After my camping experience in Zimbabwe, arriving at Gocheganas, a luxury lodge in Namibia, was a nice and welcomed change of pace! I was looking forward to having a bathroom in my room again! The atmosphere was quiet and serene when we checked in. My room was clean and beautifully decorated with a dark brown wood canopy bed draped with an off white netted fabric. I particularly liked the bathtub with a view looking out into the mountainous landscape.
What I most enjoyed was the outdoor area by the pool surrounded with a view of mountains and trees. When I had free time, I lounged in a chair and soaked in the nature around me. No fences, no boundaries, I felt so free and peaceful listening to the birds chirping.
At one point, I was reading and saw a couple of people get up while pointing down below. I stood up to see what the fuss was about. They had spotted a giraffe walking and some baboons playing near a pond.
I also had a couple of massages in my free time. The one that felt the best to me was the Indian head and neck massage. I love a good head rub! Who doesn’t?! The pool had a great view too, I took pleasure in looking out the window while swimming laps.
I would make sure to get a seat before the sun went down so I could watch the sunset with no obstructions. In these moments especially, I wished Daniele was here with me.
For our activity, we opted to do a game drive to see some animals. We left right from the lodge, which was convenient for our safari at dusk. It was hard to top what we saw in Zimbabwe, but we were pleasantly entertained with this relaxing drive exploring a bit of the grounds surrounding the lodge with the wildlife here. We saw ostriches close by, one crossing the road, which was really cool.
We saw some zebras from afar, wildebeests running, impalas, baboons and giraffes, but the highlight of this game drive was getting so close to rhinoceroses! First we stopped to snap some pictures near two adult ones.
Then we drove a bit further and stopped to hang out with an adult female rhinoceros and her baby. Our driver set up a table with some drinks and snacks. We relished in the fact that we were here having our happy hour watching the sunset with these rhinoceroses!
The temperature dropped quickly as the sun was setting. I was smart in bringing a pair of jeans, I changed quickly behind our safari jeep before we headed back to the lodge. On our drive back, we saw a group of giraffe in the distance in a line with beautiful colors of pink, purple and yellow as the backdrop. It would have been a cool shot, but unfortunately, it was too dark to capture with my I Phone 6!
I was happy with my time at Gocheganas, it was beautiful filled with tranquility and relaxation, which is sometimes challenging to get on the road! For that and for this opportunity I am thankful.
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