Waterberg Guest Farm

The main homestead, once the home of the farm manager, has been beautifully restored. Dinner is around a single, large dining table with the owners in the congenial home-styled dining room/lounge area. There's a crackling fireplace (evenings can be chilly), and large leather sofas. Doors lead outside to a pool with sunloungers, a lapa, fire pit and wooden deck, a good place to settle down comfortably and watch animals come to the floodlit waterhole.

Inside the thatched farmstead are four double and twin rooms, all with en-suite bathrooms. The decor throughout is minimalist, with lovely touches such a Persian rugs. We especially like the five bush bungalows that face the Waterberg. Built in traditional Herero style, with locally natural materials, each hut has its own private patio and an extra shower outdoors for ablutions beneath the stars. The interiors are light, with plastered walls, pretty rugs on rich red-ochre floors, and comfortable wooden furniture.

Waterberg Guest Farm is at the hub of the Waterberg Conservancy, a combined area of 180,000 hectares where regional flora and fauna ecosystems are zealously protected. Hike the plateau to birdwatch or spot small and large antelope, leopard and jackal. Game drives can be arranged, and the farm also breeds wild Arabian horses. Prefer to chill out? The swimming pool is cool and clean, and the thatched lapa is great for hiding with a book. Waterhole watching is always rewarding.