Taking Namibia’s back roads
When you’ve been to just about all the renowned attractions in Namibia, it’s time to venture onto the back roads of our neighbour, says Roodepoort’s Johan Steyl.
The Steyls had already visited Namibia a number of times and had seen most of the well-known places, including Etosha, the Skeleton Coast National Park, Van Zyl’s Pass in the Kaokoland and Sossusvlei. In April 2018, therefore, they embarked on a tour to visit a few of the lesser-known places. Johan tells us more...
We kick off our journey with two nights in the Kgalagadi. Our plan is to enter Namibia at the Mata Mata border post, but it’s a peculiar setup there. You check in on the other side of the border at Twee Rivieren and then only enter Namibia 100 km farther at Mata Mata. And you have to spend two nights in the
Kgalagadi before crossing the border. (This is to prevent people from using the road through the park as a mere transit. – Ed)
Our first camp in Namibia is at the Kalahari Game Lodge, about 15 km from the border post. What a beautiful place! The stands are on the banks of the dry Auob River and each has its own bathroom, toilet and kitchen – all under a large canopy. Solar panels provide hot water and electric lights.
There’s lots of wildlife to see and many 4x4 trails on which to explore the dunes. Just remember, you won’t get far with anything other than a four-wheel drive. Shortly before our visit, they had proper rain and the dunes, usually red, were covered in green grass.
Our next stopover is at Bastion Farmyard in Mariental. Although this place is mainly used by tourists as a stopover on the way to the north, it is an excellent resort. Each stand has a giant canopy with a shower, flush toilet and kitchen worktop at the back. A wood-fired boiler heats the water, and you also get a bundle of camelthorn wood and matches for your campfire. Each site is named: ours is Rusoes.
FROM HERE, WE head to the Erindi Private Game Reserve north of Otjiwarongo. According to just about every advert we’ve ever seen, it’s supposed to be the resort in Namibia, but sad to say, we are not impressed… especially at R445 pppn for camping. We think it isn’t worth all the fuss.
Campers are generally well-equipped with their own equipment, and the fulllength refrigerator, two-plate stove and electric kettle feel a little superfluous and simply serve to drive up the cost of camping there. We also do a day trip through the game reserve with our own vehicle. This costs us another R300, but unfortunately, we only see one elephant.
So, we’re by no means devastated when we say goodbye Erindi and aim for Spitzkoppe. It is in the Swakopmund area and it takes us back to our roots. The world here is warm and sandy, and you know for sure that you’re in the desert.
The campsite at Spitzkoppe is neat and tidy. You need to bring your own water, but the long-drop toilets are clean. And, of course, the monolithic rock formations and beautiful sunsets will compensate for any inconvenience you may experience. When you camp at Spitzkoppe, you truly feel that you’re in Africa.
AFTER A QUICK tour of Swakopmund and Walvis Bay, we camp at Mirabib, roughly 150 km south of Walvis Bay on the
C14 route. South of Walvis Bay, up to Oranjemund, you find yourself in the middle of the Namib Desert, and Mirabib is a granite mountain in the middle of that barren and wild landscape.
There are seven stands and you have to be completely self-sufficient when camping here because there is no water and no proper toilets. It doesn’t matter, though, because when you’re alone here at night and you experience the clear and clean skies, it’s food for body and soul.
It’s tradition (and a must) to enjoy the famous apple strudel at Solitaire. And so we do! From here, we choose the mountainous C14 route towards Bullsport. Here we turn off onto the D854, a sandy road that is heavily corrugated, heading for the Tsauchab River Camp.
In this part of the world, the farms are enormous and some of the stands are easily 10 km from the farmhouse. We camp in a canyon in the Oerwald campsite and don’t see or hear another human for two whole days. Bliss!
The D707 route takes us to the Namtib Valley where we head to the Namtib Desert Lodge. There are only five stands here, but they are far apart and you’re not aware of your neighbour’s activities. The stands are all in a crescent and the Tiras Mountains almost give it an amphitheatre feel. From here, you can gaze in awe at the open desert plains and spectacular sunsets. And at night, the wide, starlit sky above you provides a profound sense of peace.
There’s one ablution block with a woodfired boiler to provide hot water.
THE FINAL HIGHLIGHT of our tour is to visit Bogenfels, a 55 m high rock arch that stands with one foot in the Sperrgebiet of the Namib Desert and its other one in the cold Atlantic Ocean. Being located in the forbidden area, about 105km south of Lüderitz, it is only accessible with a tour operator who has a concession to take tourists into the Sperrgebiet.
The only campsite in Lüderitz is at Shark Island near the harbour, right on the sea. We’re a bit nervous, as Lüderitz is known for its fierce wind. But fortunately, the two days that we camp there are dead quiet. Shark Island cannot be described as one of the better campsites in Namibia, but at least the meager facilities are clean.
One day, joined by a tour operator, we enter the Sperrgebiet for a 250 km day trip through the Namib Desert. We stop at several towns dating back to the diamond rush of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries and are amazed to see how the desert is slowly but surely – over a period of about 100 years – covering up all infrastructure.
The views of the dunes of the Namib are simply indescribably beautiful. It’s impossible to express it in words or to capture it in a photograph. You simply have to come here to experience it yourself.
IN THREE WEEKS, we travelled 5 600 km. We drove with our Ford Ranger 2.5 4x4 and our accommodation was our Imagine camper in tow. We kept our meat and drinks cold with a National Luna Twin 90 fridge, and where there was no 220 V grid available, we relied on solar panels.
It was a wonderful experience, but we once again came to realise that Namibia has so much to offer tourists. Three weeks is far too short to properly explore this amazing country.
It’s impossible to express it in words or to capture it in a photograph