Rather unique and very refreshing, that's Lake Oanob Resort
By Neil Digby-Clarke
It was back in 1994 that local Rehoboth businessman Christie Benade submitted to Government his tourism master plan for development of the area around Lake Oanob, the same time as the Windhoek Country Club was first mooted. Well, the powers-that-be chose to invest heavily in the Country Club, now an institution maybe but allegedly an expensive one for the nation's coffers; Christie Benade had to be satisfied with a 50 year renewable lease for 6,200 ha of state land around the water, the land having to be utilised for tourism purposes. But 14 years later he heads up - as the C.E.O. - the holding Company Acacia Oanob Ltd, which has some fifty shareholders. And the Resort has grown enormously and most successfully since those early days when the opening of a restaurant and bar served as the first trading post.
There are an extraordinary number of accommodation options available at Lake Oanob Resort; guests can either make a B&B plan in very pleasant en-suite double or family rooms, or rather choose to go self-catering in a number of luxury chalets. All the lodgings are close to the waterside for it is the lake which is very much the centrepiece of the resort. This lake, formed by the impressive Oanob dam with its 55 metre high wall, is a Namwater storage facility capable of holding 34 million cubic meters of water. At the time of writing it was close to capacity; a natural overflow outlet however ensures the complete safety of all visitors. Guests at the resort can therefore enjoy any number of waterborne activities including boating, rowing, canoeing and water-skiing whilst day visitors can bring in their own speedboats, rubber ducks and jet-skis, paying a set entrance fee for each category. There is a veritable abundance of camping spots too, thirty in all, some alongside the water, others not. All campsites have water, power, a lawned area and braai facilities too. Caravanners are also welcomed. Ablutions will be plentiful too, once another block under construction now is completed.
Landlubbers will very much enjoy the Game Park, with a choice of guided and self drive trails plus hiking too. An area of 2000 hectares has been game-fenced and is well stocked: Giraffe, Burchell's (Plains) Zebra, Oryx, Hartebeest, Blesbok, Impala and Springbok may all be spotted. Christie Benade and his charming Swiss-born wife Helena, married since 2005, are delighted to report that a second Giraffe foal has just been born in the Game Park. Christie is by the way regarded as a player of note and of much serious input within Namibia's burgeoning Tourism industry and is indeed on the Hospitality Association of Namibia (HAN) Executive Committee, representing the Guest Farms sector as their elected Executive member.
Tragedy was to strike the Resort though, in June 2007. At 3am on the morning of the 6th, a serious fire started in the Rustic Bar, incidentally that very first building erected in 1994, and spread extremely quickly throughout all the bar, restaurant and neighbouring infrastructure. Thankfully not a soul was injured, but the buildings were completely destroyed, in spite of the swift arrival of the Rehoboth Fire Brigade. But these Benades and their 26 local staff are made of pretty stern stuff; here's a quote from Helena. "Following the devastating fire of our restaurant and bar on that Wednesday morning, a new temporary kitchen and dining facility were immediately created at the Marina. The first guests were served breakfast there on the Saturday morning. And the birthday party booking for one Mr. Stoffberg was also successfully handled from there later in the day. Our Sunday lunch guests also enjoyed the new venue, just next to the water. We are still going to continue with all the planned and booked workshops. All this was only possible with the support of our staff and many friends. A special word of thanks goes to all our suppliers who stood up and helped us to reinstall all the much needed equipment." And that rebuilding programme has long, long since been finished; indeed what a tribute to all concerned.
