A lion’s call rumbling through the starry night and the whooping cries of hyena merge with dreams at Gondwana Namibia’s ‘Ekipa’ pod on the outskirts of Etosha National Park.
For some, it takes a while before you let yourself succumb to Ekipa’s luxury, like climbing into a hot bath on a cold night and slowly feeling your body warm up with blissful abandon. For others, it’s a quick dive into another realm. However long it takes for the transition, once you allow yourself to submerge, there is no turning back. The feeling washes over you . . .
There’s no denying that I was not in my best frame of mind after bouncing along a corrugated road in the park for a few hours. That would, however, soon change as we turned into the Etosha Safari Lodge’s gates, received a warm welcome and drove up the winding brick road to the lodge’s entrance. There the Ekipa’s concierge awaited us with the private Ekipa game-viewer to take us to our new and majestic home.
Perched on a hill, the double-story Ekipa pod, one of Gondwana’s treasured Secret Collection, has an expansive view stretching over the golden-green mopane woodland as far as the eye can see. Inspired by the textures and shapes of Africa, it hums with a beat from the heart of the continent.
We eagerly stepped into our modern and intriguing home with its smile of a swimming pool, every mod-con we could wish for, a well-stocked fridge and drinks cabinet, and treats galore. Every surface spoke the language of the Africa realised in fabric, carving and colour.
After we had washed off the dust from the road, deliciously anointed ourselves with naturally-scented body cream and selected drinks from the wine-cooler, we sat back as the landscape shimmered in the late afternoon light. When the sun started to dip in the sky, our personal Ekipa chef arrived to light the barbeque on the deck and lay out our snack platter. We toasted the setting sun while our meal sizzled on the fire and delectable sauces simmered invitingly, to be followed by Amarula ice-cream and a selection of fruit and cheese. As we waved the chef goodnight with big smiles and satisfied stomachs, we sipped on a matured red wine and ruminated on our good luck to find this Etosha treasure, the Ekipa.
The well-chosen name celebrates the ekipa, a valued item of jewellery in the Owambo culture of northern Namibia. Passed down through the generations, from grandmothers and mothers to daughters as a special heirloom, the decorated carved-bone pieces of jewellery, round, oval or rectangular in shape, are worn with traditional dress at special occasions and are a symbol of prosperity and good fortune.
There was a lot to take in all at once and our eyelids were growing heavy with the day’s travels and the feeling of peace and comfort that had begun to wash over us in waves, lapping at the shore of our being, urging us to rest and soak up our surroundings to the full. And so, we did. We slid into the deep sleep of contentment.
At first light, with large, tall glass doors opening onto a balcony overlooking the landscape, the Ekipa provided the perfect wake-up call and we happily opened our eyes to the first hints of sunrise tinging the horizon. The sun peeped shyly in the centre of our view and then began to boldly rise into the sky. Already feeling like royalty, it felt like it was part of the special treatment reserved especially for us. A
morning show from the comfort of our emperor-sized bed. A soft breeze picked up and the butterfly-shaped mopane leaves danced with a life of their own, whispering secrets from the land of plenty.
The day begged relaxation and who were we to argue. Eventually, after hot coffee and as the morning slowly unfolded, we made our way downstairs to find delicious morsels in the fridge that we hadn’t discovered before or to notice a book or decoration that caught our attention as we made the Ekipa home.
We tried out the djembe drums, braved the cool water of the swimming pool, took an outside shower and savoured the salads and tidbits from the meat and cheese platters in the fridge as we lay back on the couch or on the outside deck chairs, enjoying time out from the busyness of life.
After lunch, our guide arrived in the Ekipa Landcruiser to take us for a private game drive in the national park. Etosha put on a fine display. Giraffe loped across the road, zebra glanced at us, springbok pronked – leaping into the air, a lioness sunned herself in the long grass, wildebeest grunted, elephants syphoned water and then moved like giants towards us, a cheetah sipped cautiously then slunk away. As we explored the waterholes, Etosha’s animals slated their thirst and then moved off as new animals arrived. It was a mesmerising stage, courtesy of Mother Nature. And we marvelled at her beautiful children.
The sun was already descending in the sky when we made our way back. Our excitement increased with every kilometre as we neared our attractive home. We stepped into the African jewel to relax, throw off shoes, lazily stand in the spacious shower and toast the day as the sky turned into the deep oranges and crimsons of a magnificent African sunset.
Our mouths were already watering as we wondered what our chef would come up with that night and, as expected, he made his magic in the kitchen, putting out a marvellous mouthwatering spread fit for the occasion.
We paged through the guest book. Newly-opened at the beginning of the year, Ekipa had already attracted guests to celebrate birthdays, anniversaries and honeymoons. There were no specific dates that we wanted to celebrate. Our priority was twofold, to celebrate life and love. And that included our love for the beautiful and generous land, and our time on it. And we were doing just that, in style.
Like the treasured Ekipa, we chose to add value to the occasion of life.
We had another night of blissful peaceful sleep until the colours of the morning lit up the sky and we opened our eyes in awe to birdsong and sunrise. Then it was time for a hot cup of coffee, savouring the landscape, and another day living an African dream . . .
(‘The only man I envy is the man who has not yet been to Africa for he has so much to look forward to.’-Richard Mullins))
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