River Crossing

• Windhoek

Feel the pulse of the city from the heart of the bushveld

River Crossing is 3km from Windhoek on the airport road being only 5 minutes from the heart of Windhoek and is located on a pristine 6500 hectare game reserve. Rediscover the nuances of a bygone era of farm life and offer the discerning traveller all the modern amenities.

The main lodge building comprises a dining room, a centrally situated bar, a lounge with fireplace, a wellness room, a curio corner, and a conference room seating up to 65 delegates.

Nestled outside between the lounge and dining area is the pool (great for swimming lengths – it really is quite long!) The elevated wooden deck offers a fairytale view of Windhoek.

The Lodge and the rooms have been designed to emulate old German farm houses – think ‘stoep’ with ‘afdakkie’ and pots of geraniums.

The 20 guest chalets consist of 14 twin chalets and 6 double chalets (all chalets have en suite bathrooms with showers, loos and basins). Two of the chalets have been designed with honeymooners in mind and have baths instead of showers …of course all rooms have the feather duvets wrapped in 100% cotton, the environmentally friendly guest amenities and the unparalleled service and hospitality to consider too.

6 chalets offer views of Windhoek and 14 face east offering superb sunrise views of the Moltkeblick Mountain.

We also train aspirant Namibians to make a cutting edge contribution in lodge operations... in fact there’s very little that’s not possible at River Crossing.

Andrew and Melissa have been involved in tourism for many years and have worked for several high profile tourism companies, including Conservation Corporation Africa and Wilderness Safaris Namibia. In 1998 they established their own business, an upmarket guest house in Windhoek called The Hilltop House. In 2001 they developed the Desert Homestead and Horse Trails in the Sossusvlei area, which they then relocated and built from scratch in 2005.

Dominic worked for Wilderness Safaris Namibia since the mid 90s, first as a guide and then in a managerial position. He started the Grootberg Lodge together with Simonetta. This high profile lodge development, which opened in 2005, is the first fully community owned lodge in Namibia. EcoLodgistix has the management and marketing contract for this property, which Dominic and Simonetta have effectively launched.

Simonetta has a Master Degree in International Politics of Asia, speaks Mandarin fluently and has also worked as a financial journalist in London. She is of Italian decent and adds some Mediterranean flair to the cuisine at the lodge. She has done several Namibian Academy for Tourism and Hospitality (NATH) courses since coming to Namibia and also guides guests at the Grootberg Lodge.

River Crossing Lodge is jointly managed by Melissa and Andrew Gillies and Simonetta Musso and Dominic Du Raan and they are also the helm of Ecolodgistix.