The Naute recreation Resort which is located in the southern part of Namibia is a top tourist attraction that surrounds the second largest dam in Namibia. The Naute recreation resort was declared a protected area in Namibia and no one is supposed to tamper with a protected land or area in the country. Located in an unknown town known as the keetmanshoop that is less known to many tourists but has a lot to offer when it comes to tourism.
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The town is located a few hours away from Lüderitz that is three to four hours and everyone who visits the keetmanshoop town the for the first time is awed by what they get to see and that is the Naute recreation resort which is made up of the Naute recreation Park and the Naute dam among the few tourist attractions that are located in the little known town of Keetmanshoop which is soon becoming a top tourist destination in Namibia.
It is considered to a be a cross road and when you get there you will a few shops and grocery stores where you can get yourself some food and essentials before continuing to the various destinations either within the town itself or if you are continuing to the different tourist destinations that are located in the southern part of Namibia.
The Naute dam
The dam was constructed between 1970 and 1972 along the Lowen River to generate hydro power for the country and later on an irrigation project was opened up together with the resort and all these can be seen below the dam and around it. The dam is 37 meters above the Lowen River and it runs for about 470 meters long. If you want to get a close look at the Naute dam, a small fee will have to be paid and that is when you will have access to all the accessible parts around the Naute dam.
Camping
Camping in the Naute recreation resort is mostly done around the dam which is known to be part of the recreation resort. Camping around the Naute dam is allowed for all tourists who would love to camp in the resort but you will need to be self-sufficient that is the camp sites that are located next to the dam are not self-contained and the only thing that is available are the toilets which means that when it comes to food and the rest of the facilities should come with you. Besides the poor facilities that are found in the camp, you will enjoy spending the night under the stars with the rushing water from the dam and if you are lucky you might also be able to view a few nocturnal animals that roam around the park.
Boat rides
Boat riding is done along the Lowen River and there are several boats that are always around for hire and these will take you around the River as you enjoy the sights and sounds around the recreation resort. As you go about boat riding, you will be able to do some birding and take as many photos as you want of the birds as well as the Naute dam.
The Naute recreation Park
The Naute recreational park was also created in the same year that the dam was completes and this was to provide jobs to the locals that live in the area, provide jobs and also attract as many tourists as they could at the Naute dam. The park is a home to different wild life species and the good thing is that there is constant supply of water from the River Lowen.
The park is also filled with a lush vegetation type that is the savannah grasslands and woodlands, the Nama Karoo biome, the Acacia erioloba, the water acacia and many more others and these act as homes to some animals and birds within the recreational Park.
- Game viewing in Naute, the recreation Park is a home to wide range of wild animals and these can be seen in the different parts of the park and some of the animals that can easily be seen include the Gemsbok, duikers, klipspringer, steenbok, the springbok,
- Birding in the recreation park, the Naute Park is believed to be a home of about 160 bird species that have been recorded by the Namibian government and most of these can be seen lounging at the banks of the River Lowen and other bird breeding habitats that are located within the park. Some of the bird species that habitate in the Naute recreation park include the African fish eagle, the African spoonbill, the south African shelduck, the white pelican and many more other species.
Even though the park is a to go place for tourists who would want to explore it and see the wild life that habitates within it, it is on a sad note that the park is not open to the public and therefore you can only get to see it from the outside but not the inside.
Problems the resort is facing
The recreation resort has been faced with a big challenge of locals cutting own the trees that are located within the resort and this has greatly affected the peace and quiet of the resort and then the other issue that they are facing are the locals who keep on encroaching on their land and the animals that move from the recreation park to the resort. The locals who encroach on the land tend to do so as an easy way of getting close to the park where they can easily poach on the animals and the employees that work here sometimes find traps that are set by the poachers to capture the animals and although they have tried to stop the poaching, there are still a few people who sneak around and go on capturing animals.
The resort is also faced with a problem of no constant electricity supply even though it is located near the Naute dam and this has hindered its development and the same can be said about the water.
There are also several other tourist attractions that are located next to the Naute recreation resort which you can easily visit and these include the following. However some of the few tourist attractions are located within the keetmanshoop town whereas others are located very far away from the recreation resort although they can all be visited while in the southern part of the country.
Explore the Quiver tree forest camp
This is a good place for everyone to go camping while in Keetmanshoop and also a good place for you to see what the Quiver forest looks like. It is not a forest as per say but a line of trees that has been in the area for very many years and reach maturity after over 200 years. You can spend the whole day exploring the forest but the best time is the sunset and the sunrise when the sun rays tend to change the color of the trees to a shade of pink. You cannot drive through the Quiver forest and the only way that you will be able to see and experience all that the forest has to offer is by walking through the forest but you will need to have a tur guide with you and after that you can always retire to the camp.
Explore the Giant’s playground
The giant’s playground is not like any other playground as it is filled with giant rocks that are the main tourist attraction here. The rocks are believed to have been created many million years ago and they can be seen all piled on top of each other, scientist believe that the rocks were formed when the magma erupted and when erosion took place they were left on top of the earth’s crust. Do not forget your camera as you head out to the playground because these rocks are not something that you will want to forget anytime soon and you will also get a chance to climb up some of the ricks in the playground.
Explore the Mesosaurus fossils
The Mesosaurus fossils are also located within the keetmanshoop town the fossils are believed to have been found about thirty years ago by a farmer and his son and they belong to small creatures that looked like salamanders that roamed around the earth millions of years ago. The fossils are brought out by the farmer and shown to whichever tourist passes through the town and you will also be shown a grave that is believed to have belonged to an old German soldier who is believed to have killed many locals during the colonial times. The tour will take you about an hour before it is completed but words cannot fully describe what you will see when you get to the fossils.
When to visit the Naute recreation resort
The Naute recreation resort is best visited during the dry season that runs from the months of April to October and the slow season happens in the wet season as some roads are hard to access during this time due to the heavy rains that make them quite inaccessible with the floods. If you do not like the crowds that come with the busy season then the best time for you to visit is during the wet season that run from the months of January to March.