Namibia’s NamibRand Nature Reserve is selling the stars and the unique experience of a light pollution-free night’s sky as Africa’s only International Dark Sky Reserve.
The Michelin-star gastronomical bible confuses me. It professes to review and “grant” stars to the best restaurants and chefs in the world. Yet, there are no Michelin Guide inspectors on the entire continent of Africa. And they make good food in Africa. Some restaurants and chefs are certainly Michelin-star worthy.
Even weirder though is a US-based organisation called The International Dark-Sky Association (IDA) that lists only two – yes, two – African reserves on its data base. How in heavens – pardon the very bad pun – can this be the case when Africa is literally the darkest continent?
NamibRand in Namibia is one of those two special reserves. It has had no man-made light for eons and the stars that light up the night sky seem to go on forever, like Orion never getting tired. The experience of being so close and almost three-dimensionally surrounded by this spectrum of the universe in the form of the brightest of stars will astound you.
“It takes your breath away. Till now, even living all my life in Namibia, I can still go outside and admire the sky and the Milky Way every night,” says Namibrand nature reserve warden Jessica Steyn. “It lets you feel at peace with yourself and your surroundings.”
An Official Status
In Namibia, the sky is increasingly being sold as an attraction to guests. However, many lodges still produce light pollution as they need to illuminate their facilities at night. You can still see the sky with the light pollution, but with limitations. At NamibRand, however, all lights shine down and not up, which reduces pollution. Steyn says most of the time it seems like there isn’t a single other soul living in the reserve.
While the !Ae !Hai Heritage Park in South Africa also made the list in 2019, NamibRand was the first site in Africa to have a dark sky certificate. “Much work was done to receive this award and to keep it,” says Steyn. “One has to do readings during the year, write a report annually to give feedback, and change a lot of the lighting so that no pollution occurs. The criteria are very strict.”
Nils Odendaal, CEO of NamibRand Nature Reserve, says there is a small but important distinction between their award and that of the !Ae!Hai Kalahari Heritage Park. “The latter is an International Dark Sky Sanctuary. We are the only International Dark Sky Reserve. I’d say we are the only Dark Sky Reserve, as this type of classification is relatively new – the IDA has only been classifying dark places for ten years now. There is little environmental awareness as to the negative effects of light pollution and a lot more advocacy is needed,” he adds.
It’s not only the night skies but also the emptiness and silence at NamibRand that is so appealing. “You are out in a unique landscape, and there is nothing except you and nature. Sometimes you see no animals and hear no sounds. And the sky lights up at night to a unique display you’d not experience elsewhere. Complete darkness and virtually no light pollution, NamibRand has some of the darkest skies in the world!” says Steyn.
Where to Stay
There are a variety of lodges and camp sites in NamibRand, all of which offer a spectacular view of the night sky.
Natural Selection’s Kwessi Dunes Lodge has telescopes that guests can use to view the night sky.
Getting There
It’s a trek to get to NamibRand but worth it! You have to fly into Namibia’s capital, Windhoek, and from there take a private chartered flight to Sesriem.