Far away from the main reception and restaurant complexes lie several exquisite and private houses built almost on the water's edge and spaced far apart. This Resort Village, as Christie and Helena refer to it, offers folk the opportunity to make an investment in a totally different and wonderfully relaxing lifestyle. Plots of some 2,700 m2 house each individual property, which can be purchased outright or taken on a timeshare basis, available for between 6 weeks and three months use annually. These units, so very well designed, are proving very popular too. Another string to the Oanob bow is provided by their partnership with Namibia Commercial Aviation; NCA helped to construct the airstrip at the Resort and do fly guests in, sometimes even in a wonderful DC6 time-warp experience from Windhoek's Hosea Kutako airport. Most guests though arrive by road, with recent figures showing that locals outnumber international visitors by more than 3 to 1. A reflection on the thoughtfully special deals offered to Namibian and RSA residents. Last but not least, Helena is often busy hosting both workshop and conferences; workshops are held in a lakeside building whilst conferencing usually takes place in the restaurant complex. 40 business people can be accommodated. Well, it's little wonder then that folk often tend to stay for 3 nights; there is so much to do at Lake Oanob Resort!
FACT FILE
Lake Oanob Resort
PO Box 3381, Rehoboth, Namibia
Tel: +264 (0)62 522370 - Fax: +264 (0)62 524112
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: www.oanob.com.na
By road: The Resort is situated just outside Rehoboth, off the major B1 tar road. If approaching from Windhoek and the North, turn right onto the D1280 gravel road. From the South, turn left onto the D1237, also gravel. The resort is just 7 kms from either turn off. Distance from Windhoek is 90 km. Transfers from Windhoek can be arranged.
By air: There is an airstrip at Lake Oanob. It is gravel surfaced and 2 km long. GPS Coordinates: S 23º08'14.5" E 17º01'45.8" Elevation 1480 m (4855 ft)
Accommodation: 6 luxury chalets and 1 special suite (these are all self catering units). 6 double rooms and 3 family rooms. 30 camping sites.
Activities: Guided game drives, self drive 4x4 route, hiking in the game park, boat rides, water-skiing, Tube/Wake Snake, canoeing & rowing, hire of the floating pontoon boat 'Fish Eagle'.
Restaurant: Situated at the waterfront, the restaurant is open daily.
Rates: The charges for every type of accommodation, camping and catering options can be obtained simply by contacting one of the ladies at the reservations office.
It was back in 1994 that local Rehoboth businessman Christie Benade submitted to Government his tourism master plan for development of the area around Lake Oanob, the same time as the Windhoek Country Club was first mooted. Well, the powers-that-be chose to invest heavily in the Country Club, now an institution maybe but allegedly an expensive one for the nation's coffers; Christie Benade had to be satisfied with a 50 year renewable lease for 6,200 ha of state land around the water, the land having to be utilised for tourism purposes. But 14 years later he heads up - as the C.E.O. - the holding Company Acacia Oanob Ltd, which has some fifty shareholders. And the Resort has grown enormously and most successfully since those early days when the opening of a restaurant and bar served as the first trading post.
There are an extraordinary number of accommodation options available at Lake Oanob Resort; guests can either make a B&B plan in very pleasant en-suite double or family rooms, or rather choose to go self-catering in a number of luxury chalets. All the lodgings are close to the waterside for it is the lake which is very much the centrepiece of the resort. This lake, formed by the impressive Oanob dam with its 55 metre high wall, is a Namwater storage facility capable of holding 34 million cubic meters of water. At the time of writing it was close to capacity; a natural overflow outlet however ensures the complete safety of all visitors. Guests at the resort can therefore enjoy any number of waterborne activities including boating, rowing, canoeing and water-skiing whilst day visitors can bring in their own speedboats, rubber ducks and jet-skis, paying a set entrance fee for each category. There is a veritable abundance of camping spots too, thirty in all, some alongside the water, others not. All campsites have water, power, a lawned area and braai facilities too. Caravanners are also welcomed. Ablutions will be plentiful too, once another block under construction now is completed.
