Camping or Safari Lodge in Namibia? You can do both!

Odyssey World’s Namibia specialist, Madri, explains why self-drive and camping adventures create the perfect family adventure in Southern Africa.

And this is from real experience! Madri was born in the coastal city of Swakopmund and spent most of her childhood travelling through Namibia and surrounds, camping with her dad and family. She has spent the last 22 years putting together self-drive holidays, group tours, Incentives and other speciality tours such as weddings, safaris, birding tours, etc. Madri understands the mind of the local, the best way to responsibly enjoy your trip, engage with the community and most of all the way to make your trip a magical adventure like no other. She’s travelled extensively through all of Namibia and surrounds, including Kenya, Tanzania, South Africa and Zanzibar, and used almost every method of travel imaginable. But self-drive camping trips will always stay close to her heart, for very good reason.

Get the whole family involved with setting up camp in the Namibian desert

Madri recommends, “One of the most rewarding and exciting ways to explore Namibia is by camping. There is nothing more exhilarating than hearing the lions roar when you sit quietly around the campfire at night, listening to the sounds of the night and sharing experiences and stories with other campers around you. Waking up at dawn to hear the birds welcoming the day, with the sounds of an elephant drinking water from the waterhole, whilst you have your first sip of the strong-brew coffee over the embers from last night’s fire. It is an adventure like no other, making your way through the dusty roads, spotting warthogs with their tails up running through the grassland, and here and there a lone Oryx or Kudu on the side of the road.

After a warm day exploring, it’s unbelievably rewarding to get camp made and sit down for a sip of that icy-cold beer, reminiscing about the leopard spotted in the tree, or the giraffe making its way through the camelthorn trees. Getting up close to the Bushman or San people, or spending a day with the Nomadic Ovahimba tribes, listening to their hunting stories or their stories of how things came to be. Or spend the day driving on the beach, stopping past the wrecks of the Skeleton coast. There is truly no other way to get closer to the animals, people and culture than sitting quietly and listening underneath the starry skies.

You don’t need to worry about safety and comfort either. Camps are fenced in to protect you from the big cats and provide good, clean facilities, so all you need to do is open a beer, start the braai and relax into the most perfect desert landscape.

Of course, if roughing it is a little much to request of your whole family for an entire two week trip, there are plenty of luxury lodges en route.  I’ll share with you my favourites so you can create an adventure with the best of both worlds. There’s nothing wrong with a little luxury on your African safari!”

        

A big thanks to the Tame family, who recently completed a big Namibia adventure and sent these amazing images!