Hardap Dam is a dam close to Mariental

Mariental, Namibia

Mariental is a town of 10,000 inhabitants in south-central Namibia, lying on the B1 national road 145 miles north of Keetmanshoop and 170 miles southeast of Windhoek. It lies at an elevation of 3,576 feet . Mariental is connected to the TransNamib railway line from Windhoek to Keetmanshoop...

, Hardap Region

Hardap Region

Hardap is one of the thirteen regions of Namibia. It is home to the Hardap Dam.Hardap stretches the entire width of Namibia, from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to Namibia's eastern national border. In the northeast, it borders the Kgalagadi District of Botswana, and in the southeast, it borders...

, Namibia

Namibia

Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia , is a country in southern Africa whose western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and east. It gained independence from South Africa on 21 March...

. Created in 1962 while Namibia was under South African occupation

Namibia under South African occupation

The history of Namibia under South African occupation began with the entry of South African troops to German South West Africa on 9 July, 1915 as part of World War I...

, Hardap Dam is the largest Dam in the country. The reservoir dams the Fish River and has a surface area of 25 km². The Dam also is home to numerous examples of wildlife of Namibia

Wildlife of Namibia

The wildlife of Namibia is composed of its flora and fauna.Namibia's endangered species include Wild Dog, Black Rhino, Oribi and Puku. The Puku antelope is limited to about 100 individuals along the Chobe River in Botswana and the Linyati marshes in Namibia. The Black and White Rhino have suffered...

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The name Hardap derives from

The name Hardap derives from the Nama word meaning "nipple" or "wart", which is how the surrounding area of low conical-shaped hills appeared to the early inhabitants. There are fishing spots at various points along the northern shore of the lake. Permits, and a map of permitted fishing areas, are available from the resort office, or from the magistrate's office in Mariental.

Types Of animals around the dam

The route offers picturesque views of the dam, and is home to rhino, gemsbok, Hartmann's Zebra, kudu, ostrich, springbok and steenbok.Theres also a large variety of bird species can be observed in and around the dam. Pelican, cormorant, darter and spoonbill, can be seen on the lake itself, as well as fish eagle and a small number of osprey.

Services

Services include a restaurant overlooking the dam, aquarium, fresh water fishing farm and conference facilities. From the restaurant's verandah, guests can watch rock dassies play, (rock rabbits) whilst enjoying their refreshments. Guests are obliged to note that there is no longer a shop on site, and the swimming pool is undergoing lengthy repairs.

Accommodation

Accommodation is in either 30 bush chalets, 16 chalets with four beds, or 4 family units. Some rooms have air-conditioning and some are equipped with a fan

Vegetation

The vegetation in the area has been classified as dwarf shrub savanna. The following trees occur: camel thorn, wild green-hair tree and buffalo thorn.