Wild Camping in Southern Africa

Another incredibly wild spot in CKGR: Bape camp (CKWIL02)





You’ve got to dig your own toilet hole!

Hi Nathalie, We got back from the Tassili n'Ajjer on 11/04—an incredibly vast and stunningly beautiful place.

hi everyone wild camping in the Hartmann Valley—no neighbors to bother you.

Denis, - Purros - Dawn at the Kavango, at Hakusembe River Lodge

Savuti

Savuti

Savuti

Four elephants wandered around all evening. The hyenas came later, in the night.

Either we're gluttons for punishment, or we're addicted......🤪 or......🙂

Yes, the humor at N'Gepi camp :

Another dreamy wild campsite:

At dawn, on the banks of the Zambezi

Pierre Don’t they make the same model in amphibious?

Another dream bivouac:

At dawn, on the banks of the Zambezi

We had the same magical experience on the banks of the Zambezi River, after setting off from Katima Mulilo: three days of drifting along the water, with wild camping on the riverbanks.

An amazing journey for bird lovers, among other things!



There were three of us, alone in front of the vastness of the river. Our only encounter: two fishermen setting their nets at dawn.

A beautiful trip... until the Chobe River, where we spent 2 nights on the Namibian bank before landing in Kasane.





Our next wild camps were in Chobe National Park!

Evening gathering at the Himba community camp before tackling Van Zyl's Pass (Namibia).



When we roll in quietly on wheels, there are always a few lions in the welcoming committee. When the time comes for my last campsite, I’d love it to be right here—with oysters and champagne. (In Botswana, but I’ve forgotten exactly where 😇)

Chris and HDJ, Another magical way to visit! A few questions: Who’s the rental company? Did you have a guide, navigator, or cook with you? Or were you on your own? Did you do a loop, or did you start at point A and leave the boat at point B? How did you get your car back? What did you see of life on the river during your cruise? Animals, people… How long a cruise would you recommend? More or less than 3 days? Which area is the most interesting to prioritize? How much does it cost? Essential question!!!! Thanks for introducing us to another way to explore this corner—we’re already hooked.

Hi there, Regarding our trip along the Zambezi: organized by Caprivi Houseboat Safari in Katima Mulilo, where we first spent a night at the lodge. Our cruise on the Zambezi started at 2 p.m. and ended the next day at noon back at the lodge. A lodge staff member acted as pilot, guide, and cook. We had dinner on the Namibian bank downstream from Katima (absolutely stunning).

We saw lots of birds (including terns and kingfishers) and a few fishermen, as well as women doing laundry. This 24-hour cruise felt like enough, especially since it was, if I remember correctly, quite expensive (we were the only ones on the boat). I don’t have the exact price because we were traveling for 5 months in our pickup with a camper shell, doing a big loop around Southern Africa. We hadn’t booked anything in advance except for Kruger, KTP, and Botswana. We’d entrusted our bookings in Botswana and for the Caprivi Houseboat to an agency in Kasane, Africa Coeur Safaris (highly recommendable). The quote was all-inclusive.

It’s one of our best memories from that trip.

Have a great day.

Pierre, Thanks for the info. I’ll look into it on my end. See you!

Chris and HDJ, Another magical way to visit! A few questions: Who was the rental company? Were you with a guide, navigator, cook? Or on your own? Did you do a loop, or did you start at point A and leave the boat at point B? How did you get your car back? What did you see of life on the river during your cruise? Animals, people... How long a cruise would you recommend? More or less than 3 days? Which area is the most interesting to focus on? How much does it cost? Essential question!!!! Thanks for introducing us to another way to discover this place we’re already addicted to.

Hello, A few details to answer the questions and add to Pierre’s info. But I wouldn’t want to hijack this thread about camping!

Same stop in Katima Mulilo, same lodge (Caprivi Houseboat Safari Lodge, www.zambezisafaris.com), so same rental company/organizer for the cruise. We contacted the lodge manager, Curt, directly. I organized the whole trip myself. The Zambezi episode came after exploring the Caprivi Strip for about a week.

There were two of us, with a young pilot/companion/guide/chef who knew the area like the back of his hand and was a bird expert.

Unlike Pierre, we didn’t return to KM, where we’d chosen to leave our car. We did a one-way boat trip from Katima Mulilo to Kasane over 4 days/3 nights. Arrived in Kasane near our accommodation with super simple and quick formalities in a tiny office by the water! We didn’t find it too long—it was a timeless moment for us, a peaceful break after two very active weeks! Stunning landscapes and birds we’d never seen before. A real treat! Fishing enthusiasts can also rent rods and have a blast.

