Discovering the joys of camping in Namibia (page 15 of 30)

And Epupa wasn’t our best memory from this trip.

Hi Isabelle, For us, it was truly a region we really enjoyed. Everyone’s got different opinions, after all! 🙂 We stayed there for 4 nights (Epupa Falls and Cunene River Lodge), and that burst of green and water really enchanted us—it made for a great transition from the arid, dusty landscapes we’d seen before. But we didn’t go to FRC, and it’s also a place we’d love to visit on our next trip. 😎

Hello Jean Luc, True, it’s the only place with water, and it’s such a relief! 😊 Looking back, I think we didn’t stay long enough to really appreciate it. We probably should’ve skipped it and spent more time elsewhere instead. 😅 By the way, it’d be super helpful to know what you did during those 4 days… for next time! 😉

By the way, it’d be really interesting to know what you did during those 4 days... for next time 😄

What a nice way to say we’re all waiting for your travel journal ;)

By the way, it’d be really interesting to know what you did during those 4 days... for next time 😄

What a nice roundabout way to say we’re all waiting for your travel journal ;)

🤓😂😊😄

but I say in principle, because two sea lions climbed onto my husband’s kayak at the same time, which still led to a significant amount of water getting into the boat...

And he didn’t capsize with two sea lions on the kayak!

No, one in front, one in back, and they stayed calm... but he was honestly pretty uncomfortable...

Otherwise, for my daughter (8 years old), it’s one of the biggest highlights of the vacation... because four sea lions followed her for over 30 minutes, taking turns swimming under the kayak to get their bellies rubbed. It was a really amazing interaction with the animals.

Wow, at 8 years old alone in a kayak? Did she know how to handle it?

Oh no, not alone! For safety reasons (a sea lion climbing into the kayak... or the currents), she was in a tandem kayak. That way, she could fully enjoy the interaction with the animals while the adult (me, in this case) tried not to end up on the beach in the middle of the colony...

I’m not planning on showering every day 😉

Actually, we’ll go from Maun to Windhoek via Moremi, Nkasa Lupala (Caprivi Strip), and Etosha. Pretty classic route, really 😛

So that makes me even more interested because it’s kind of what we’d like to do next, with a detour to Victoria Falls and Chobe National Park 😊 I’ll be eagerly waiting for your feedback, and by then, I’ll have done some camping in Oman, so no more shower issues 😂

Funny! Us too! It’s seriously addictive... maybe we’ll cross paths this time! Otherwise, your elephant encounters sound amazing!

Chobe and Victoria Falls will be on the return trip in April .

Otherwise, we’ve already been to the Caprivi Strip, Chobe, and Victoria Falls in 2012 and Moremi in 2014. You can always check out my blog to get inspired 😉

Yes, I’ll definitely take a look, but not now—otherwise, I’ll get too excited, and it’s not planned until summer 2021 😵 so... too hard! 😄

Nope, we won’t cross paths! I’ve already started booking campsites in the Caprivi Strip and Chobe for August 2020...

I’m not planning on a daily shower 😉

Actually, we’ll go from Maun to Windhoek via Moremi, Nkasa Lupala (Caprivi Strip), and Etosha. Pretty classic route, really 😛

That makes it even more interesting because it’s kind of what we’d like to do next, with a detour to Victoria Falls and Chobe Park 😊 So I’ll be eagerly waiting for your feedback, and by then, I’ll have done some wild camping in Oman, so no more shower issues 😂

Funny! Us too! Seems like it’s really addictive... maybe we’ll cross paths this time!

Oh yeah! Addictive, that’s exactly it... but we’re trying to cure ourselves by checking out other places . Well, we’ll have the chance to chat while planning our routes, and who knows... it’d be nice to meet up if our paths cross 😎.

Otherwise, your elephant encounters were really amazing!

Didn’t you go to Brandberg? Too bad, there were elephants there Maybe in Palmwag?

Chobe and Victoria Falls will be on the way back in April .

Otherwise, we’ve already been to the Caprivi Strip, Chobe, and Victoria Falls in 2012 and Moremi in 2014. You can always check out my blog to get inspired 😉

Yes, I’ll definitely take a look, but not now—otherwise, I’ll get too excited, and it’s not planned before summer 2021 😅! So... too tough! 😄

Well, no, we won’t cross paths! I’ve already started booking campsites in the Caprivi Strip and Chobe for August 2020...

Oh yeah, we’re 2021[;)

Chobe and Victoria Falls will be on the return trip in April 😊.

😉

You’ve got two trips planned to Southern Africa in 6 months? So lucky! What’s great is there’ll be lots of travel journals to read while we wait for our trip in August 2020...

