Kalahari Anib Lodge

90% (51 reviews)

Full review Our view Geographics Food & drink Children Wildlife sightings Communications Health & safety Activities Extras

Kalahari Anib Lodge: Our full report

Kalahari Anib Lodge is situated 24km east of Hardap, along the C20 towards Stampriet, and is a friendly oasis ...

... in the heart of the southern Kalahari. It is a relatively large lodge, often appealing to groups as it has 51 rooms, but makes a nice overnight stop, either at the beginning or the end of your trip, especially if you are way to or from Fish River Canyon.

This is a sister property to the much smaller Kalahari Farmhouse, which is around 25km west in the town of Stampriet.

Driving up to Kalahari Anib Lodge along the gravel driveway you pass through a classic vegetated Kalahari environment and you should keep a look out for resident wildlife, grazing by the roadside along the way.

The lodge itself sits behind a beautiful front garden, filled with a multitude of colourful flowers, green lawns and tall shady trees. It is a relaxed and comfortable lodge with plenty of lounging areas and lots of helpful staff. The lodge had a complete refurbishment in 2016 and everything here still feels very new.

Although groups are frequent visitors here, they have made an effort to try and make sure individual travellers feel welcome too.

The 32 standard rooms sit around three sides of a courtyard, all-facing into the garden with a large swimming pool in the centre. Whereas the 29 comfort rooms are set slightly further away from the main area, down a network of pathways, where you will also find guest parking and a second pool.

All of the bedrooms in both areas have private verandahs complete with a small sofa and a hanging ‘egg’ chair. The comfort rooms are semi-detached, as they are built in blocks of two or three with a dividing wall separating the verandahs, whereas the standard rooms are terraced and built in one long block. What you will find inside each room type differs very little, however the comfort rooms are slightly larger. They are decorated in neutral creams and browns with double or twin beds, surrounded by mosquito nets. Tea and coffee making facilities can be found in one corner and there is plenty of space for hanging clothes or storing luggage. Each has an en-suite bathroom complete with a shower, flush toilet and washbasin. Where the standard rooms look towards the swimming pool, the comfort rooms have in, our opinion, a nicer outlook- towards small dunes and some can see a small waterhole which is sometimes frequented by eland and oryx. All rooms also have air-conditioning and safes in the room.

Making up the bulk of the main area is the huge reception and curios shop – very well stocked to pick up some souvenirs! Next to this is a large restaurant, which considering there could be up to 120 guests staying here at any one time, it would have to be. It features large windows on three sides, helping to bring the outside in and tables are located both inside and on a deck outside. There are also some comfortable seating areas and a number of large fireplaces in order to help heat this large room on chilly winter mornings and evenings. Overall it has a stylish, bright and cool feel, assisted by the wooden floors and interesting light features.

In a separate room the bar is a nice place to relax. There's another fire here in a small sandpit so you can sit around the fire’s warmth with your feet in the Kalahari sand!

As mentioned earlier Kalahari Anib Lodge has two swimming pools, one larger than the other, but both beautifully clear with plenty of loungers, and both open to all guests. One is situated close by the standard rooms and another close to the comfort rooms.

Activities available during your stay here include a morning nature drive on the Kalahari Anib Lodge's private reserve. They can also offer sundowner drives, as well as guided and unguided walks of various lengths. They have plenty of vehicles and so can take out up to 80 guests at one time. The lodge also has a number of e-bikes available to take out on trails around the grounds which we imagine would be a novel way to explore the landscape.

On a previous visit, before the re-vamp, we drove out with a very knowledgeable guide. He stopped at regular intervals to point out interesting things, such plants that were originally used for traditional medicines and are now commercially used in pharmaceutical drugs. You may come across a variety of birds such as the sociable weaver bird, ostriches, white-quilled korhaan, pale chanting goshawks and black-shouldered kites.

Our view

Overall we found the Kalahari Anib Lodge had a lovely buzz to it and the staff members were friendly and very helpful. Although it is a fairly big lodge, it still manages to be cozy and we found it extremely welcoming – and the new renovations lend a fresh and well thought out design. The service was good, there was always someone around who was ready to assist guests or answer questions.

