Old Traders Lodge is the luxury accommodation option at Erindi - the other options being self-catering chalets and camping. Facing a large waterhole, the atmosphere is a combination of colonial-style safari lodge and modern city hotel. A huge wooden deck runs the length of the building putting you on permanent game viewing alert as elephants, lions, rhino and the rest of the impressive Erindi game species passes by.

Accommodation is in huge chalets some with views of a smaller waterhole and the more luxury end having views of the main waterhole. All of them are decorated with impeccable taste and fitted to high five-star standards. The bathrooms are enormous and you have a private shaded patio from which to enjoy the wildlife. Meals are served buffet-style in the dining hall overlooking the waterhole.

Erindi is particularly well-suited to families being in a malaria-free area and the game guides are deft at entertaining the little ones. In addition to the standard game drives, Erindi has an extensive menu of activities making a two or even three night stay worthwhile.

The 70,000-hectare game reserve is stocked with over 10,000 animals including lion, leopard, cheetah, wild dog, elephants, black rhino, giraffe, hippo, crocodiles, wildebeest, oryx and manner smaller antelope, nocturnal predators and unique mammals like the elusive pangolin. Birdlife is also prolific on the plateau with over 300 species on record.

And with all this, the location couldn't be better. Erindi Private Game Reserve is an easy three-hour drive from both Swakopmund and Windhoek making it the perfect safari addition to your Namibian self-drive tour.

**Old Traders Lodge is currently being renovated**