GocheGanas: Our full report

Situated on a hilltop overlooking spectacular landscapes GocheGanas, formerly known as Gochganas Lodge and ...

... Spa is only 29km south east of Windhoek. The name GocheGanas mean “Place of Camel Thorns" in the local Damara language. It is a luxury lodge offering a combination of wildlife, nature and spa experiences.

The 60km² GocheGanas nature reserve is located close enough to Windhoek that is works well as a first or a last night in the country. The lodge itself consists of 16 luxurious thatched suites. Each of these spacious, en suite rooms have large windows, which give uninterrupted views over the reserve. Central to the suite is a large and comfortable four-poster bed draped with mosquito nets. The rooms are also equipped air-conditioning, comfortable arm chairs, TV's with DVD/CD players, telephones, Wi-Fi and mini bars. The windows on three sides really help to brighten the room that could otherwise feel a little dark because of the dark wood furniture and wooden or stone flooring. As the rooms are dotted down the hillside from the main area, a few of the rooms are a bit of a walk so there is always a small minibus offering lifts.

15 of the rooms are known as Elegant Suites which have private timber decks and are furnished with twin or a king size bed. The en-suite bathrooms each have twin sinks, flush toilet, a sunken bath, indoor and outdoor showers.

There is one Crown Suite which sleeps a maximum of four people and works well as a family room or could work for two couples travelling together. .The master bedroom of the Crown Suite sleeps two and has an en-suite bathroom with a shower and bathroom under skylight plus an outdoor shower. Linked by a timber deck is a living and dining area with an en-suite bathroom and a sofa-bed that can sleep two others.

Gocheganas has a large restaurant with both indoor and outdoor dining areas, this building also contains the reception and curio shop. Further up the slope and offering panoramic views over the reserve is a circular bar with glass windows all around and also a sunken fire pit, perfect for stargazing at night. Both of these buildings are of a traditional thatched lapa design and although they can be a little dark inside the thatch and the stone flooring can help to keep them cool as well as blending more in with the natural surroundings.

Visitors also have a wide choice of spa and beauty treatments at the Wellness Village which has a heated indoor pool, an outdoor pool, various treatment baths and a granite cave sauna. Other facilities also include a gym, yoga sessions, facial and beauty treatments and a fruit and juice bar. The eleven specialist treatment rooms all have state of the art equipment. Various packages and wellness treatments are on offer and include, amongst others, a range of outdoor massages, detox sessions, personal training and nutritional consultations. If these ‘hands on’ treatments are not for you then perhaps the indoor or outdoor pools will tempt you for a cooling dip. We think that this offers a great, relaxing treat at the end of what might have been a tiring self-drive around Namibia.

Activities on the nature reserve include early morning and afternoon game drives, guided walks and visits to a stone age cave which was discovered in 2002. More and more of these caves are being discovered on the property and it is believed that natural springs on Gocheganas may have made this area a resting place for ancient travellers. When we last visited in April 2018 we thoroughly enjoyed our afternoon game drive. This is very much a managed reserve so the wildlife experience is quite different to that which you might experience in a large national park, like Etosha, however as long as you are prepared for that you can have some lovely wildlife viewing. Amongst what was a very green landscape at this time of year we saw giraffe, black wildebeest, ostrich and dueling waterbuck amongst others. But the icing on the cake had to be three white rhino we watched saunter out of the bush during our sundowner.

Our view

You should expect to be pampered and well looked after at GocheGanas. There are some very picturesque landscapes in this part of Namibia and the reserve also carries a variety of interesting wildlife species. It seems like a great spot for those that want to indulge themselves at the beginning or end of their time in Namibia.

Tom Morris

Country manager: Namibia

Geographics

Location: Windhoek, Namibia
Ideal length of stay: Although it is possible to spend just one night at GocheGanas, if you'd like to indulge yourself we recommend two nights here so that you can really be pampered.
Directions: GocheGanas is around 29km south east of Windhoek
Accessible by: Self-drive

Food & drink

Usual board basis: Half Board
Food quality: We enjoyed the food during our most recent stay at GocheGanas in April 2018, it is probably fair to say that we found it more on the hearty side than the fine dining side, however this is sort of meals that you could expect:

For breakfast there was a good buffet selection of fruits, cereals, breads, meat and cheeses, and you can then order hot items such as a choice of eggs, sausages, bacon or an omelet.

We did not have a chance to sample the lunch but we saw that on the menu was a starter of vegetable soup and then a choice of the either grilled T-bone steak with mushroom sauce and garlic butter served with rosemary potato and vegetables, pasta with cheese and vegetables or GocheGanas winter salad with chicken strips. For dessert there was an orange and chocolate tiramisu.

The dinner menu was either a starter of a creamy spinach soup or garlic mussels. Then there was three choices for main, these were a grilled eland steak with red wine sauce served with brown rice and mixed vegetables or pan fried pork with mustard sauce served with parsley potato and green beans, or the vegetable choice was fried brown rice with mushroom sauce and vegetables. The two choices for dessert were chocolate marble pudding with whipped cream or poached pear with ice cream.
Dining style: Individual Tables
Dining locations: Indoor and Outdoor Dining
Further dining info, including room service: Mini bars in each suite.
Drinks included: Drinks are not included however there is a couple of bottles of water in your room.

Special interests

Wellbeing: Gocheganas Lodge & Spa offers a wide choice of spa and beauty treatments at the Gocheganas Wellness Village. Facilities include a heated indoor pool, an outdoor pool, a granite cave sauna, yoga sessions, facial and beauty treatments and a fruit and juice bar.; See ideas for Wellbeing in Namibia

Children

Attitude towards children: Children of all ages are welcome at Gocheganas.
Property’s age restrictions: Children under the age of 12 cannot use the wellness centre. However, they can join all nature drive activities on the reserve.
Special activities & services: None
Equipment: None
Generally recommended for children: Besides the swimming pool there is not a whole lot to keep the children occupied, as well as this many guests will be hoping to enjoy peace and tranquility and the atmosphere may not suit young children.
Notes: Children should be supervised at all time because the pool is unfenced pool.

Our travellers’ wildlife sightings from GocheGanas

Since mid-2018, many of our travellers who stayed at GocheGanas 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.

Giraffe

100% success

Wildebeest

80% success

Zebra

80% success

Eland

63% success

Oryx

60% success

White Rhino

60% success

Aardvark

0% success

Leopard

0% success

Pangolin

0% success

Communications

Power supply notes: There is a generator back up.
Communications: There is WiFi in the main area as well as the rooms and there is also cellphone reception.
TV & radio: There is a television in each suite with a range of DSTV channels.
Water supply: Mains
Water supply notes: Each suite has flush toilets, and hot and cold running water.

Health & safety

Malarial protection recommended: No
Medical care: There are many doctors and hospitals in Windhoek, approximately an hours drive away.
Dangerous animals: Moderate Risk
Security measures: The reserve is fenced and there are guards on site guarding the entrance.
Fire safety: There are fire extinguishers in each suite and around the main area.

Activities

4WD Safari
Cultural excursion
Self-guided walking

Extras

Disabled access: On Request
Laundry facilities: Laundry is possible for an extra charge.
Money: A digital safe is provided in each room.
Accepted payment on location: Mastercard and Visa are accepted methods of card payment. South African Rand, Namibian Dollars, Euros and US Dollars are all accepted methods of cash payment.