Only thirty minutes’ drive separates the entrance to Sossusvlei and the Great Namib Sand Sea, which has recently been designated a World Heritage Site, from the private 24,000 acre Namib Tsaris conservancy, which is nestled between the Nubib and Zaris Mountains. Swen Bachran, a landscape conservationist, developed The Conservancy in 2010. It acts as a haven for wildlife during the dry season and a natural buffer from the harshest desert conditions.
One of the most beautiful and ecologically sound tracts of land in the area is the result of eight years of intensive work to undo sixty years of unsuitable farming practices, which included the removal of 89 km of internal fencing, the installation of wildlife watering points, the improvement of road networks, the rehabilitation of land, and the reintroduction of wildlife that previously occurred here. The Conservancy is home to some of the highest concentrations of wildlife in the region, including Oryx, Springbok, Hartmann’s Mountain Zebra, Burchell’s Zebra, Kudu, Hartebeest, Giraffe, Steenbok, Klipspringer, Bat-eared Fox, and Aardwolf, as well as predators such as Leopard, Cheetah and Spotted Hyena. There are ongoing plans to expand the Conservancy by acquiring adjacent land and removing fences from around conservation areas that share the same values.