Landlubbers will very much enjoy the Game Park, with a choice of guided and self drive trails plus hiking too. An area of 2000 hectares has been game-fenced and is well stocked: Giraffe, Burchell's (Plains) Zebra, Oryx, Hartebeest, Blesbok, Impala and Springbok may all be spotted. Christie Benade and his charming Swiss-born wife Helena, married since 2005, are delighted to report that a second Giraffe foal has just been born in the Game Park. Christie is by the way regarded as a player of note and of much serious input within Namibia's burgeoning Tourism industry and is indeed on the Hospitality Association of Namibia (HAN) Executive Committee, representing the Guest Farms sector as their elected Executive member.
Tragedy was to strike the Resort though, in June 2007. At 3am on the morning of the 6th, a serious fire started in the Rustic Bar, incidentally that very first building erected in 1994, and spread extremely quickly throughout all the bar, restaurant and neighbouring infrastructure. Thankfully not a soul was injured, but the buildings were completely destroyed, in spite of the swift arrival of the Rehoboth Fire Brigade. But these Benades and their 26 local staff are made of pretty stern stuff; here's a quote from Helena. "Following the devastating fire of our restaurant and bar on that Wednesday morning, a new temporary kitchen and dining facility were immediately created at the Marina. The first guests were served breakfast there on the Saturday morning. And the birthday party booking for one Mr. Stoffberg was also successfully handled from there later in the day. Our Sunday lunch guests also enjoyed the new venue, just next to the water. We are still going to continue with all the planned and booked workshops. All this was only possible with the support of our staff and many friends. A special word of thanks goes to all our suppliers who stood up and helped us to reinstall all the much needed equipment." And that rebuilding programme has long, long since been finished; indeed what a tribute to all concerned.
Far away from the main reception and restaurant complexes lie several exquisite and private houses built almost on the water's edge and spaced far apart. This Resort Village, as Christie and Helena refer to it, offers folk the opportunity to make an investment in a totally different and wonderfully relaxing lifestyle. Plots of some 2,700 m2 house each individual property, which can be purchased outright or taken on a timeshare basis, available for between 6 weeks and three months use annually. These units, so very well designed, are proving very popular too. Another string to the Oanob bow is provided by their partnership with Namibia Commercial Aviation; NCA helped to construct the airstrip at the Resort and do fly guests in, sometimes even in a wonderful DC6 time-warp experience from Windhoek's Hosea Kutako airport. Most guests though arrive by road, with recent figures showing that locals outnumber international visitors by more than 3 to 1. A reflection on the thoughtfully special deals offered to Namibian and RSA residents. Last but not least, Helena is often busy hosting both workshop and conferences; workshops are held in a lakeside building whilst conferencing usually takes place in the restaurant complex. 40 business people can be accommodated. Well, it's little wonder then that folk often tend to stay for 3 nights; there is so much to do at Lake Oanob Resort!
FACT FILE
Lake Oanob Resort
PO Box 3381, Rehoboth, Namibia
Tel: +264 (0)62 522370 - Fax: +264 (0)62 524112
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: www.oanob.com.na
By road: The Resort is situated just outside Rehoboth, off the major B1 tar road. If approaching from Windhoek and the North, turn right onto the D1280 gravel road. From the South, turn left onto the D1237, also gravel. The resort is just 7 kms from either turn off. Distance from Windhoek is 90 km. Transfers from Windhoek can be arranged.
By air: There is an airstrip at Lake Oanob. It is gravel surfaced and 2 km long. GPS Coordinates: S 23º08'14.5" E 17º01'45.8" Elevation 1480 m (4855 ft)
Accommodation: 6 luxury chalets and 1 special suite (these are all self catering units). 6 double rooms and 3 family rooms. 30 camping sites.
Activities: Guided game drives, self drive 4x4 route, hiking in the game park, boat rides, water-skiing, Tube/Wake Snake, canoeing & rowing, hire of the floating pontoon boat 'Fish Eagle'.
Restaurant: Situated at the waterfront, the restaurant is open daily.
Rates: The charges for every type of accommodation, camping and catering options can be obtained simply by contacting one of the ladies at the reservations office.
Kommentar
Allgemeine Zeitung
Zu diesem Artikel wurden keine Kommentare hinterlassen