White rhinos in the golden evening light on Ibenstein

A family guest farm on the edge of the Kalahari

Where Namibia feels like family

Four private luxury cottages on a 10,000-hectare farm, one hour from Windhoek. Ride out among giraffe and rhino, then gather for dinner together under the stars.

Send a booking request Discover the cottages

Near Dordabis, one hour from Windhoek Malaria-free

Welcome to Ibenstein

Not classic luxury, but something far more unique

Ibenstein is not a hotel. It is a working family farm with only four freestanding luxury cottages, so the land, the animals and the evenings by the fire are shared with just a handful of guests.

This is a working farm, run by one family for four generations: the Simmental cattle are driven, the horses are ridden, and you are part of family life. The luxury is there whenever you want it: in your cottage, by the pool, over dinner, but what makes Ibenstein unforgettable is the experience of real Namibian farm life.

You wake to the waterhole outside your glass front, ride through camelthorn forest and mountain valleys, and come home to the farmhouse, where dinner is served family-style: home-raised meat, fresh vegetables and stories from four generations of Namibian farm life.

A cottage beneath an old camelthorn tree in the late afternoon light — A cottage in the afternoon light

4private luxury cottages

10,000 haof savanna, mountains and forest

3white rhinos, protected on the farm

1 hfrom Windhoek, ideal to start and end your journey

Life at Ibenstein

Unhurried days between saddle, savanna and waterhole

A cottage with its glass front open to the garden in daylight

The cottages

Four freestanding cottages, each with a glass front that opens completely onto the waterhole.

Stay with us

A horse drinking at the trough after a ride

On horseback

Morning, afternoon and sunset rides through the bush, with a break in the wild along the way.

Meet our horses

Experiences

Game drives, scenic flights with René, mountain hikes, days with the cattle and massages on the farm.

See all experiences

Two white rhinos walking towards the camera

The highlight of every stay

White rhinos, protected on our land

White rhinos live on Ibenstein, and protecting them is part of who we are. They are watched over day and night, and where they roam is never made public.

Monitored around the clock
Their location stays private
Visits only together with the family, quietly, and often remarkably close

About our rhinos

When the sun goes down

Golden light, a long table and a sky full of stars

Evenings are the heart of Ibenstein. Guests and family come together, and nobody is in a hurry to go to bed.

Sundowners

A cold drink at one of our favourite spots while the savanna turns gold and the hills glow red.

Braai and dinners together

Dishes made with what the farm gives: home-raised beef, often game, always fresh vegetables. Very often it is a classic Namibian braai, and on braai nights a fire crackles in front of the house.

Evening clouds glowing over the Kalahari

The night sky

Far from city lights, the Milky Way stretches from horizon to horizon. Walk back to your cottage under more stars than you have ever seen.

Evening sun over the wide plains of Ibenstein

Coming soon

The next Horse Riding Safari is taking shape.

A small, exclusive group, one flat price, several days on Ibenstein and onward to the most beautiful places in Namibia.

Join the waitlist

Ready-made journeys

Packages for every kind of traveller

Arrive and unwind after a long flight, spend a week in the saddle, escape as a couple or bring the whole family. Each package brings together the best of Ibenstein for one clear price.

Looking for a gift? Our vouchers can be used for a stay, a ride or a dinner in the bush.

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Our story

A farm with a diamond in its family tree

Early 1900s
August Stauch
The man who found the first diamonds in Namibia buys Ibenstein together with the neighbouring farms Protea and Dordabis.
Second generation
Marianne & Nicolai Krafft
Stauch’s daughter and her Russian-born husband breed Karakul sheep. Marianne, an artist, begins weaving carpets from their tough wool.
From the mid-1970s
Michael & Sabine Krafft
Michael turns to Simmental cattle and brings wildlife back to the farm. Sabine makes the weaving centre an international success.
Since 2000
René Krafft
René runs the farm, the Simmental stud and the guest farm, and welcomes you as the fourth generation.