Discovering the joys of camping in Namibia (page 5 of 30)

Hi Isabelle, Thanks for your reply. I’ll check the lodge prices, but if we go back to Namibia, we might also try camping for a few nights...

Hi Muriel, And thanks for your reply! I’ll keep looking into this. Anyway, a return trip to Namibia isn’t planned for at least another two years... Jean Luc

But if we go back to Namibia, we could also try the camping option for a few nights...

Well! Looks like we might have a new camping fan here 😏.

Hi Jean Luc,

No, also self-catering here 🙂 😎

Wednesday, July 31: Namibrand / Sesriem

Our second night under the tent wasn’t quite as great—the wind blew, and the tent awning flapped until 1 a.m. Luckily, it calmed down after that. Despite everything, we didn’t get cold. Turns out, we’re getting pretty used to camping. It’s true that feeling like you’re alone in the world really adds to the experience. We’d have hated to miss moments like these 😎.

We got out of the tent before sunrise to watch it rise over the horizon. It was cold, though—just 1°C—pretty tough, but as soon as the sun came up, it felt much better.



After breakfast, we wandered around the dunes for a while—it’s really beautiful. Apart from a few oryx passing by, nothing disturbed the sand.









By 10 a.m., we left the camp. We’d shed all our layers because the sun had warmed things up—it was already 20°C, and today, there wasn’t a breath of wind.

We then headed to Sesriem, our destination for the day, just 120 km north of Namibrand. We took the 16 km track followed by the C27, a gravel road that was *not* smooth at all. We got our first taste of Namibian massages—we were shaken like plum trees! Thankfully, we barely crossed anyone because the dust we left in our wake was insane 🙁.





Luckily, the road was brightened up by some animals and nice landscapes 😏.









We arrived at the Sesriem camp a little after 12:30 p.m., pretty exhausted from the road.

After the entry formalities, our spot was number 9—near the entrance, which isn’t great. We asked if we could get a spot from number 18 onward since, according to the map, they’re more secluded. But apparently, nothing was available. Honestly, I think she just didn’t feel like bothering to check. We paid the park entry fees for the next two days. Since we’re sleeping in the park, we pay in 24-hour blocks, so our pass is valid until Friday at noon.

I’d noted that national park fees were supposed to increase in 2019. Tourmaline had also mentioned this (expecting 120 N$/day/person and 20 N$/day/vehicle), but we paid 340 N$ for two days—that’s 80 N$/day/person and 10 N$/day/vehicle. So, it seems the increase didn’t happen in 2019 after all.

The park gates open one hour before sunrise for those staying inside, so tomorrow, it’s from 6:45 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.

We went to our spot—wow, this is a change from the last two nights where we were alone with private restrooms. Here, the shared facilities are in terrible shape. Plus, we’re all on top of each other, and even in the early afternoon, there’s a lot of coming and going. Luckily, we got a spot surrounded by a low wall, which we can use to set things down instead of putting them directly on the sand. There’s also a plug for the fridge and a water point at the base of the tree. Next to us, they weren’t so lucky—it’s really minimal.

Thanks Jean François 🙂

Well! Looks like we might have a new camping enthusiast.

Uh... not so sure after what you wrote above 😉

Our second night in the tent wasn’t quite as great—the wind blew and the tent awning flapped until 1 a.m.

Okay, we’ll think about camping a bit more...[;]

For this afternoon, we have two options: either stay near the camp and take a walk in the Sesriem Canyon, then climb Elim Dune at the end of the afternoon to watch the sunset. Or head to Hiddenvlei and climb Dune 45 for the sunset. It’s still early in the afternoon, so we go for the second option.

We still take our time before leaving—I take the opportunity to shower while it’s hot because last night… brrr, that taught me a lesson about waiting until night to shower 🤪.

The road to Sossusvlei is paved and almost perfectly straight, but it’s limited to 60 km/h. That doesn’t bother us since we take much longer than planned anyway—we keep stopping to take photos of the dunes. Incorrigible!











Oh! There are already a few cars at Dune 45.

It’s already past 4 PM when we start walking toward Hidden Vlei, which is a 2 km hike from the parking lot. It’s 28°C—really pleasant. The landscape is stunning, giving us a sneak peek of tomorrow. But after half an hour without reaching Hidden Vlei, we turn back, already won over by this place.







At 5:30 PM, we arrive at Dune 45 and climb it in 30 minutes—there really aren’t many people. The view is amazing, and we wait quietly for the sun to set. We’re so comfortable here, sitting in the sand, still warm from the day 🙂.











It’s great, but we have to head back—the gates close at 7:30 PM, and we have 45 km to cover. We’re not the last ones, but we still arrive at the camp at 7:20 PM.

The usual routine now: make a fire, cook the veggies, set up the tent, eat dinner, do the dishes, prepare for the next day, shower (well, not me—I already did… but when Quynh goes, there’s no hot water left), pack everything into the car, and by the time we go to bed, it’s already 11 PM. Who said this was a vacation? 🤪







Luckily, today it’s not cold at all—nothing like yesterday. Cool! We go to bed excited for tomorrow.

The next part of Sesriem here

Our second night in the tent wasn’t as great—the wind blew and the tent awning flapped until 1 a.m.,

Okay, we’ll think about camping a bit more...😉

Yeah, you’re right, don’t read what’s next—it was a real hassle... 😏

Isabelle, The first photo I see of you is... cooking up a storm 😛 😏!

