Introducing Encounter by Ongava

Ongava Game Reserve sits on the southern edge of Etosha, a place shaped by time, drought, resilience and return. It is ancient country. Dolomite hills rise from open plains. Valleys are worn smooth by centuries of movement. Water arrives quietly, but with consequence. Wildlife has always known these paths. Rhinos, lions, elephants and antelope moved through this landscape long before they were watched, photographed or followed.

Ongava’s story began with a decision rooted in responsibility. To restore, protect and return the land to itself. What followed was not simply conservation, but patience. Ecosystems were allowed to heal. Wildlife returned. A reserve slowly became what it was always meant to be.

Today, Ongava stands as one of Namibia’s great conservation success stories, a place where protection and presence exist in balance. It is from this long view, this sense of continuity, that Encounter by Ongava emerges.

On 14 February, Ongava Game Reserve reopens its safari camp, now embracing a new identity. Formerly Ongava Tented Camp, the property now becomes Encounter by Ongava. The change reflects not reinvention, but refinement. A clearer expression of what this place has always offered.

Encounter by Ongava marks the next step in Ongava’s evolving brand story. One that places the Ongava name firmly at the centre of its portfolio, while allowing each property to express a distinct role and experience.

The name Encounter is deliberate. Here, the relationship with the wild is immediate and unfiltered.

This is not a camp designed for distance or detachment. It is set within a secluded valley at the foot of a dolomite hill, where the land folds inward and wildlife moves freely, unconcerned with boundaries. Animals pass through camp. Sounds carry at night. Tracks appear by morning where there were none before. Guests do not observe nature from afar. They are immersed within it.

At Encounter, the wild does not perform. It simply exists.

The camp remains true to the spirit of classic safari. Nine spacious tents sit lightly within the bush. Open air showers invite moments of awareness, water on skin, birds calling overhead, the sense of being both protected and exposed. Private decks look out onto the surrounding wilderness, where stillness is often broken by movement.

Nothing here is excessive. Everything is intentional.

Encounter is for guests who seek presence rather than polish. It is a place for early mornings and long silences, for walking slowly and sitting still, for listening as the bush reveals itself in layers. The luxury lies not in spectacle, but in access. Access to space, to time, to something unscripted.

“Encounter is where guests meet the wild most directly,” says the Ongava team. “The name reflects the feeling of being present, alert and deeply connected to the landscape.”

That connection has always been at the heart of Ongava. From its beginnings as a conservation led reserve to its role today as custodian of one of Namibia’s most important wildlife areas, Ongava has never sought to tame the land. It has chosen instead to protect it and invite others to experience it with respect.

Encounter does not ask guests to retreat from nature. It asks them to step closer.

As the camp reopens this February, it does so guided by the rhythms of the land. The name has changed, but the soul remains unmistakable. This is still a place of first light and last calls. A place of dust on boots and stars without interruption. A place where the wild is not curated, but encountered honestly, intimately and on its own terms.

In a world that increasingly asks us to look away, Encounter asks only that we pay attention.