COMPLIMENTS TO BUSH PILLOW

August 17, 2010 in Uncategorized | No comments

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The Bush Pillow Guest House is always striving to work towards improved results, whether this be in quality of product, improved relationships, responsible living or caring for our environment.

Our latest effort is to make sure that we use less paper in order to be even more eco friendly. To this end we have digitalized our brochure. The brochure was launched Monday 16 August 2010. You may view the brochure at http://bit.ly/cbeVYf. We trust you find this informative and friendly.

The comments received are heartwarming and we gladly share it with you:

Keith Sproule of the WWF writes – “I celebrate this initiative of the Bush Pillow Guest House as an example of a Namibian travel and tourism business taking online sales and marketing seriously. The global trend is for tourism businesses to scale back their expenditures for printed collateral, such as brochures, and offer the same information online. This example the Bush Pillow is a terrific illustration of how even small properties can effectively cross-over. I suspect the Bush Pillow will recover their investment in this online brochure in short order, through increased sales and reduced marketing expense for print material. ”

Jon McGuinn of Rezmark systems comments: “Your brochure is excellent and will definitely start generating some web leads quickly.”

August 16, 2010 in Uncategorized | No comments

This group of Italian girls recently visited the Bush Pillow Guesthouse. The Bush Pillow is a firm favourite with Italian guests.


This is a great Namibian Tour Itenerary

August 13, 2010 in Uncategorized | No comments


Day 1

Upon arrival at the International Airport you will be met by your Guide and transferred to Farm Heimat or similar . This is where you will be treated to typical farm life as it happens on a working Namibian farm. You will also visit a farm museum

Day 2

After leisurely breakfast you will depart via Windhoek to Erindi Game Reserve. Here you will arrive in time for lunch. After lunch you have some time to relax before the afternoon tea/coffee break. You will now go on your afternoon/night game drive in open safari vehicles and hopefully meet Otis – the alpha male lion and his tribe. In the evening we will enjoy a buffet dinner and spend some time on the deck overlooking the waterhole.

Day 3
Early morning we go on our morning game drive and with some luck we will spot some leopard. We return to breakfast and then depart for Otjiwarongo. This afternoon we visit the Cheetah Conservation and go on the Belabino Safari.

Day 4

After breakfast you drive to Ruppel farm. We arrive in time for lunch. After some time to relax we go on a 4×4 nature drive. This is an incredible experience ending with dinner on top of Omaue Rock. For many people this is the absolute highlight of Namibia.

Day 5
After breakfast you will be transferred to Swakopmund. Here you will go on open ski boats for your seal & Dolphin excursion. You will be taken through the harbor and past the fishing factories to Pelican point. You have the opportunity to handfeed wild seals. Continue to Dolphin beach where there is a chance to see bottlenose and heavy side dolphins. The day is ended by enjoying fresh oysters and sparkling wine.

Day 6
After breakfast you will go on the living Dessert excursion and spend the morning meeting the Little Five of Namibia. These include the Palmeto Gecko, Sidewinder Adder, Dessert Chameleon and the White Lady Spider.

Day 7
After breakfast you depart to Sossusvlei. In the afternoon you will go on a walk to the Big cats. Here you will see caracal cheetah and leopard from close by. In the evening we will enjoy a BBQ dinner.
Day 8
Early breakfast. Drive to Sesriem and Enter the Namib Naukluft Park to visit Sossusvlei. This is a dune wonderland, with towering dunes up to 300 m high surrounding a huge, dried up pan. The warm tints of the sand, ranging from pale apricot to brick orange and deep red, contrast vividly with the dazzling white surfaces of the large deflationary clay pans at some of their bases. For the young of heart you have the opportunity to make a hike to Dead vlei. Return via the Sesriem Canyon and drive via Solitaire to your Lodge close to the Ghaub Pass. You have the afternoon at leisure to go on an unguided walking trail, or relax at the pool with the best view in the south of Namibia.

Day 9

After breakfast you depart to Windhoek. Windhoek, the capital, is an attractive, small but bustling city surrounded by clusters of hills and the impressive Auas Mountains to the south-east and Eros Mountains to the north-east as well as the rolling hills of the Khomas. We visit the Alte Feste, Christus Kirche, Tinten Palast and the Old Train Station.

