Around these parts, if you haven't booked your trips at least 8-12 months ahead of time, you're already too late. Rewind to four months ago in July. Outside of rustic camping, I wasn't having luck finding a place in or around Sossusvlei for an October road trip with my parents. By chance, I managed to book two rooms at a winery, about 80km from the sandy dune headquarters after promising the booking agents my children would be fine sleeping on the floor.
WINE. In Namibia.
It's an odd concept to wrap one's head around: the perpetual lack of water, finicky arid soil, and the fact that South Africa gets all the attention for its famous wine, it might seem that Namibia can't hold it's own. Surprisingly, a few wineries have actually made names for themselves here, and that's a very nice feeling. When we checked into Neuras Winery, I noticed two things: one, concierge walked out to greet us almost immediately. Two, the entire place was fully booked by French tourists. After all, the French do know wine.
Once upon a time, back in 1894, a German gardener showed up to grow cereals and veggies to feed the Schutztruppe, aka the "protection force" when Germany colonized southern Africa 10 years prior. Let's call a spade a spade: the German military occupied the area and they needed to eat. Apparently this gardener was good at his job and succeeded in cultivating the land, relying on nearby cold water springs, a rare occurrence in the Naukluft Mountains. The land was handed down/bought out through the years, and in 2001, the first bottles of wine were produced. A famous wildlife conservation group named N/a'an ku se bought the property and integrated cheetahs, leopards, and brown hyenas into the landscape as well. Today, the Neuras Estate does just that: they make wine and manage wildlife. They currently have 5 cheetahs on the property, along with a few domestics: horses, geese, goats, and a peacock.
Of course, like all places in Namibia, the landscape is gorgeous. We took a sundowner "game drive" to nearby Honey Canyon. Once we reached the view point, our guide pointed to well-used foot trails where Hartmann mountain zebra "would be" had they actually not moved off the land in search of water. According to our guide, this canyon was named by the San who followed their own paths to locate bee hives. The canyon is surprisingly colorful, stuffed with brown-red commiphora plants (they have a camphor scented resin), tall yellow grasses, and dark brown twiggy herbs that are shaped like tiny mitre (pope) hats. Incidentally, the latter bloom a lovely green color when watered- so we snapped off a few twigs to see for ourselves. It worked.
After admiring the plants, rocks, and sunset, we stopped by a well hidden bat cave to see them fly out at night. There was a group already there descending the flimsy metal ladder with iPhone flashlights in hand. Ironically, their guide sat at the edge as he dangled his feet over the entrance, commenting how he never did, and never would enter the cave under any circumstances. Our guide enthusiastically agreed with him, and casually mentioned we'd be more than welcome to go down ourselves with nearly 100% darkness. Thanks, but been there done that. Needless to say, Deets was NOT pleased with any of us. A few bats flew out of the crevice and that was that.
As far as Neuras Estate goes, it's a great place for kids and adults. We ended up with a 3 bed room, so no one had to sleep on the floor. Our towels were gigantic and the toiletries were my favorite Namibian brand, Desert Secrets. No air conditioning, but the rooms were plenty cool with a fan to induce white noise for our snoring party of four. Neuras has animals, penned in the "Cuddle Corner" near reception, and there's a pool, but the kids spent most of their time hanging out by the pond which is surrounded by tall bamboo and low hanging trees filled with weaver's nests. It was considerably cooler there than any other shaded place. Whenever the kids weren't there, they were getting spoiled rotten with attention by the staff who took them into the kitchen, behind the bar, played with them, and answered every single question asked. This alone made the trip awesome.
Lastly, the wine. It's good. More than good, really. It was excellent. They were smooth and clean, and imminently drinkable. We signed up for a wine tasting and cheese plate (which we demolished) one afternoon, while the kids ran off to play. The only disappointing thing is their variety: they only bottle Shiraz and a triple blend (Shiraz, Merlot, and Petit Verdot). They have no whites, pinks, or bubbly, and the staff was uncertain of plans to make more. Plus, the bottles retail for more than I'd want to pay, compared to South African prices (we spend about 10-12 USD/bottle.) Each Neuras bottle sells for about N$250 (18 USD). No worries. We drank with enthusiasm and enjoyed quality family time down to the last drop. After all, "we are all mortal until the first kiss and the second glass of wine."
Stay here, drink here: http://www.neuraswines.com/
WINE. In Namibia.
