Ai Aiba - the Rock Painting Lodge

Perfect. The staff was super friendly and extremely helpful. (One of the woman at the front desk even arranged for one of the staff to check the Spar in Omaruru to see if they had photo memory cards. If she hadn't, I would have never found them there myself!) Loved the morning hike with Kules -- not to mention the sundowner hike! The sundowner safari with Ronnie was excellent! As was mountain biking with Alex. Not to mention, the location! Nestled up against the rocks. Very cool.

Lovely location with every lodge enjoying views over the surrounding. Countryside to a small water hole where springbok come in the early morning . Great welcome on arrival with lots of information sharing and the daily menu is on display offering two choices and a veggie option on request . The sundowner walk and climb with our guide was excellent and the following day we did a 3 hour jeep drive / walk with Cules our guide to view the rock paintings and learn about the geology and history of the area . We were fortunate to see an oryx with her calf , springbok, and then giraffes and horses in the distance . There are also trails behind the lodges which are well marked and lead to several lovely rock paintings . The lodges are spacious with a large shower and have a fridge and coffee station. Their dark colours and poor lighting felt a bit oppressive but the small outdoor seating area was lovely . You have to hunt to find a plug to charge your phone and camera behind the fridge . The disadvantage of the lodges bring divided into two, one bedroomed apartments is the lack of sound proofing . It was ok the first night with minimal noise until a family of 5 moved in tge next day and the noise level escalated to 4 hours of non stop screaming infants and yelling toddlers with lots of raised voices - followed by shouting happy youngsters. Sitting out was also spoiled as their friends ( party of 9) chose to shortcut over our 2m patio within inches of our feet rather than walk around the building -.It went from bird song and peace on earth to the neighbour’s from hell . We advised staff of the issue but nothing was done . I love children, I work with children but the over crowding of a family in a poorly insulated lodge really spoiled our experience . I’m not sure what they got out of it as most of the time the kids sounded unhappy . Sadly the high level of noise started again in the early hours and continued until they left . There’s lots to love about this place and a 4x4 is essential given the road conditions and distance ., but it’s worth the journey time . The staff are delightful, Yvonne is sunshine on legs , the food is ok, the pool is a good size , the guided walks and drives are excellent and the setting is idyllic . We had one great day there but the second day was totally spoiled due to excessive noise from next door .