The Farm Life - Namibia

31/03/2025

Having received just 22mm of rain in 2023 and 125mm in 2024, our family farm has been incredibly lucky during February and March as we witnessed 220mm fall in just 7 weeks.

The best bit is, we don't even have to feel guilty because most of our neighbours received more rain than we did! On many an occasion, reports of 90mm+ in a single downpour were broadcasted. Since our rain gauges out here only measure up to 100mm, sometimes the farmers couldn't even say how much rain they got ... only that it was at least 100mm.

At one stage, in the first week of February, our ground dam, which can hold approximately 15 million liters of water, went from being empty to overflowing in one afternoon. At the same time, some of our jumping poles for the horses got picked up by the rising water levels and were carried by the flash river for over 2kms, where they luckily got caught up in a fence line!

The water did unbelievable damage to the farm roads, camps, and fences. It is, however, a joy for us to have to do the repair work as we watch the landscape change from that of a desert to that which people are more accustomed to seeing in Ireland than in Southern Africa.

The first photo shows what the landscape was like before the rain arrived. The rest have been taken during hikes over the last 2 months.

05/02/2025

Please be careful if you have to drive along the C14 between Maltahohe and Helmeringhausen. The road has been washed away in places ... including some of the concreted sections.

19/01/2025

Does anyone know what this guy is? We found him near to our house yesterday evening and he was still there this morning. We're worried that he is a snake-eater and might have been bitten by a snake ...

(Sorry for the blurry photo but that was the only one that shows his chest colourings)

16/01/2025

Ran out of petrol for the lawnmower, so we asked our colleagues for some help whilst we had our morning coffee 😂

22/10/2024

Anyone planning on going to Swakopmund, this is the place to stay!

Fantastic rooms and a charming Dutch host (funnily enough named Charlie).

What more do you need?

Here’s a sneak peak of one of our cozy family suites - Flamingo 🦩

This family suite is perfect for making memories with your loved ones at the coast.
Thoughtfully designed with natural textures and a warm, earthy ambiance, this space offers a perfect blend of comfort and Namibian simplicity.

Flamingo comprises of two adjoining bedrooms, one with two single beds and the other with a king size bed, sharing a private bathroom en-suite. There is a mini-fridge, coffee & tea station, a round table to work from, play cards or simply enjoy your morning coffee or tea. Of course there is fast and free Wi-Fi to keep you connected, but we advise you to enjoy the outdoors as much as you can!
The suite also has access to a semi-private patio to enjoy the coastal fresh air.

When staying with us you also support four local businesses for your breakfast. We opted out on serving breakfast on site to fight food waste, show you more of our beautiful Swakopmund and support others. You’ll get a voucher that can be redeemed at three of the best breakfast cafes in town or we order you the most amazing breakfast pack for your early departures. All breakfast is fresh, locally produced and prepared with lots of love.

This spacious suite is ideal for a family of maximum 4 or group of 4 friends.

Charlie’s Guesthouse is your home away from home at the coast!

08/08/2024

I wish we could feed them all because they are being so supportive of George ... they haven't left him alone at all 🥰🐎

08/08/2024

HORSE UPDATE : INJURY TO GEORGE

Unfortunately, we found George this morning caught in some old wire. We believe that the wire was from an old fence which is no longer in use and is half buried beneath the sand. We last saw him on Monday and first noticed him missing on Tuesday. Since he often lags behind by himself, we didn't think too much of it. We didn't get the horses in yesterday. When we couldn't see him with the horses again today we started to get a bit worried and then found him stuck in the wire by a bunch of bushes (which the wire had also wrapped around in the wind).

On the bright side, George has been an absolute hero. He was very calm and so his injuries are not as bad as they could have been.

We took some food and 40 liters of water out to him whilst freeing him from the wire. He guzzled all the water down instantly. He then walked fairly strongly back to the stables and dived straight into the trough to have another long drink.

Back at the stables, Anna rinsed George's wounds, wiped all them down with an anti-bacterial soap, and sprayed them with a strikingly blue wound spray.

We then injected him with an anti-inflammatory that also helps to kill off germs ... after he had filled his face with some yummy lucerne.

George is now having a sleep in the sun whilst all the other horses are hovering around him. We are keeping George in the small camp by the stables. All the other horses are free to go where they please, but they don't seem very interested in leaving George for the time being 🐎❤️

For those of you who are also used to dealing with these sort of horse injuries, please let us know if you think there is anything else that you think we should do.

02/08/2024

It has been such a cool project building this bookcase 😎

02/02/2024

I think the dogs are happier about the rain than we are 🤣🌧