The Desert Horse Inn

We recently spent two nights at Gondwana Collection's Klein-Aus Vista Desert Horse Inn. This lodge is the closest Gondwana property to Luderitz and the Kolmanskop ghost town. And of course to the wild horses of the Namib Desert.

But you don't even need to leave the property for something to do. Especially if you're into hiking or mountain biking!

This lodge is the only one of the Gondwana properties that we stayed at that doesn't have a swimming pool. It would be a welcome addition if they were to put one in, especially for use at this time of year. It was pretty warm while we were there. Oddly, they also don't have air conditioning in the rooms although we didn't find that to be a problem and the ceiling fan above our bed was enough to keep us cool while sleeping.

The rooms are set up as a duplex in a southwest style.

We were totally happy with our room!

Even had a nice sitting area, and a small refrigerator.

We had a nice front porch.

And a nice view from our front porch!

But we found that the real attraction for us was the great hiking and mountain biking trails. There are six well marked trails of different lengths and for people of different abilities. We managed to do two of the trails, one shorter one, and one that was about 12 kms. (7.5 miles). We never did rent the available mountain bikes, we just ran out of time. It would have been fun though!

The trailhead has maps of the well marked trails.

Us, enjoying the view from one of the trails.

You can rent mountain bikes if you want to go for a ride.

They actually do a popular Mountain Bike Challenge at the Desert Horse Inn. Now in it's fourth year, this is becoming a popular event for mountain biking enthusiasts who come from around the world.

I don't know why, maybe it was the fresh mountain air, but we really enjoyed breakfast at the Desert Horse Inn. It was really no different than the breakfasts we've had at the other Gondwana resorts. 

Great way to start the day!

We did the sundowner game drive with guide Ricky. It's not so much for the animals, but more for the scenery. Still, we managed to spot this full grown male kudu...

Big male kudu.

We enjoyed our stay at the Desert Horse Inn and would love to go back some day and finish the rest of the hiking trails. Again, it would be nice if there were a swimming pool installed by the time we get back there. But overall, it ranks right up there with the rest of the Gondwana lodges.