency exchange is not possible and traveller's cheques not accepted.
Accepted payment on location: Cash only is accepted