I’m a bit surprised by the color of the sand at Namibrand and Sesriem 😕. I imagined it being more vibrant... Do your photos capture what the eye actually sees? If so, that would mean most of the photos we see everywhere are edited, which would be a shame since the whole point is to enjoy the moment in person...

Anyway, quick practical question: was the stove included in the rental, and did it come with gas? Thanks

Isabelle, The first photo I see of you is... cooking away 😛 😏 !

Yeah! I hesitated to post these photos, but I still didn’t want people to think these were totally relaxing holidays 😅

I’m a bit surprised by the color of the sand at Namibrand and Sesriem 😕. I imagined it brighter... Do your photos capture what the eye actually sees? That would mean most of the photos we see everywhere are enhanced, which would be a shame because the point is to enjoy the moment in person...

I don’t edit my photos—I don’t have the software for it, and I actually prefer them to show reality 😊 But reality is always better than photos because you get the full dimension. Maybe our camera or lens wasn’t the best, or maybe the photographer wasn’t at the top of their game 😅

Quick practical question: was the stove included in the rental, and did it come with gas? Thanks

Yes, of course! We even had two full gas bottles and two stoves so we could cook pasta and veggies or boil water at the same time 😄

Hi Guillaume,

For photos of the dunes, it depends on the time of day—at sunrise and sunset, the dunes are more colorful, while at midday they look washed out. Camera settings also make a big difference in the results.

Hi Guillaume,

I had the same thought, but I know the colors are much more intense in real life. That said, as Nathalie mentioned, it depends on the time of day.

For us, at Namibrand, the sand was truly "red." But the rain during the night definitely played a part. Still, I think the sand at Namibrand is always a bit redder than in the photos you see in this travel journal.

For Sesriem, it really depends on the time the photos were taken. The sand is much less "red" than at Namibrand. But at sunrise and sunset, the colors are stunning. In fact, the color in my photos taken on Elim Dune at sunrise matches what we saw (journal entry 2108).

That said, when it’s really windy—like on our departure day from Sesriem in 2016—the sky gets so full of dust that everything looks grayish. That’s one reason I recommend at least two days in Sesriem. Mamina, another forum member, had that painful experience... often gray skies, sandstorms, and major disappointment with the colors.

We visited Namibia in June-July, October, and March-April, and March-April was the best for colors (followed by June-July). The sky had beautiful clouds, sometimes stormy, great light, and big storms with quite a bit of rain that "washes" away the dust.

Carmen

Thanks Isabelle for this wonderful follow-up. You were really lucky with the aardwolf, and that little oryx is adorable.😍

I don’t edit my photos—I don’t have the software for it, and I actually prefer them to represent reality 😊

When you don’t shoot in RAW and stick to JPEG, it’s your camera that “processes” the photos. You can really tell, depending on the camera’s settings and brand, that there can be big differences in color, saturation, contrast...

Like you, I prefer photos to represent reality. But depending on how the photo will be used, it’s sometimes good to give them a little boost—without going overboard. And you need a well-calibrated computer screen to see the “true” colors. Otherwise, white balance and other adjustments can really play tricks on you.

I don’t edit the photos, I don’t have the software for it, and I actually prefer that the photos represent reality 😊

When you don’t take photos in RAW but in JPEG, it’s your camera that "processes" the photos. You can clearly see, depending on the camera settings and brand, that there can be big differences in color, saturation, contrast...

Like you, I prefer that photos represent reality. But depending on how the photo is used, it’s sometimes good to boost them a little—without going overboard. And you need a well-calibrated computer screen to see the "right" colors. Otherwise, white balance and other corrections can play tricks on us.

Our two cameras shoot in both RAW and JPEG because they have two cards. I never use the RAW files because they’re way too big, and honestly, I can’t be bothered to edit them 😕 And my husband doesn’t have time to deal with his photos, so... they just get stored 😮. Yeah, I’ve noticed that brightness varies from one screen to another. How do you calibrate your screen?

Our two cameras shoot in RAW and JPEG because they have two cards. I never use the RAW files because they're way too big, and honestly, I can't be bothered to edit them :/ And my husband doesn’t have time to deal with his photos, so... they just sit there stored 😮. Yeah, I noticed that brightness varies from one screen to another. How do you calibrate your screen?

The best way to calibrate your computer screen is to get a spider 🕷️! 🕷️ = Calibration probe

Our two cameras shoot in RAW and JPEG because they have two memory cards. I never use the RAW files because they're way too big, and honestly, I can't be bothered to edit them 😕 And my husband doesn’t have time to deal with his photos either, so... they just sit there stored 😮. Actually, I noticed that brightness varies from one screen to another. How do you calibrate your screen?

The best way to calibrate your computer screen is to get a spider 🕷! 🕷 = Calibration probe

Thanks Nathalie, I’ll check out what a spider is☺️ 😂

I never use RAW files because they're way too big, and honestly, I can't be bothered to edit them Incertain

I get it—it takes a lot of time.

True, I noticed that brightness varies from one screen to another. How do you calibrate your screen?

With a calibration tool, but the most important thing is to buy a good screen. Cheap screens often aren’t great.

But if your photos match what you saw, that’s what matters most. Like I mentioned in another post, the time of day and weather really affect the colors. Your travel journal is a great read, so no worries at all.[;]