Duesternbrook Guest Farm - Leopard and Cheetah - Windhoek

9.7.2008. Crime is never a nice subject, I know, people do not want to know about it, but thereby it is not getting less. I from my experience and what I read in the paper would like to tell what you can do just to be prepared. please do not get me wrong Namibia ist still the most safe country in Africa but with rising food prices and higher pertrol prices the pressure is rising and a tourist is a soft target there are no two ways about it. Take responsibility and be prepared.The police it will appear shift their work towards admin not investigating. So to be insured or to insure you valuables ist a good idea. Second try to dublicate your memory cards for your photo make immediately back-up and store it somewhere else. Make use of the safes in the room for your airtickets, passport, back-up memeory cards etc. they are not there just for decoration. Carry your photo and money always with you. Use the alarm system of the rooms if they are there. Use these security measures anywhere in Namibia, often peole do not want to admid that there might not be a risk, even if it is less ...be always prepared and you can safe you a lot of time an trouble waiting at the police station or where ever until all those papers are filled out etc.

Just in case we at Düsternbrook, have now security and alarm systems in the rooms but also small safes but you also have to take responsibility for yourself as you would do in any other country in this world. Even if you think its safer still do it it does not demand too much extra pain. Be prepared and you will have a much better feeling. Do not be afraid that was not my intention.

Otherwise everything is fine here all the animals are doing very well and you will enjoy the cats there is no question.

11.3.2008. I have some good news and only one bad news. The good news is Düsternbrook Safari Guest Farm managed in 2007 to get just just second in the agricultural employer of the year award.It took me years to strike a good balance between my environmental policy, sound financial stability and social investment.If you look lately at some of the european countries with a high social network you can clearly see a high social level is a luxury and they all have to cut on their social spendings because it is not sustainable. Looking at the film of Al Gore it will apear the whole living standard in europe with their high CO2 output is not sustainable and to the disadvantage to many other countries elsewhere in the world. Africas CO2 output ia only 2.5.%. The lesson for me was, you need a minimum of social conditions, but otherwise you first have to get the business going and than do your social investment.Many african and other countries, it seems to, me have not understood this. They first make a social investment which drains their coffins before they can get the business going. I first got vital business points going and than I made major social investments like building new houses, building a new kindergarden, training etc. The return of investment, the better business, now carry those social investment costs to the advantage of the employees. I am quite sure today my employees, in average, are of the best earning in the agricultural sector of Namibia.Each employee also has its share or cut in the business i.e. part of the earnings are linked to the turnover of their specific work.The socio-economic development which has taken place here over the last years I think is very interesting.Mathias, a young swiss gentleman, has written an environmental study about water, waste and energy managementand and you can clearly see how with the higher living standard of the employees water and energy consumption has gone up.

The second positiv news is that in 2007 I also managed to get again the eco award, 3 out of 5 flowers. The eco award is re-evaluated every two years, so you are not allowed to get slack.We are quite happy about this achievment.This year, 2008, I am aiming for 4 flowers and I think we are not far away.

The third good news is we achieved in 2007 a bronze award from the namibian hotel association, HAN. This is the 5 th award now in a row in the hospitality sector.

As I write these lines I see what a bad marketing person I am. As all this happend last year which is now about 5 month ago. But may "be better late than never" and I can improve on this one.

Another good news is we and the whole country had really good rains.The country looks beautiful and green.In january it still looked very bad with only some soft showers. Many game farmers, including us, had to feed their game as there was no more grass.Some really had to invest thousands so that the game does not die. 2007 is the worst year that I have experienced here. We had years with less rain but the rain distribution was was better. Anyway now its over and it looks all very good.The north got too much rain and is partly flooded.

On the negativ side crime has gone up in Namibia since Independance.It is by far not like in South Africa but and thats why I am writing it here just be carefull and not negligent. Its not more than anywhere else in the world, so, for you, apply the same safety methods you would use on any other travel. Important papers have to be on your body or locked up in a room safe or a central safe in the reception. Back-up your memory chips of your photos more often on CD or laptop and keep it seperately from the cameras.Cars have to be locked at night. Make use of car guards in the towns.

Otherwise tourism has been very good in Namibia last year.The country is getting more an more popular in the traveling society.Officially is has gone up by 7%. The practical result of this is you have to make your bookings and reservation more in advance. Direct or nonstop flights to Windhoek is the best option but you have too book well in advance.There are now 5 flights from Frankfurth with Air Namibia and two flights from Düsseldorf or Munich with LTU, and two flights from London also with Air Namibia.Of course you can fly also via Johannesburg to Windhoek but you loose at least 5 hours.The exchange rate is very favourable for you. One Euro = 12 N$ or one pound = 16 N$. So it is about 25% cheaper for you than 2 years ago.Thats all for today, thank you.

