(9 rooms, camping) PO Box 80603, Windhoek; tel/fax: 061 250147; cell: 081 127 0666; email: gravel@iafrica.com.na; web: www.namibialodge.com or www.graveltravel.de
About 15km south of Windhoek, Gravel Travel Mountain Lodge is 4km along the D1504, just beyond the Harmony Seminar Centre, which is signposted from the main road. Take this road, pass Raleigh International, and the track to the lodge is the next on the left.

High up in the Auas Mountains, the lodge was opened in 2001 to cater for guests taking part in motorbike tours of Namibia. You can forget concerns about noise, though, since none of the biking takes place in this region. Instead, visitors can expect thatched rooms with pine furnishings, stone floors and en-suite showers, set around a rectangular pool with open views across the mountains. There's a bar and dining room, with dinner available on request. While everything still seems very new, the place certainly has the potential to attract visitors seeking a rural environment within easy reach of the capital.