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Lodge · Sossusvlei
Kwessi Dune
Kwessi Dunes sits deep in the NamibRand Nature Reserve, a 200,000-hectare private wilderness near Sossusvlei. Twelve thatch-and-canvas chalets face red dunes and craggy mountains, each with its own open-roof 'star gazer' room for sleeping under one of the darkest skies on earth. Days are spent quad biking, walking, horse riding or ballooning over the desert.
From R 18 440 per person sharing, per night
Lodge · Sossusvlei
Kwessi Dune
From R 18 440 per person sharing, per night
Enquire nowKwessi Dunes sits deep in the NamibRand Nature Reserve, a 200,000-hectare private wilderness near Sossusvlei. Twelve thatch-and-canvas chalets face red dunes and craggy mountains, each with its own open-roof 'star gazer' room for sleeping under one of the darkest skies on earth. Days are spent quad biking, walking, horse riding or ballooning over the desert.
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Kwessi Dune
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Kwessi Dune
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About the lodge
An overview of Kwessi Dune.
Kwessi Dunes sits deep in the NamibRand Nature Reserve, a 200,000-hectare private wilderness near Sossusvlei. Twelve thatch-and-canvas chalets face red dunes and craggy mountains, each with its own open-roof 'star gazer' room for sleeping under one of the darkest skies on earth. Days are spent quad biking, walking, horse riding or ballooning over the desert.
Highlights
- Twelve air-conditioned thatch-and-canvas chalets, each with a private open-roof star gazer room
- Set in the 200,000-hectare NamibRand Nature Reserve, an International Dark Sky Reserve
- Adventure-led activities including hot-air ballooning, horse riding, quad biking and guided desert walks
- Day trips to the Sossusvlei dunes and Deadvlei from camp
- Complimentary Sossusvlei excursion when staying three nights or more
You Should Know
- Children of all ages are welcome
- Children aged 6-18 receive 50% off the adult sharing rate when sharing with an adult
- Children aged 9 and younger require a privately booked vehicle
- Disabled access available on request
- Hot-air ballooning, horse riding, e-bike excursions and scenic flights are charged separately
The Details
Location
The NamibRand Nature Reserve lies in the Namib Desert close to the iconic Sossusvlei sand dunes, covering more than 494,000 acres of private wilderness. Mauve mountains rise behind rolling red dunes and pale grassland plains scattered with fairy circles. Strict rules cap the number of lodges and rooms permitted on the reserve, keeping the experience genuinely exclusive.
Reaching camp from Windhoek takes roughly four to five hours by road or one hour by light aircraft.
Accommodation
Twelve chalets are spread along the reserve, ten twin or double and two family units. Each has striped canvas walls, high thatched roofs and an en-suite bathroom with indoor and outdoor showers, plus a shaded outdoor veranda. Air-conditioning runs throughout, useful in the height of summer.
Every chalet has its own separate star gazer room, fully open to the sky, so guests can fall asleep beneath the Milky Way without leaving their bed. The lodge is entirely solar powered, with Wi-Fi, complimentary laundry and battery charging available.
Dining
The main area opens onto desert vistas through floor-to-ceiling glass, with a well-stocked bar, library and several lounge and dining settings. Mornings start at the camp fire with coffee, while lunches and dinners move between indoor tables and the poolside terrace depending on the heat.
Activities
Rather than chasing big game, days here are about the landscape. Guided nature drives and walks introduce the desert-adapted gemsbok, springbok, kudu, bat-eared fox, aardwolf and African wild cat that live on the reserve. Burchell's zebra are often seen against the red sand, and leopard and cheetah are present in small numbers.
Beyond drives, guests can try guided quad biking through ancient riverbeds, horse riding across the plains, night drives, sleep-outs in the star gazer rooms, hot-air balloon flights at dawn and scenic helicopter flights. Stargazing is a signature experience, NamibRand being one of the darkest accessible places on earth.
Price Includes
- Accommodation in an air-conditioned chalet
- All meals and selected beverages
- Daily scheduled activities including nature drives and walks
- Return airstrip transfers
- Guiding and park entry fees
You pay the lodge's rate, never a markup.
The same as booking direct
Rates and dates.
Per person sharing, per night. Final pricing depends on dates, room category and party size.
Valid until 9 Jan 2027
Peak / migration
1 Sept 2026 – 31 Oct 2026
All Inclusive - All meals, selected beverages, daily activities, round-trip airport transfers
Included. Complimentary travel insurance, with cancellation cover of up to $5,000 per person, on bookings paid by 25th September 2026. Details
R 18 440
per person · night
Shoulder
1 Nov 2026 – 19 Dec 2026
All Inclusive - All meals, selected beverages, daily activities, round-trip airport transfers
Included. Complimentary travel insurance, with cancellation cover of up to $5,000 per person, on bookings paid by 25th September 2026. Details
R 12 490
per person · night
Festive
20 Dec 2026 – 9 Jan 2027
All Inclusive - All meals, selected beverages, daily activities, round-trip airport transfers
Included. Complimentary travel insurance, with cancellation cover of up to $5,000 per person, on bookings paid by 25th September 2026. Details
R 18 440
per person · night
Rates are per person sharing, per night. A single supplement may apply for solo travellers. We offer a price match guarantee, just ask your safari specialist.
