Ongula Village Homestead Lodge

Situated in the heart of Owamboland, a stone throw from Ondangwa north of Etosha National Park, you are invited to experience our local traditions! Built alongside a live homestead, 4 luxury Rondawels (African-style round huts) accommodates 8 guests offering exclusivity and the luxury of home, while participating in local chores, delighting in local culinary dishes and drinks and learning local arts and crafts. This is your introduction to our world and life-style!

Q Rooms

Welcoming you to the Owambo way-of-life and traditions is a private and personal experience which cannot be shared with masses of guests at one time. For that reason Ongula Village Homestead Lodge has opted to keep its operation small and exclusive.

Consequently, we currently offer five Rondawels, (African- style round huts), 4 Rondawels with 2 twin beds, and 1 Family Rondawel offers 2 Twin Beds, 1 Double bed. In the style of traditional African round thatched bungalows, which have been built and furnished to extremely high standards to accommodate our Guests in style and comfort. All units are uniquely decorated and equipped with en-suite facilities (shower only), tea/coffee station.

The five Rondawels accommodate a maximum of twelve Guests in total, ensuring that everyone will effectively receive one-to-one attention during the daytime activities, and the privacy of high-standard accommodation and facilities during the night, with the emphasis on fantastic value for money!

The lodge caters for campers with 5 Campsites, terraced and leveled with clean sand, shared ablution facility, electricity points, running tap water and shades. 2 Volunteer Yurts newly added to cater for Voluntourism, each equipped with two bunked beds and lock-up facilities. The cozy and appealing reception building hosts a Dining room and a Bar.

Five Luxury Rondawels
Decorated and furnished with a unique fusion of locally produced artefacts, quality modern equipment and facilities.

Twin beds
En-suite shower facilities
Tea/coffee station
Mosquito nets
Gauze sliding doors, allowing you to sleep with your glass sliding door open at night
Private verandah, screened from the Homestead

Q Facilities

Ongula Village Homestead Lodge

We offer you a variety of Ovawambo traditional cuisines, the food is prepared with the best and freshest hand-picked ingredients in all of Ovamboland. We also offer lunch packs and a custom-made breakfast at your request.

Bar, Dining and spacious Lounge area - where Guests can meet, relax and discuss the day's activities over a home-cooked meal and/or a cool drink.

Television available in the Lounge area.

Boma - an open fireplace - for social gatherings before and after dinner

Traditional, authentic homestead next to the Lodge
Traditional Epata (open-air kitchen)

Wi-Fi

Q Activities

At Ongula Village Homestead we welcome you to experience our local traditions and life-style.

In the Homestead

Participate in the daily routine which has survived for centuries - tasks such as pounding mahangu, cooking on an open fire and herding cattle.
Learn how we prepare our traditional meals and drinks - some of which will be served to Guests during their stay.

Discover our traditional arts and crafts, such as basket-weaving and making clay pottery. Under the guidance of our experienced craftswomen, you can even make a souvenir to take home with you.

Nearby
Take a walk through the local village and surrounding area.
Visit neighbouring homesteads.
Enjoy a sundowner with the locals at a local shebeen (pub).
Attend the communal court proceedings.

Further Afield
Explore the beauty of our region.
Ondangwa open-air Markets.
Nakambale Museum (13 km southwest of Ondangwa) - a legacy of the Finnish Missionaries who brought Christianity to Namibia. Founded by Martti Rautanen (nicknamed Nakambale by the locals) whose house and contents comprise the museum. Fascinating guided tours of the house, the nearby church and cemetery are available.

The Pottery Project - Onzimbogo (underground cave studio). This is a seasonal communal enterprise which produces pottery on a local scale and enables the community to demonstrate and share the ancient local craft of pottery at Ongula Traditional Homestead. In a ceremony which takes place at the time of the new moon and before sunrise, clay is dug out of the oshanas (depressions in the ground) as they dry up towards winter. The clay is stored underground, and later used in an onzimbogo to make the traditional round pots. These are left to dry out for two weeks before being ceremonially baked in a pit under burning cow dung and tree bark - before finishing and decoration for use or for sale.

The Onankali Omahangu Paper Project. The region's low rainfall, high temperatures and poor soil are perfect for mahangu (or pearl millet), making it the staple food of the area. It is widely used in a variety of dishes and drinks. It also provides cattle feed and roofing thatch. In 2002, yet another use for this versatile subsistence crop was found - paper-making. With original funding from the British Department for International Development and assistance from the Rossing Foundation, a co-operative of twelve members now produces a range of attractive high quality paper products, silk-screened with images from the San Ekoka Art Group and marketed under the brand name Onankali. Visitors are welcome at the Onankali Trust Centre (55km south-west of Ondangwa on the B1) where the products are manufactured and sold. The Namibia Craft Centre in Windhoek and Amber Moon (Woermannhaus) in Swakopmund also stock the products.

The Oonte Bottle Recycling Project supports 450 orphaned and vulnerable children from the Ondangwa area. Here glass bottles are transformed into decorative objects and ornaments by the children to earn money which supports them.