11.10.2007. In fact the rain season was very bad this year and the country faces a lot of problems. One of the reason is the overgrazing, here a lot can be learned from the commercial farmers who have developed over the years a very fine tuned grazing system for our dry circumstances.From a cultural point of view communal farmers do not like to seperate from their cattle as this shows richness, but in years of draught this is necessary to relieve the ground.The goverment now subsidises transport costs to get the cattle of the overgrazed pastures.You see once overgrazed you have to start off with a so called pioneer grazing but which needs 3 to 10 times more rain than a well established perenial grazing, but in normal years you have not this higher rainfall and again you sit with a man made draught.We have to wait at least another 4 months before we can expect for sure a better rain although the wheather forcast say october to december looks good. Wait and see.Thats one of the reason why I moved away from a monoculture cattle farming set-up to be excatly less dependant on rain.With game you "graze" also vertically and not only horizontal so you use your available plants and trees much more effectivly.

Tourism is going in generall very well in Namibia and it seems that it will or has allready overtaken the fish industry in Namibia as an income generator for the country.We on this ranch also cannot complain.The rhino situatation still unchanged, no small rhino yet. My small leopard which is now quite big, 14 month, is now well trained, to go up the tree in front of the people and cars, so he is doing very well and this is still a very unique experience in Namibia. Also the other two leopards are doing very well and soon one will also be trained, we are just building another new training enclosure.

My kids in the kinderrgarden have unfortunately not passed the test in the german private school. Their english was not fluent enough and the test was from my judgement a bit one sided as I am sure if we had trained just these specific test excersises which they had to do they would have easlily passed. But be it as it may this is not the end. They will go now to another school and whatever they have learned here will be a big advantage once they come to school next year. Thanks to all the volunteers who made a contribution during their stay here.

horse training: I just got one application to do this job, thats not a lot but she, Franziska, does a great job. She spends 5 to 6 hours with the horses and has the chance of a lifetime to apply Monty Roberts training methods with success, as these are mainly so called totally free ranging horses.She is and will gain very very valuable experiences and she is willing to learn. After 6 weeks she just started to ride one horse which had some trainig before and another horse which was completly wild is following her in the round pen and she can touch him already on the neck and nearly on the back. I am glad she is here.

20.3.2007. We are in the middle of the rainy season, but there is very little rain. This is opposite to 2006, which was an excellent rainy year, so the weather situation currently looks bad as the rain that did fall was insufficient to let the grass grow. However in other places like Zambasi, Okavango and Kunene they have enjoyed more water than in the last 20 years.

Here on the Guest Farm everthing is ok and we are all fine. It surprises me that in these first three months of the year I have already received a lot of reservations and bookings. It seems that Namibia is becoming more famous. So, if you are also planning to spend your vacation in our country, I recommend that you book as soon as possible.

My rhinos still haven't had babies but there is quite a lot of news from my leopards. The little male leopard, which another farmer brought to me last august, and which was in a very bad condition then, is now nine months old, strong and fast. He likes to spend time in the trees but he is still pretty shy. It will take some time before he gets used to people and cars. But in the meantime Gina (our female leopard) has become a real star! And there is still more news. Since the end of January I have received two little leopards as their mother was shot and the farmer where they were before couldn't keep them. These cute little cats are now 4 months old and already twice as big as a domestic cat. Until now I cannot say which sex they are, but they are healthy, getting the right food and looking very relaxed when they stay on the trees.

There are also good messages from our Kindergarden. Since february I had a volunteer called Samantha, from England, who had just graduated from university. She cares a great deal about the kindergarden where she and Diana taught the kids english, because they need this language to get accepted to the school (Deutsche Privatschule) I want them to go to. Samantha does a great job! She has also written me a curriculum for the whole year so that Diana has a plan which she can follow when there are no volunteers here. They now know the alphabet and it is amazing how motivated they are and how fast these farm children learn. The next volunteer, also from England, comes in the middle of May. It's now very important, that they practice their english because it would be wonderful if they could go to a better school than the national schools as these aren't very good. That is why I registered them on the Deutsche Privatschule. The cost per child per year will be Euro 1500,00 and I'm Willing to take over the full cost for all 4 children. but it would be great to hear from anybody who would like to help us with this. We are very grateful for every little bit of help and it is guaranteed to go towards a very good purpose, going directly to those who need it.

Volunteering: I'm looking for someone, who would spend 3 months here on the farm and who would train my horses. Deal: Food and accommodation against horse training.