What did we see? Life on the river (fishermen, fishing villages, "temporary" villages), loads of hippos and crocs, and thousands of birds, especially near the channel connecting the Zambezi and Chobe rivers. Classic wildlife on the Chobe River and its banks, with countless elephants. Basically: 1.5 days on the Zambezi (1 night) + 0.5 day to reach our campsite (2nd night) by the Chobe River, with a full day on the river before disembarking the next day.

How long would I recommend? Wildcard! It depends on everyone’s tastes and budget! I loved our setup, but others might’ve found it a bit long...

Finances: The trip was in late September 2016, so I organized it over 4 years ago. I’ll need to dig through my archives (on my old computer!) for the financial details, which I can share via PM. Yes, it’s expensive, I confirm. But first, we felt it was worth it—it was an exceptional experience we still talk about. "It’s not something you do every day!" Also, since we returned the car in KM, our rental was shorter, which cut costs a bit. We didn’t have a car in Kasane either, so we opted for a 3-day/2-night "camping safari" in Chobe NP with a local provider (with "classic" wild campsites), before ending our trip at Vic Falls.

It was our first time finishing a Southern Africa trip without a car, but we didn’t regret our slightly unconventional choice!

Best regards,

Hi Alain-Pierre,

Thanks for digging into your archives to share such beautiful images of a Namibian wild camp 🙂 What an incredible expanse you had in front of you 😛

Well, we can keep dreaming...

Hi Michel,

Yeah, the Tok Tokkie Trail is a magical experience. 😎 I’ll add to your photo gallery:

Hey,

Hats off to you—biking through these regions isn’t something just anyone can do!

Even Angola 😮... did you like the country? It’s on my list, but I haven’t dared yet—the borders have only been open for a short while.

Thanks for sharing 🙂

Hello Nathalie,

Thanks for sparking the discussion with your stunning photos that inspire wanderlust. "Bape Camp" ... I’m jotting that down, I’m jotting that down ... it’s true that the CKGR offers amazing campsites, 😛 😎

I’ll "reply" with a pretty special spot you also know: Bangwelu.







It’s a vast floodplain with a few groves, and each one is a campsite. People usually come here hoping to spot the shoebill—no luck for me yet, 😉

I love your first photo!

Here’s the stylized version ;)

Hi Denis,

Thanks for joining in. Still a fan of these amazing regions? 😉

Beautiful photo in the middle of nowhere 😎

Hi Mariana,

You really outdid yourself for a first trip, well done! 😛 😎

Yeah, we're talking photos here, but the sounds of animals at night are also something incredible and magical—hyenas, hippos, lions, even a leopard once in Moremi...

Hi Pierre,

Definitely a great experience—right at the top of my list now! 😛

Personally, my only overnight experience on the water was the ferry crossing Lake Kariba, but it was already magical.

When the time comes for that final campsite, I’d love it to be right here, with oysters and champagne.

... same here, I’d just swap the champagne for an old riesling 😉 .

in Botswana but I forgot where

Njuca Hills, right? 😉

That was a really beautiful trip you took there 😎

I’m jotting it down, jotting it down 😛

I suggest gaining a little perspective here,

There are few camps that offer this possibility—this one is Sinamatella in Hwange NP.

I suggest we take a step back and look at the bigger picture,

Overlooking the Runde River, in the lesser-known Gonarezhou NP (Zimbabwe):



The only neighbors, on the lower level:

Hello Jean Francois,

"Bape Camp" ... I'm jotting that down ... it's true that the CKGR offers magnificent wild camping spots, 😛 😎

Yes, the CKGR has some amazing wild camping spots like Bape Camp and Xaxa Camp, which are actually on the track between CKGR and Khutse.

Nath, A few memories from the heroic early days of traveling in Namibia in 1990 with Nouvelles Frontières (this same tour was still running in 2019!!). -dishwashing duty at the Grootfontein campsite -tents at the same campground -wild camping near the White Lady -Solitaire -camping and truck at Sesriem campsite -sleeping under the stars on an island in the Okavango Delta

Hello Jean-François,

More amazing photos! Especially numbers 3 and 4!

I’ll “reply” with a pretty special place you also know: Bangwelu.