And in August 2020, we planned a trip to Zimbabwe and Mozambique (but that’s a longer trip, around 4 weeks, whereas the others are only 11 or 13 days) 😊

Otherwise, your encounters with the elephants were really amazing!

You didn’t go to Brandberg? Too bad because there were elephants there 😏😏 Maybe in Palmwag?

Oh yes, we did go to Brandberg and we saw elephants! But only 14 during the outing 😉... though we didn’t get lucky enough to have an elephant at our campsite... there was one in the campground when we were there, but we only saw it as we were leaving...

And in August 2020, we planned to take a trip to Zimbabwe and Mozambique (but that’s a longer trip, around 4 weeks, while the others are only 11 or 13 days) 😊

Come on, JF! It’s not cool to tease us like that 😩😂

Otherwise, your elephant encounters were really amazing! 🐘

You didn’t go to Brandberg? Too bad, because there were elephants there 😏😏 Maybe in Palmwag?

Oh yes, we did go to Brandberg and saw elephants! But only 14 during the outing ;)... though we didn’t get lucky enough to have one at our campsite... there was one in the campground when we were there, but we only saw it as we were leaving...

Yep! You’ve got to set up at the back because the watering hole is over there 😊

And in August 2020, we planned to take a trip to Zimbabwe and Mozambique (but that’s a longer trip, about 4 weeks, whereas the others are only 11 or 13 days)

Wow, that’s almost provocative for us amateur travelers! 😉 On the other hand, it’s great that there are travelers like you to give us advice on the forum when we’re planning our trips!

By the way, it’d be really interesting to know what you did during those 4 days... for next time 😄

What a nice way to say we’re all waiting for your travel journal ;)

Hi Régis, Right now there’s a traffic jam of Namibia travel journals... ;) I’m waiting for things to thin out a bit before I get started... :) At the same time, it gives me a little more time to pick out the photos ;)

Plus, some troublemakers are dumping tons of photos on VF ;) (wildlife and landscapes) that I drool over for hours... Doesn’t help me move forward much... :/

After all, it wasn’t so bad going in winter despite the slightly chilly nights 😄😄😄

We’ve never been to these regions at other times of the year, but winter is clearly the ideal season for us: blue skies, sunshine, pleasant temperatures (25/30°C) without being unbearable, and cool nights (a bit too much sometimes ;)) that make for restful sleep... If you also get elephants at every turn in the trails.... :) We’d happily spend all our summer vacations (for Europeans) in the southern hemisphere 😎 Okay, swimming is a bit limited :/

Otherwise, let's already do what we can at our level... it's the story of streams forming rivers 😉

Totally agree with you, Max. In some lodges, they’d leave us buckets to collect the cold water running from the shower before it got hot.... A small gesture, but if you stay 30 minutes under the shower....... 🤪😕 Anyway, even at home, we’ll have to (need to) watch our water consumption. After checking some informative sites, we saw that Belgium was even worse off than Namibia in terms of water reserves...... Surprising, but it’s also linked to population density and individual overconsumption...

And to the absurdities of our governments that don’t make decisions—take France, for example:

When building a house, it’s still not mandatory to install water collection tanks Same goes for incentives to set up systems for reusing shower water and other sources to flush toilets

Okay, we’re getting a little off-topic here 🤪

At first, we were kinda playing it cool like "Isa" 😛😏! Being a bit chilly, not really keen on splashing around in 12°C water, "just" to see sea lions. If the water’s not at least 22°C, we don’t swim. The perk of living in the Var! I showed the family some photos of the activity, but not many were up for it—maybe they were wrong....

Yes, you were wrong—it was the best paid excursion of our trip. To fight the cold, you get really warm and waterproof wetsuits. At least that’s how it was for us with Eco Marine Kayak Tours. It’s absolutely amazing to play with the sea lions, be at their level, and see every little movement they make in the water. Plus, we got several photos and videos of ourselves taken by Eco Marine Kayak Tours.

Carmen

Camping, okay, but without water or sanitary facilities, it won't be for this time around,

Uhhh... There are nice hot showers at Spitzkoppe too.

You just need to drive there since they're communal and it's not a small campsite.

For toilets, they're closer with dry toilets scattered all over the place. Not great in terms of smell, I admit...

I confirm, there are showers at the campsite entrance. We didn't use them—a night without a shower is easily doable.

For toilets, there's one per pitch. I didn't find them smelly, but in winter, it's probably less of an issue than in spring or autumn. Our pitch and the toilets were really clean. Nothing like the toilets in Ladakh.[;]