28.11.2006. We and the whole of Namibia had a very good season. Officially in July, August and September, Namibia had 7 % more tourists than the previous year.The kindergarden is doing very well and the kids are really enjoying it. I think it has changed their lives already so I am very happy to have started it. We have received another silver award from the hotel association on the 19.11.2006.The female leopard Gina is doing very well which just goes to demonstrate female power!!. But most important for our english speaking visitors who are keen bird watchers is the news that I had Ken Burton here. Ken is an American wildlife biologist from California and he compiled a fantastic list of birds surrounding the house in addition to a much longer list of birds that you can expect to see on the different walking trails. In total he managed to spot 160 birds in just 4 weeks. Furthermore, due to the good rainy season in the beginning of the year, we also had a good fire season. I lost about 6000 ha. but fire also has its positive sides as it cleans the landscape of old wood and smaller bushes which reduces the bush densities which can be a problem with lack of fire.That's all for now.

28.6.2006. Time runs so fast. Anyway we and the whole of Namibia had a fantastic rainy season from January through to April so the country looks fantastic with all the big water reserves filled up and grazing recovering very well. Our oldest leopard Caeser has died from old age, but he was about 26 or 27 years of age which is very old for a leopard.He was perhaps the most photographed leopard in the world in my opinion. Another leopard also died very unfortunately from a burst stomach after 15 years with us but the vet could find no reason for it in the post mortem analysis as he found no bone or anything sharp in the stomach. Our "star" at the moment is a little female Gina.

Furthermore our Kindergarden for the kids of the employees is finally finished. 5 kids enjoy this luxury now and this will change their lives.They have their own kindergarden building and their own teacher and they will learn many of the things they will need in school. The kids are enjoying the kindergarden very much and are very excited to go there every day.This has been a major step towards the upliftment and improvement of the farm and is a central part of our overall philosophy here. That's also why we received, among others, the ECO AWARD last year. Part of it is obviously due to our guests who come here to support the guest farm and by that also local social mini-projects.The kids are also taught in english to count and the abc etc. with the effect that they repeat it so much at home that their mothers and fathers may also learn the language, as they currently do not know any english because most of them have not been to school.So teach the kids and you teach the world. On this note

13.11.2005 It is about time to up date the news, I have been very negligent!!! 2004 has been a very good year and in 2005 we received the Silver Award from the Namibian Hotel Association, HAN. In May 2005 we also received, as only guest farm in Namibia, the newely introduced ECO AWARD. Next to Damaraland Wilderniss camp who got 4 flowers, Duesternbrook Guest Farm near Windhoek and another lodge were second best in Namibia and we managed to get 3 out of 5 flowers. I think we can be very proud of this achievement. The ECO AWARD not only takes into consideration how environmentally friendly you run your business (waste management, water and energy consumption) but also how you train and employ people from the local community in addition to your game and wildlife management as a whole.

At the end of august 2004 we have introduced two white rhinos onto our property. They are now over a year old and are doing very well. This year we have built some stables for the horses in case they have to stay a few days at the house for those people who like to go horse riding. Our information center for leopard and cheetah and our reading corner with wildlife literature is also getting more and more popular. We have improved our camp site and are currently busy building a kindergarden for the kids of our employees. Hopefully it will be finished this year. We added another walking trail and replaced all the signboards with bigger ones so you see there is always something happening here to improve the comfort of the guests.

Until next time or when I see you and you will be welcomed at Duesternbrook Guest Farm.

14.7.2004 Apart from the Bronze Award 2004 which we received from the Namibian Hotel Association, I lave also got my own quality control system to monitor my service. This system has proved to be very valuable to me over the years in relation to necessary improvements etc. We evaluated 147 questionaires, as not everybody fills in these questionaires, but it gives you a good indication. As result I give you only the percentages of good and very good.

Appearance and cleanliness of the facilities ( good or very good): guestrooms 93%; bathrooms 80%;dining room 93%; Pool and garden 85%; yard 94%.

Services ( good or very good): reception 89%; individual visitor care 94%; courtesy and efficiency of staff 97%;

Activities: Cheetah and leopard drive 96%; Gamedrive 89%; Horseriding 96%; walking trails 90%; transfer service 82%.

30% of our guests come in the beginning of their stay and 70% at the end of their stay.

I am very happy to note that in comparison to September 2000, when I last published these results, there is a clear improvement, as we worked hard on the guests comments to improve our product and all its different facets. But the most important question is: do the guests come back or is my occupation rate getting better? Yes that is also the case and we will without question continue to improve as we enjoy having happy guests who should be getting good value for their money.

This year it is also our 10th year of our cheetah and leopard drive the way we offer it today. From an open Jeep you can see these wonderful cats and can take excellent photos. A really good and exciting experience.

Sensation and good news: Last year we saw young white kudu in the mountains. This is not an Albino as it has normal brown eyes. Then we did not see him for several months, but now he is suddenly back in our game area. I have never heard of a white kudu ever to be seen and I think this is a small sensation. But seeing and taking a photo are two different pairs of shoes. This time I was lucky.The kudu is about 4 to 5 years old and the horns are getting into the second turn.