Rate per person sharing

2 Pax (selfdrive)                                      N$ 28 955.00 pp (includes car rental)
Minimum              4 in Combi                N$ 30 520.00 pp
Minimum              6 in Combi                N$ 27 735.00 pp
Minimum              8 in Quantum          N$ 26 350.00 pp

Guest Reviews

August 8, 2010 in Uncategorized | No comments

Below are some of our latest reviews. We thought we would like to share this with you.

1. Un pesto ed nu contesto splendido. Melanne – Italy & Mattie – Switzerland

2. Thank you it was very comfortable place. Hideo Kotajima – Japan

3. What a great start to our Namibian Trip! Bush Pillow offers great hospitality & even organized our tour – thank you Neville! We have had a lovely stay & enjoyed the crocodile ranch too. Michael and Nicole – Copenhagen

4. It was great to be back at Bush Pillow. Wish our stay could have been longer. Joe-Anne and Rod Priel – Canada

5. What a pleasure to stay at your wonderful home and meet your very special family. Definitely a highlight of our trip. Vicky and Glenn – Canada

6. Made to feel very welcome and we found it an ideal base for visiting Etosha, even though it is an early start, the picnic basket provided was very nice. We would have loved to stay longer. Thank ou for a lovely stay. Susan Bennett-Hints – Staffordshire, England

7. Stayed at Bush Pillow February 10. Senor Neveling was very knowledgeable and a source of information. He explained even the smallest details of the village. Tiana – Barcelona Spain

8. Thank you for the wonderful hike up to Waterberg Plateau. Amazing colors!! Also great G&T and excellent Bobotie. Ruthie & Paul Dell – Florida, USA

9. Muy buen gusto, Felicitacianes y gracias por todo!!! Natalia – Uruguay

10. Thank you, very relaxed night and good sleep! We really enjoyed! Hari – Finland

11. Thanks for this nice place! I really enjoyed and I really know where I will come again when I am in the area. All the best for you all! Anu Ylitolonen – Finland

12. A pleasant place! Kind and interesting hosts! Marvelous candlelight dinner! Thank you. Erik – Sweden

13. Merci beaucoup pour tous le service est excellent. Zoe – France

14. Bedankt voor de geode zorgen, het is een mooie afsluiting van onse geweldige Namibie vakantie. Familie Verheijen – Holland

15. Thank you very much for a pleasant stay at Bush Pillow. We’ll come back again. Prof. Johannes & Christiana – Hagen

16. What a lovely place, warm hospitality and excellent food. After one night at Bush Pillow we’re heading to Erindi in our attempt to explore this lovely country. S. Viken – Norway

17. Bedankt voor jullie gastvryheid, hartelykheid, vertrouwen en zo kan ons nog veel meer seggen. Veel mensen zullen hier terugkomen, moet niet te vragen waarom. Baie dankie. Love en hugs from Lida en Conny Bakker – Holland

British Wildlife artist Rober Fuller visits Bush Pillow

August 1, 2010 in Uncategorized | No comments

British Wildlife artist Robert E Fuller and his family visited the Bush Pillow this week. ROBERT Fuller is one of Britain’s leading wildlife artists. He is also a passionate conservationist who combines his art with work to preserve the animals and birds he owes his livelihood to. Proficient in both sculpture and oils he has a reputation for being able to capture the very spirit of the animal or bird he portrays. His highly-detailed style replicates each feather and every hair. Robert is recognised locally as an authority on wildlife and writes a monthly column for The Yorkshire Post. He has a lifetime of wildlife watching to draw from. Born in 1972 into a family equally dedicated to nature– his father is an award-winning farmer conservationist – he grew up on a farm on the Yorkshire Wolds, not far from where he lives today. The urge to protect and preserve the natural world has remained at the heart of his career. He uses his paintings to foster a respect for animals and birds in their natural habitat in others and combines field trips around the world with conservation work. You can view his work at http://www.robertefuller.blogspot.com/

REFURBISHING UPGRADE DESIGN NOTES

July 11, 2010 in Uncategorized | 2 comments

Well those of you follwoing the Bush Pillow Guesthouse will by now know it is upgrading
and refurbishing time at Bush Pillow, but what you would not know at this point in time
is the rationale behind the upgrade. I thought this is a good time to say something about
it.

The Bush Pillow is very much involved in supporting environmental causes (Cheetah
Conservation) and we have also made a point of supporting the whole eco friendly,
responsible living movement. Mainly because we at Bush Pillow seriously believe that we
have to make sure we protect our valuable environment and live responsibly in order to
protect our resources. Having said this, it is probably easy to realise that our entire
strategy is to make sure that Bush Pillow stays in line with what it supports.

