Wild Camping in Southern Africa (page 5 of 5)

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