It's an odd concept to wrap one's head around: the perpetual lack of water, finicky arid soil, and the fact that South Africa gets all the attention for its famous wine, it might seem that Namibia can't hold it's own. Surprisingly, a few wineries have actually made names for themselves here, and that's a very nice feeling. When we checked into Neuras Winery, I noticed two things: one, concierge walked out to greet us almost immediately. Two, the entire place was fully booked by French tourists. After all, the French do know wine.
Once upon a time, back in 1894, a German gardener showed up to grow cereals and veggies to feed the Schutztruppe, aka the "protection force" when Germany colonized southern Africa 10 years prior. Let's call a spade a spade: the German military occupied the area and they needed to eat. Apparently this gardener was good at his job and succeeded in cultivating the land, relying on nearby cold water springs, a rare occurrence in the Naukluft Mountains. The land was handed down/bought out through the years, and in 2001, the first bottles of wine were produced. A famous wildlife conservation group named N/a'an ku se bought the property and integrated cheetahs, leopards, and brown hyenas into the landscape as well. Today, the Neuras Estate does just that: they make wine and manage wildlife. They currently have 5 cheetahs on the property, along with a few domestics: horses, geese, goats, and a peacock.
Of course, like all places in Namibia, the landscape is gorgeous. We took a sundowner "game drive" to nearby Honey Canyon. Once we reached the view point, our guide pointed to well-used foot trails where Hartmann mountain zebra "would be" had they actually not moved off the land in search of water. According to our guide, this canyon was named by the San who followed their own paths to locate bee hives. The canyon is surprisingly colorful, stuffed with brown-red commiphora plants (they have a camphor scented resin), tall yellow grasses, and dark brown twiggy herbs that are shaped like tiny mitre (pope) hats. Incidentally, the latter bloom a lovely green color when watered- so we snapped off a few twigs to see for ourselves. It worked.
After admiring the plants, rocks, and sunset, we stopped by a well hidden bat cave to see them fly out at night. There was a group already there descending the flimsy metal ladder with iPhone flashlights in hand. Ironically, their guide sat at the edge as he dangled his feet over the entrance, commenting how he never did, and never would enter the cave under any circumstances. Our guide enthusiastically agreed with him, and casually mentioned we'd be more than welcome to go down ourselves with nearly 100% darkness. Thanks, but been there done that. Needless to say, Deets was NOT pleased with any of us. A few bats flew out of the crevice and that was that.
As far as Neuras Estate goes, it's a great place for kids and adults. We ended up with a 3 bed room, so no one had to sleep on the floor. Our towels were gigantic and the toiletries were my favorite Namibian brand, Desert Secrets. No air conditioning, but the rooms were plenty cool with a fan to induce white noise for our snoring party of four. Neuras has animals, penned in the "Cuddle Corner" near reception, and there's a pool, but the kids spent most of their time hanging out by the pond which is surrounded by tall bamboo and low hanging trees filled with weaver's nests. It was considerably cooler there than any other shaded place. Whenever the kids weren't there, they were getting spoiled rotten with attention by the staff who took them into the kitchen, behind the bar, played with them, and answered every single question asked. This alone made the trip awesome.
Lastly, the wine. It's good. More than good, really. It was excellent. They were smooth and clean, and imminently drinkable. We signed up for a wine tasting and cheese plate (which we demolished) one afternoon, while the kids ran off to play. The only disappointing thing is their variety: they only bottle Shiraz and a triple blend (Shiraz, Merlot, and Petit Verdot). They have no whites, pinks, or bubbly, and the staff was uncertain of plans to make more. Plus, the bottles retail for more than I'd want to pay, compared to South African prices (we spend about 10-12 USD/bottle.) Each Neuras bottle sells for about N$250 (18 USD). No worries. We drank with enthusiasm and enjoyed quality family time down to the last drop. After all, "we are all mortal until the first kiss and the second glass of wine."
Stay here, drink here: http://www.neuraswines.com/
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| Honey Canyon. Credit: Mark |
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| Honey Canyon, commiphora plant |
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| Zebra tracks, Honey Canyon |
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| Bats, Honey Canyon Credit: Mark
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| Exploring the pond, Neuras Estates |
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| Joshlyn, one of the many excellent employees at Neuras. Credit: Deets |
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| Peacocks lose their feathers every two weeks. Credit: Deets |
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