We have already moved to energy saving lightbulbs, recycling of whatever products we can,
saving water, changing the garden slowly but surely to a more natural landscape that fits
in with the normal landscape and environment, in the process building up the birdlife
that we find in the natural environment around Otjiwarongo.

So the upgrade is in keeping with our decisions in this regard.

What we have taken into consideration was the following:

We re-used all bricks that we possibly could. When breaking out walls we did this with
caution so that we damaged as little as possible from the old building materials. We then
cleaned the bricks and re-used them. Bricks in Namibia is made of sement, which is made
from lime, mined out of the environment. Cement is also not the most friendly product to
an environment – so by reusing the old bricks we deliberately did not cause from our side
- more bricks to be made. Or should I put it this way – by not buying new bricks and
dumping the old ones – we refrained from supporting the trend to just run out and buy
without careful consideration.

We also selected and built in energy saving electrical fittings. We moved away from the
old 220v light fittings and worked on 12v recessed lighting using bulbs that are almost
limitless in use. We will in this manner save on electricity generation and also the
harmfull radiation emitted from electricity use.

The windows that we removed made way for wide double glass doors, opening out into the
garden. In this manner we have brought more naturla light into the room and have also
sought to bring the outside (environment) into the rooms. This should have a positive
affect on the emotive mindset of the guests and apart from natural light it also
increases natural airflow through the room. This means the rooms are cooler and air
conditioning would now only be required in extreme heat conditions.

All the products used in the rooms are also carefully chosen to be environmentally
friendly, bio-degradable and the companies we have selected as product providers, must
also have a similar policy in place to that of the Bush Pillow with regard to protection
and responsible living.

These are some of the considerations we built in to our decision to upgrade and refurbish.

The Bush Pillow believes that we will in this way ensure that all our guests needs are
met, while at the same time making sure that the luxuries and benefits are responsibly
catered for and chosen.

Progress on Renovations

July 10, 2010 in Uncategorized | 1 comment

The breaking part of the renovations/upgrade are now done. Today we will start with the building part. Installing the double door frames and completing the bathrooms.

Meanwhile Ewan has been out purchasing the new light fittings for the rooms and bathrooms. I have been out to the shops as well to get the new tiles for the bathrooms, basins, taps and other bathroom accessories.

So everything is on track thus far and we are very excited at Bush Pillow to have these rooms ready for our guests.

In the photo – Looking into the bathroom of Room 3 (Shawu) from the outside. This used to be the door and a passage way. The wall is now broken out and the door will be walled up.

Renovations

July 9, 2010 in Uncategorized | 2 comments

View from inside Room 3 (Shawu)


The Bush Pillow has always been known for its colourfulness and cheerful atmosphere. Because of this, management was reluctant to change or tamper with the existing style and ambience.

But at one point or another this consideration would no longer hold.

The time for this has come – management decided to change and upgrade the rooms and shift the emphasis of the Guesthouse to one that will still provide the same excellent service, cheerful character and relaxed atmosphere, but with a little more spaciousness and comforts than it used to do.

So the upgrading of the rooms started two days ago. Here are some pictures of Bush Pillow first being stripped and chopped in order for it to become the new Bush Pillow.

We will keep you up to date with the changes as we progress.

Bikers stay at Bush Pillow

October 9, 2009 in Uncategorized | No comments

Two German bikers (husband and wife) recently stayed at Bush Pillow. They are currently on a bike trip that started in South Africa. They are making their way back to Germany through the African continent. If you would like to follow their interesting travels you can do that by visiting their interesting website . www.gg-restless.de

If you are a biker and you are making your way through Namibia or Africa you are more than welcome to stop at Bush Pillow for a little Oasis treatment on your way. See you soon!

Sublime Moment

July 26, 2009 in Uncategorized | 2 comments

Every now and again we experience as humans that one outstanding moment we never planned or even thought. bush-pillow-sunset These moments are just beyond anything one could ever have wanted for yourself. Sunsets are one of those remarkably unplanned and uplifting experiences. The Bush Pillow Guest House are particularly privileged to be in a position to offer the guests visiting the most remarkable sunsets imaginable. And starting August this is sunset picture time at Bush Pillow Guest House.

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