Here is a list of the activities we offer, in and around Barkhan Dunes Resort.

• Infinity Pool
• Farm/Sunset Drive
• Hiking and walking trails
• Birding
• E-Cycling
• Scenic Flights at Sossusvlei
• Stargazing
• Ubib Grotto - (Prehistoric Rock Paintings)

Farm Drive / Sundowner

The farm has a rich fauna and flora. At the main Building we have a resident Meerkat (des suricate), which just loves to be photographed by our guests.

On the drive you might encounter Mountain Zebra, Oryx, Gazelle, warthogs, horses, wild squirrels, and Bat-Eared Fox and Aardwolf ( Proteles cristata ) just to mention a few. As these are free roaming and migrating animals, we unfortunately cannot guarantee with absolute certainty which of these would be on the farm at the time of your drive, but you will definitely encounter some of them.

The drive ends at a beautiful secluded area where you can enjoy a glass of wine or an ice cold beer while the sky explodes into magnificent colours and the sun escapes across the horizon, truly an unforgettable experience

Hikes and Walking Trails

Barkhan Dune Retreat is surrounded by the Rant mountain range, a veritable natural geological marvel (gigantic rocks shaped by the climactic changes), which you can explore on foot (the dry river bed passes in front of the main building). These rocky formations will reveal stunning and eccentric surprises to the attentive observer.

There are the renowned hiking and walking trails at the Namib Naukluft Park, a short drive from Barkhan Dune Retreat

Birdwatching

For all our Guests who love our friends with feathers, Barkhan Dune Retreat has a great variety of interesting species to observe.

Visitors to Barkhan Dune Retreat will find no shortage of opportunities for ticking some of Namibia’s 699 bird species off their list. If you don’t have the book, we compiled a list of popular species you might encounter around the lodge or at the watering holes around the farm. These include the Rosy-Faced lovebird, one of Africa’s only parrots and other colorful species like the entertaining Cape glossy starling and many more.

• Verreaux’s Eagle
• Pygmy Falcon
• Rock Kestrel
• Helmeted Guineafowl
• Ludwig’s Korhaan
• Ruppell’s Korhaan
• Double-banded Sandgrouse
• Speckled Pigeon
• Cape Turtle Dove
• Laughing Dove
• Namaqua Dove
• Rosy-faced Lovebird
• Common Scimitarbill
• Acacia Pied Barbet
• Sabota Lark (Bradfield ssp)
• Rock Martin
• African Red-eyedBulbul
• Tractrac Chat
• Mountain Wheatear
• Yellow-bellied Eremomela
• Chestnut-vented Tit-Babbler
• Chat Flycatcher
• Common Fiscal
• Cape Glossy Starling
• Pale-winged Starling
• CapeSparrow
• Sociable Weaver
• White-browed Sparrow-Weaver
• White-throated Canary
• Lark-like Bunting
• Cape Bunting

Ubib Grotto - (Prehistoric Rock Paintings)

This remarkable archaeological site is called Ubib Grotto, named after the farm on which it is located. It is situated in the southwest of Khomas District, between Solitaire and Spreetshoogte Pass.

Ubib is a Nama language word, explained by some Nama speakers as masculine, meaning “handing the boy over”. Some other native speakers interpreted the word as “taking away”. Maybe Ubib could be described in the Nama language as the transition of boys from childhood to adulthood, becoming men and hunters like their fathers.

As tempting as it may be, there is no evidence to connect this cave and its paintings with such transition rites and no concrete evidence that this was the case. The pre-historic paintings in this cave are estimated as more than 2,000 years old, but no oral or written history goes that far back that tells us about their purpose.

Go on a guided 2.5-hour excursion to the cave and be mesmerised by this special place.

Explore the paintings on the wall, and you can journey back in time and imagine for yourself what may have happened in this grotto high up in the mountains.

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