Tom Morris

Country manager: Namibia

Geographics

Location: Southern Namibia, Namibia
Ideal length of stay: 1-2 nights
Directions: Kalahari Anib Lodge is situated 24km east of Hardap, along the C20 towards Stampriet,
Accessible by: Self-drive

Food & drink

Usual board basis: Bed & Breakfast
Food quality: We didn't get to sample the food on our last visit in April 2018, but on previous visits the meals were delicious! They served good sized portions, which were well presented and there was a nice variety of game meat and plenty of fresh vegetables.

Kalahari Anib Lodge happily caters for vegetarians and with advance notice can accommodate various dietary requirements. With young children the lodge is flexible with meal times and will even make special meals - but parents must let the lodge know in advance.

Breakfast is served in a buffet style with a variety of fruits, cereals, toast and preserves as well as fresh-baked bread and a cooked breakfast. Fruit juices, tea and coffee are also available.

Lunch is usually a light meal such as a salad or sandwiches (at an extra cost) which can be chosen from an a la carte menu. Dinner is then usually a buffet.

On a previous stay we found that the staff were always very friendly and attentive. The assistant managers and various team members made a point to stop by each table to enquire if the guests needed anything. The chef also came by the individual tables during desert to introduce himself and ask how the dinner was, which was a lovely touch.
Dining style: Individual Tables
Dining locations: Indoor and Outdoor Dining
Further dining info, including room service: No
Drinks included: Drinks are not included, they are charged at an extra cost to be paid directly at the lodge.

Children

Attitude towards children: Yes, child friendly
Property’s age restrictions: None, accept children of all ages
Special activities & services: There are no special activities specifically for children, however the lodge is flexible – families with young children can request to do shorter activities. Special kids meals are also available on request.

The staff at Kalahari Anib Lodge seem very child-friendly, and explained to us that they often make big efforts to make children feel welcome and comfortable. They also have 5 family rooms.
Equipment: Kalahari Anib Lodge has two cots and two high chairs for children. There are also four family comfort rooms with varying numbers of beds in each, one even has bunk beds.
Generally recommended for children: Yes
Notes: Though Kalahari Anib Lodge is not specially geared towards children, they try hard to be flexible, varying the length of the activities for children, and the meal times. They also allow children age 2+ on game drives.

Our travellers’ wildlife sightings from Kalahari Anib Lodge

Since mid-2018, many of our travellers who stayed at Kalahari Anib Lodge have kindly recorded their wildlife sightings and shared them with us. The results are below. Click an animal to see more, and here to see more on our methodology.

Zebra

75% success

Oryx

71% success

Wildebeest

67% success

Giraffe

62% success

Eland

50% success

Meerkat

30% success

Aardvark

0% success

Brown Hyena

0% success

Cheetah

0% success

Leopard

0% success

Pangolin

0% success

Spotted Hyena

0% success

Communications

Communications: There is WiFi at the bar and in the restaurant area, up to 100mb is free and after this you can pay for extra data.
TV & radio: The lodge has DSTV (Satellite television) in the bar area.
Water supply: Borehole
Water supply notes: Each chalet has flush toilets, hot and cold running water.

Health & safety

Malarial protection recommended: No
Medical care: The nearest hospital is in Mariental, which is approximately 30km away.
Dangerous animals: Low Risk
Security measures: There is always a security guard posted at the entrance gate to Kalahari Anib Lodge. All of the guests are signed in and then at night the gate is also locked.
Fire safety: Kalahari Anib Lodge does not have fire extinguishers in the rooms, though there are some strategically placed around the lodge's main areas.

Activities

4WD Safari
Guided walking safari
Mountain biking
Self-guided walking

Extras

Disabled access: On Request
Laundry facilities: Yes -there is a laundry service for guests staying a minimum of two nights,
provided the items are handed in on the first day. This is charged as an additional extra, direct at the lodge.
Money: No currency exchange facilities are available. There are safes in every room.
Accepted payment on location: Visa and Mastercard are accepted for card payments whilst South African rand and Namibian dollars are accepted currencies for cash payments.