The Eenhana Shrine is a moving tribute commemorating the many Namibians who sacrificed their lives in the struggle for the country's independence. During building work in 2005, a horrific discovery was made with the unearthing of a mass grave. Subsequent research revealed that it contained the remains of victims murdered by apartheid forces during the war. The shrine finally gives the victims the burial they deserved, in three massive tombs encased in black stone, forming the centre-piece of the memorial which was inaugurated by the President on Heroes' Day 2007. Visit and ponder awhile . . .

Occasional Opportunities
Special seasonal events such as the Marula Festival.
Traditional weddings.

Q Overview

Welcome to Ongula Village Homestead Lodge - . . . The Dawn of a New Era Beyond Dunes and Wildlife . . .

Situated a stone's throw from Ondangwa, north of the world famous Etosha National Park, Ongula Village Homestead Lodge offers an experience like no other in Namibia. Here you are taken on a cultural journey, exploring traditional Namibian practices, as you meander through fields of mahangu (pearl millet), rest next to Makalani palm trees and visit traditional homes encircled by palisade walls.

With the aim of discovering the beauty, simplicity and dignity of our traditional village way of life, we invite you to look beyond the familiar Namibia of dunes, wildlife and vast landscapes. Here you will discover the Owambo, a cultured people with a history rich in oral, social and visual elements.

As you interact with us by participating in the traditional daily activities of the homestead and its community, you might fleetingly glimpse fragments of your own world, centuries ahead of what you are doing. Watch in amazement at the simplicity and sometimes harsh reality of tradition finding its place within modern western society and offering the best of both worlds.

Find yourself at the heart of a hospitable, rural community whose humbleness and welcoming attitude to visitors is part of their traditional culture. Here you don't simply watch, you will be encouraged to join in and learn the art of basket-weaving, cooking on an open fire, cattle herding and clay-pot making. You can even create your own gift to take home with you.

Your accommodation, a traditional Rondawel (round thatched bungalow), offers all the comforts of home with a touch of luxury and attention to detail, ensuring your comfort amidst the unexplored wilderness and harsh beauty of your surroundings.

Q Driving Directions

Directions

241 KM from Etosha National Park to Ondangwa
Drive on the tarred road B1 from Etosha National Park to Ondangwa. 8 Km before Ondangwa turn right onto the tarred road M121 in the direction of Oniipa/Eenhana. Drive for 29km and then turn left onto the gravel road D3670 to Eembahu. You will see a sign post for Ongula Homestead Lodge. Follow the gravel road for 4 kms and then turn left onto a sandy road. After 300 meters you will find the Lodge on the right-hand side.

251 KM from Ruacana Falls Via Oshakati to Ondangwa:
Drive on the tarred road C46 from Ruacana via Oshakati to Ondangwa. Exit Ondangwa in the direction to Tsumeb on the tarred road B1. After 8 Km turn left onto the tarred road M121 in the direction of Oniipa/Eenhana. Drive for 29km and then turn left onto the gravel road D3670 to Eembahu. You will see a sign post for Ongula Homestead Lodge. Follow the gravel road for 4 kms and then turn left onto a sandy road. After 300 meters you will find the Lodge on the right-hand side.

Flying from Windhoek to Ondangwa:
Fly with Air-Namibia for 50 minutes from Windhoek Airport to Ondangwa Airport. From Ondangwa Airport travel towards Ondangwa town via the tarred road C46 until it joins the B1. Continue in the direction to Tsumeb. After 8 Km turn left onto the tarred road M121 in the direction of Oniipa/Eenhana. Drive for 29km and then turn left onto the gravel road D3670 to Eembahu. You will see a sign post for Ongula Homestead Lodge. Follow the gravel road for 4 kms and then turn left onto a sandy road. After 300 meters you will find the Lodge on the right-hand side.

Exiting Etosha National Park on the eastern part through Nehale Gate
Drive for 17 km to Omuthiya town, to join the B1 road road to Ondangwa. Drive for at least 103 km, and 8 Km before reaching Ondangwa turn right onto the tarred road M121 in the direction of Oniipa/Eenhana. Drive for 29km and then turn left onto the gravel road D3670 to Eembahu. You will see a sign post for Ongula Homestead Lodge. Follow the gravel road for 4 kms and then turn left onto a sandy road. After 300 meters you will find the Lodge on the right-hand side.

From Ondangwa
Depart from Ondangwa on the tarred road B1 in south/easterly direction, after 8 kms turn left onto the tarred road M121 in the direction of Oniipa/Eenhana. Drive for 29km and then turn left onto the gravel road D3670 to Eembahu. You will see a sign post for Ongula Homestead Lodge. Follow the gravel road for 4 kms and then turn left onto a sandy road. After 300 meters you will find the Lodge on the right-hand side.

NOTE: GUESTS ARE KINDLY ADVICE TO IGNORE ANY OTHER SIGNAGE THEY FIND THAT HAS ONGULA NAME UNTIL THEY REACH THE DISTRICT ROAD D3670