Waterberg Wilderness - ONE Namibia

This is a stunning environment and most unique setting, simply put, it is beautiful! The bird-life is amazing and the overall state of the lodge / park is special and well-kept. The staff is friendly enough and the rooms (we stayed at Valley Lodge in their semi-tented accommodation) were neat and clean, although quite sparsely furnished. The view from the restaurant is stunning. The food was not great and no attention is given to detail. For the price you pay, I would have expected more … from the overall service, food quality / presentation and staff attentiveness. We did the fairly pricy Rhino Tracking Walk and the guide offers no additional quality e. G. Extra information on birds, trying to see other wildlife or anything, he just radios the guy that stays with the Rhinos and walks there. He even took a smoke-break at a stage. He seems uninterested. I got the feeling this lodge is meant for foreign tourists and not people used to travelling in these parts of the world. The central booking system is also quite strange and rigid, you give your payment details and receive a confirmation but then has to pay on departure. When booking an activity, rather do so at the lodge because once done through central reservations they don't allow you to change or cancel although they did assist us after a long debate.

Stayed at the Andersson campsite — nice little campsite in the forest with a separate toilet and shower for each campsite. Each campsite also has a sheltered table and brai area. The area is stunning with the Waterberg plateau being very different to other mountainous regions in Namibia. Everything was well organised at the camp — we booked the Rhino tracking, and with quite heavy rain in the morning, this was delayed but thankfully the rain settled and we were able to see the white rhinos on foot, a great experience! (these are guarded against poachers by armed guards so are used to a degree of human presence)

The campsite was magnificent. Bathroom good, one was very dirty but the other nice with hot water shower.
A honeybadger spiced up our life first stealing our trash bag before we managed to store it in the car as we had planned. Then it came back in the middle of the night and attacked the thrash can.
Okay, as some of us always wanted to see a honeybadger.

Our family camped at the wildness campsite for two nights. During this time, we did the rhino tracking and rhino drive activities, as well as enjoyed the pools and restaurant. This experience was once in a lifetime and the service was impeccable. Very highly recommended. Baie dankie!

We stayed at the Plateau Lodge and the Wilderness Lodge. Plateau Lodge was our favourite. Our own wee plunge pool and a gorgeous quiet room away from others with a view to die for. Alisha and Rajeev were our hosts in the dining room, they were outstanding and so was the food! Highly recommend, but book early. We booked a year in advance and got the last room.

We stayed at Waterberg Valley Lodge in September 2025. The location is amazing and they offer great activities. We did the Sundowner hike which was brilliant — a very special experience as it is done only per couple. We also did the rhino tracking by foot which was exhausting but worth it — we saw rhino and many other animals.
The tents unfortunately are not great. After a round trip through Namibia staying at several tented camps, these were the least satisfying. Unfortunately, safes are not provided so you either need to keep your valuables on you the whole time or locked in your car. There is also no fridge to store any drinks or food and no ships to buy any cool drinks. However, the restaurant is basically open around the clock (offering breakfast, lunch, coffee and dinner) to refresh. Food is okay.
All staff were very friendly and helpful.

I would (also, see other reviews), not recommend staying at this lodge as many facilities look tired and the Wifi in the central areas is inadequate, to say the least. Great views though and it is not due to lack of friendliness of staff (except at reception) that I rate this lodge rather poorly. Our bed was well made, the room was clean and ample hot water available. We even had an outdoor private plunge pool (that was not wel maintained). Dinner and breakfast options limited, not commensurate with the price we were paying and in comparison to other great lodges.
Time for a thorough renovation.

We have spent 2 nights at the campsite. Very nice environment surrounding the camp. Each campsite (for car wtih tents) has its own toilet, shower and wash-basin. Everything clean and functional. For washing dishes there is a separate sink. Hot water available. Also a few meters from the campsite was a decent pool.
You can do the walk/hike without a guide through the valley. There is also a hiking path focused on historical events from the early 20th century.
In the offer is rhino tour — perfect drive with guides, where you can see rhinos and other animals from a very very small distance.
Over all nice camp.
PS: Do not shout or try to scare honey badgers or porcupines, who can visit your garbage during the night. They are used to people and won't harm you, if you will not provoke them.

Staying in the one-bedroom cottages at Valley Lodge was a great experience. They make small fires for each cottage to heat up the water every morning and night. The view is amazing, the food is delicious. The area is remote but well worth travelling to. Self-guided Hikes in the area was a rare opportunity in Namibia and the history path allowed us to learn about the 1904 battle with the Herero and ensuing genocide through well-documented posters along the trail located on the ground of the battle itself.