And finally. Another giraffe got a small baby in mai. The smaller one on the foto is about 4 to 6 weeks old and the little bigger one is born in april. The big one behind is not the mother but the elder sister.

24.5.2004 Telephone, fax, email, everthing is working again. We had a good rainy season so everything looks fantastic throughout the whole country.The animals are breeding well and it is always something special if you get small giraffes and this happened in April. The baby is now about 4 weeks old and our giraffe family now stands at 12.

Award 2004: We received this year again a bronze award from the Namibian Hotel Association, HAN. Last year we just missed out on a silver award by two questionnaires. At least 50 questionnaires have to be sent in and we had only 48 because 2 cards did not have an address for spotchecks so they where disqualified. But the evaluation would have been a silver award so thanks to those guests who participated.

19.1.2004 Please be patient with our e-mails as all our telephone lines are down due to the heavy rain. This occurs only in the rainy season in Jan, Feb and March.As we live in the countryside telecom takes quite some time before they come out here, so please be patient. We try at least once a week to answer the mails if we go to town.This is relevant only during the rain season jan, feb, march. Only our cell line is working.00264(0) 81 124 1662.

December 2003: Due to the developments in the exchange rate US$ and Euro vis-a-vis the SA Rand/N$ we decided to quote all our prices now from 18.12 2003 in N$ (= SA Rand).We honour all the bookings done before 18.12.2003 in Euro or US$. All bookings done after 17.12.2003 will be quoted in N$ (= SA Rand). The equivilant of the Euro or US$ will be calculated on a weekly exchange rate.

It seems to be now a reality.The Namibian Government has dedicided to introduce a 2% Bed levy on the Bed and Breakfast price from 1.3.2004 onwards.

October 2003: Spring is now in Namibia and this came quite fast. In August there were still a few cold days and then it changed quickly. Now all is in flower and it is getting quite warm, but at night the temperature always drops and one can sleep very well.

The exchange rate is changing rapidly and the Rand or Namibia Dollar gained strength, compared to last year in september by 20%, so I had to adapt the prices in Euro.

On the wildlife side I saw something quite sensational yesterday which at least I have never seen before: a white kudu. My neighbour once told me that he had seen a white kudu and my employees have also seen it but yesterday I saw, in a totally different area, a white young kudu bull. However, it appears not to be an albino which is the most interesting part of it.

The new workers houses (4 units) are finished and the employees have moved in and are enjoying their new homes. Now we are busy upgrading the older houses.We are also building a new leopard enclosure of 20 ha which will be finished soon, and then we will have about 75 ha ( 190 acre ) for 8 cats as cheetah and leopard enclosures, all natural terrain.This year the rain season was very bad, so we started to enlarge our game area instead of beeing forced to buy food later in the year. Our "big chief" leopard Caeser had again a lady leopard visitor from outside in his 10 ha ( 25 acre) enclosure. Somehow the lady leopard manages to get in, normally she stays about a week and leaves again. I saw her personally sitting high up in a tree looking at me.

Our new campsite ( see june 2001) is now popular but it was a bit dark for access at night. Now we have put up some 15 light points to show the way to the campsite and the luxury safari tents. Needless to mention power is available on a 24 hr basis 220V without a noisy generator. The giraffes had again two young ones in October 2002. This year we concentrated more on new housing for the workers and new garages and workshop for the farm. During the year we received an award from the local hotel association.

June 2001

Our prices in Euro won't change in 2002.

New fixed wall bathrooms for our luxury tents: We upgraded the luxury tents with fixed wall bathroom. The bathroom is entirely closed with electrical light and 220 V plug. Please look at our photo gallery for details and to get a better impression.

Camping on Düsternbrook: In the beginning of the year, together with the bathrooms in the tents, we upgraded the fixed house and the sanitary facilities for campers. We offer the camping as a package: dinner, camping, breakfast and the activities. We don't allow for selfcatering as we don't want to create a baboon problem. We want you to camp in a peaceful environment.

New Lapa: The new lapa with game viewing deck is enjoyed very much by the clients.

New additional bathroom: Düsternbrook is often booked at the end of the Namibia safari. Often the flight home is only in the evening. Now you can still enjoy the whole day here and utilize your time to a maximum. Then, at the last minute, you can take a refreshing shower in the new additional bathroom, put on your travel gear and leave for the airport relaxed.

Floodlight at artificial waterhole: There is still some water in the river which passes in front of the main house. If the water dries up an artificial waterhole is in place for the game to drink water. At night we can now switch on a floodlight to see the game.

Gamedrive: We introduced seven waterbuck into our gamepark which can be seen on the gamedrive. In march/april 2001 two giraffes were born and they are doing very well.