Current offers
Special offer available.
Long stay
Guests staying six nights or longer at one or a combination of Natural Selection camps in Namibia and Botswana receive a reduced nightly accommodation rate. Stays of 6 to 7 nights attract 10 per cent off in Green and Shoulder Season and 5 per cent in Shoulder High, High and Peak Season; stays of 8 nights or more attract 15 per cent off in Green and Shoulder Season, 10 per cent in Shoulder High and High Season and 5 per cent in Peak Season. A minimum of six nights must be booked at Natural Selection camps, and the reduced rates cannot be combined with any other special offer. Stays of three nights or more at Kwessi Dunes also include a complimentary Sossusvlei excursion, which is otherwise charged per person.
Honeymoon offer
For couples celebrating a wedding.
Documented from Natural Selection's 2026 rate sheet. A formal offer you can claim, not marketing language.
Honeymoon Special
50% off the nightly accommodation rate for one spouse
One spouse receives 50% off the nightly accommodation rate at all Natural Selection camps in Namibia (excludes Safari House) and all camps in Botswana. The offer is valid all year round for an unlimited number of nights and applies up to 12 months from the date of marriage. Proof of marriage is required. Note: per the December 2025 rate sheet update, Shipwreck Lodge was subsequently included in the honeymoon special for Namibia.
- Booking
- Valid up to 12 months from the date of marriage
- Proof
- Proof of marriage is required
- Combinable
- Not combinable with other special offers (these may not be combined)
Sourced from operator rate sheets and audited by our safari specialists. Terms and eligibility may change. Your specialist confirms all offers at the time of booking.
Family policies
Travelling with children.
What our safari specialists know about bringing children to Kwessi Dune, current as of May 2026. They plan family trips here all the time, so anything below that needs arranging, they will sort. For the bigger picture, see our guide to safari with children .
- Minimum ages
- Stay All ages · Game drives 10+ · Walking safari All ages
- Child rates
- Children of all ages welcome. 0–5 years free; 6–18 years 50% of per-person-sharing adult rate when sharing with an adult; 19+ adult rate. Children 6–18 charged at adult rates for services not included in the fully inclusive rate.
- Family rooms
- Family unit available.
- Care
- No dedicated kids' programme
- Exceptions
-
Families travelling with children aged 9 and younger are required to book and pay for a private vehicle for the duration of the stay (parties of 6–7 guests receive a private vehicle at no charge). NamibRand Nature Reserve Park Fee of NAD 125 per person per night (50% for children under 12) applies from 1 January 2026 in addition to the nightly rate; CCR fee is waived for children 0–5 but applies from age 6.
Imagery
A closer look.
Your specialist for this lodge
Safari Specialist - Southern Africa & East Africa
Knows Kwessi Dune backwards. Your direct contact from first enquiry to the day you come home.
"Jolene was simply extraordinary. She put together what became an absolutely incredible African trip for us in the space of barely three weeks, and from the outset her responsiveness, knowledge and genuine enthusiasm were exceptional. Nothing was ever too much trouble, responses were almost immediate, and she very quickly understood exactly what we were looking for, our expectations and the way we like to travel. More than simply being an expert at what she does, Jolene genuinely cared about making the trip special for us, and that came through in every aspect of her planning. What particularly impressed us was the flexibility with which she brought everything together. We already had some of our own arrangements in place, including international flights and staying with friends in Cape Town, but Jolene seamlessly incorporated those into the overall itinerary and still organised all the surrounding logistics and transfers. The safari component she designed was outstanding, taking us through Kruger, Victoria Falls, Chobe and the Okavango Delta, before finishing in Cape Town and the Stellenbosch wine region. Every part flowed beautifully and the lodges, experiences and logistics were exceptional. Just as importantly, Jolene stayed in contact throughout the trip at all the key moments, which made travelling so much easier. She would check us in for our internal flights and send through the boarding passes, confirm transfers the day before each pick-up, and make sure everything was in place before we ever had to think about it. That attention to detail, and the fact that she was always one step ahead, removed so much of the usual travel stress and allowed us simply to enjoy the trip. It was genuinely the trip of a lifetime, put together in an extraordinarily short timeframe, and Jolene deserves enormous credit for making it all happen. We could not recommend her highly enough."
Speak to a safari specialist
Let's design your stay.
From your first enquiry to the day you come home, one named safari specialist looks after every detail. We can handle the whole trip, not just the stay at Kwessi Dune: multi-country itineraries, internal flights, road transfers, tipping guidance, travel insurance, the lot. A safari specialist will be in touch within as little as 15 minutes during working hours.
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