It’s a huge floodplain with a few groves, and each one is a site. People usually go there hoping to spot the shoebill—no guarantees, though 😉

Here’s to Bangwelu and the shoebill!









And just one photo for fun:

chris, Thanks for all this info—it’s a slightly different way to travel around that eastern strip of Caprivi. See you!

Overlooking the Runde River, in the little-known Gonarezhou NP (Zimbabwe):

That’s exactly where I’d love to go in July–August 2021 😎.

Any campsites you’d recommend in this park? 😛

Hi,

Hats off to you—biking through those regions isn’t something just anyone can do!

Even Angola ... did you like the country? It’s on my list, but I haven’t dared yet since the borders only recently reopened.

Thanks for sharing 🙂

You’re welcome—all these images bring back great evenings, whether solo or with company. Yes, Angola was a fantastic memory. I was lucky to find a sponsor in Luanda who invited me in 2014 as I was finishing my tour of the continent (see the map and route below). Still, a few scares with the big beasts roaming outside enclosures and national parks in East and especially Southern Africa (Kenya, Botswana, and Namibia, mostly). And not all campsites were peaceful .

L.

Hey Yves,

Your trip is amazing, congrats again! 🙂

You must’ve had some magical moments... and a few tough spots too... what an experience. 😎

Hi Jean Francois,

Here’s another place we really loved!

The sites at Ruaha Public Campsite in Ruaha National Park, Tanzania.

Hi Nathalie, Just a quick note to say we followed your journey and tips to plan our Tanzanian trip, and Sylvain kept asking me, "Did the Girardins go there?" Anyway, I’m sure your ears were burning during the 5 weeks of our road trip!

I absolutely loved Ruaha NP... it didn’t look like your photos because it was the emerald season, and everything was lush green with fewer animals, true, but even more beautiful landscapes. By far, I preferred Ruaha to Ngorongoro (which was a disappointment for me—15 tourist cars around 3 sleeping lions... that’s not how I like to experience Africa. Just my opinion, of course!).

We’d planned a few weeks in Zambia in September and October... but it looks like that won’t be possible (our car is in Livingstone). A little sad about that...

Best wishes, Sylvie and Sylvain

Hey,

Hats off to you for cycling through these regions—it’s not something everyone can do!

Even Angola ... Did you like the country? It’s on my list, but I haven’t dared yet—the borders only recently reopened.

Thanks for sharing! 🙂

Thanks for starting this thread, Jean-François!

For Angola, I’d strongly advise against going: You might make me jealous!

Yeah, presented like that, Angola is definitely a place to avoid 😉 😎

Great memories of the Kalahari (KTP) in Botswana! Sunset at campsite #1 in Mabuasehube—my rooftop tent is visible on the right 😉 Facing the pan

And the Namib Desert (Namibia), especially the Mirabib campsite (Namib-Naukluft Park)

Facing the vast plain

That’s it for me! 🙂

Thanks so much, Pierre, for reviving the discussion! 🙂 So awesome 😎

Hi Jean François, What a great idea this discussion thread is for sharing the most beautiful bivouacs! We’ve had so many unforgettable ones—in stunning locations but also in improbable or unusual spots. We’re spoiled for choice, and I only wish we’d taken more photos of all the places we’ve slept under the stars. Here are a few from Africa, starting with Botswana: Savuti, by the river that hadn’t flowed in over 30 years Lekhubu Island, at sunrise A little tea to get us going Starry night at Tsodillo Hills Baines Baobab Bivouac in the heart of Moremi, with the evening songs of bell frogs, and at night, the roars of lions nearby, the grunts of hippos grazing around the tent, and the howls of hyenas on moonless nights. Feels good in the tent

Some really cool spots in other parts of Africa and beyond: In Namibia: Messum Crater A fire in the rocks Marienfluss Valley, a gorgeous spot to camp by the Kunene River We had the place to ourselves Hartman Valley

Diaz Point, the wind blew all night and we were lulled by the roar of the waves

In Algeria, in the red Tadrart near the Libyan border Bread baked in the sand

In Iran, in the Lut Desert, sleeping under the stars and waking up at sunrise in a breathtaking landscape

And finally, I can’t resist sharing a little piece of my home country—a night on the deck of a sailboat in the Whitsunday Islands

Wow, what amazing campsites you had! 😛

Gorgeous. The Lut Desert is truly something else—so impressive! 😎

Congrats again on the photos.

What a great idea for a post! 😛

I’m digging through my notes.

Spitzkoppe, Namibia