Great view on the mountains from the rooms and the restaurant. Location is amazing. Bathroom can be improved, but overall it's ok for few nights.
You can't miss the rhino drive, one of the greatest experiences in Namibia, the guide was super professional and gave us an unforgettable game drive.
Recommended.

We stayed a couple of nights at Valley Lodge, on the way from Etosha back towards Windhoek. It is the minimum time to enjoy some walks in the area. We had a sedan car, and the road to Valley Lodge was just about managable; needs some attention.
The room was spacious and clean, plenty of hot water. The furthest rooms (8-9) are down a longish gravel path with steps, but staff are quick to help with bags.
The best thing about camp is the view from the dining deck. It faces west into the escarpment, so perfect for sunsets and also for seeing the red cliffs lit up by the rising sun.
Walked one self-guided trail, Andersson, which was enjoyable — plenty of shade and birdlife. And did the guided plateau walk, which includes a bit of a scramble. Good NWR guide, David, who explained the natural history well, and also will talk about the events in the area of 1904-1908 if asked. The information boards are very well done and useful to read. Other guests said that the rhino tracking was a much more demanding walk.
Staff were all really nice, esepcially Elise in the restaurant.

We had quite the adventure staying at Waterberg Wilderness campsite. Unfortunately, we were not able to get through the muddy gravel road with our city car so we had no option but to turn around thinking that we were not going to be able to stay at the campsite after all. However, when we called the campsite to tell them this, we found a solution! We parked our car on a farm by the road and were then picked up by one of the managers of the estate who very generously took the time out of his busy day to enable us to be able to visit the Waterberg after all. We are so incredibly grateful for the kindness and generosity shown to us by Hans Kurz and his staff. We felt incredibly welcomed, well looked after and accomodated and are very grateful for the exchanges we were able to share. Because of his kindness towards us, we were able to see the incredible nature of the Waterberg and spend a very nice time at their “Andersson Campsite”. The next morning, we did the plateau hike which was an amazing adventure and the perfect activity for people who like being out in nature (if you’re lucky, you might get to see giraffes and rhinos like we did). We can really recommend this campsite to anyone who is thinking about traveling to the Waterberg. It’s facilities are perfect for camping, the sanitary houses are clean, the staff are friendly and helpful and the surrounding nature is absolutely beautiful.
Thank you so much for the incredible memories we made with you!

After our soaking in our roof tent we decided to upgrade to the Waterberg Wilderness Lodge rather than stay in the campsite.
We had an enormous room with a shower room large enough for a rugby team. The room was nice and cool with a sitting area out front.
The food was excellent and we enjoyed a plateau walk and rhino drive. We also did a number of unguided walks in the reserve which was teeming with insect and birdlife.
It was the most expensive part of our holiday, but on the whole was worth the upgrade.

I stayed one night at the camping place and asked the other day if there was a room available at the village lodge. So I spend the other night there.
Both nights were amazing. The bathrooms were very clean.
The staff were super kind and always available for concerns, requests and changes.
The guides at the tours taught us so much about the area Waterberg.
All in all, it was a perfectly amazing stay, and I will be back next year.

We’ve been on the campsite so can’t tell anything about the lodge.
But the guided rhino track with our guide Wesley was just amazing!
So many interesting and unique information about these beautiful animals. After spending several time at watching the rhinos Wesley even tracked two giraffes with us ☺️🙏
Highly recommended!

We spent 4 nights at the Waterberg Plateau Lodge at Christmas. We had an unforgettable experience. The game drive to see the rhinos was particularly beautiful. It was also very nice to go hiking alone. We were also very impressed by the landscape, especially the view from the plateau. We took lots of photos. The food was excellent. The staff were very friendly and accommodating. Our accommodation (No. 4) had a fantastic view of the savannah. It was no problem for us that there was no air conditioning or minibar. We could always get warm water in thermos flasks or cold water in drinking bottles from the restaurant. We felt very comfortable! Thank you for the great experiences that we will remember fondly. We will definitely come back!

The lady at the gate told us we have to pay at the reception 200 meters from the campsite. And there is also a restaurant. Well it appears to be 500 meters as the crow flies, uphill. And we are no crows but old people and it is 40 degrees. At the reception they say we are too late to make reservations for the restaurant and we can only pay tomorrow. So we walk to the restaurant and ask there. Here is at last a friendly staff member: Alice. She askes the kitchen and yes, they are willing to cook for us!
So why can the other staff members not give accurate information? Later we enjoy a delicious dinner. Thanks Alice!
Without extra excursions there is nothing to see here. We better went to the NWR site nearby.