15 Namibia campsites: a guide for camping in Namibia

By Roxanne Reid
I love camping in Namibia, especially in wilderness places without many people. I’ve written before about ​campsites in southwest Namibia, but not the rest of the country. Here are 15 Namibia campsites: a guide for camping in Namibia, from the southeast to the north.

Southeast Namibia

1. Mesosaurus Fossil Camp

There are chalets and a ‘normal’ campsite here, but my favourite is the bush camp about 3km from the main camp along a road where you need a high clearance vehicle. There’s no power so you must be self-sufficient with battery or gas lights and cookers, but you can make a fire in the donkey boiler to get hot water for your shower in the rustic but clean ablutions. Don’t worry, you won’t have to face a long drop – there are flush toilets. Each site has a designated braai area and is set apart from other sites so you can experience the wild environment of camel thorns, sociable weaver birds, quiver trees and dark dolerite rocks in peace and tranquillity. Join one of the owners for an interesting late afternoon excursion to see a Mesosaurus (180-million-year-old reptile) fossil, or visit the Quivertree Forest and Giant’s Playground nearby.

Where: 42km north-east of Keetmanshoop on the C17 towards Koës
Rates and bookings 
Read more about Mesosaurus Fossil Camp


2. Kalahari Anib Lodge’s campsite

Want to feel the spirit of the Kalahari and see star-filled skies? The perfect place is the campsite at Kalahari Anib Lodge. There are just three campsites, each with its own private ablutions and wash-up area, power point, bricked braai, picnic table, cement enclosure and shade awning. You can’t even see your nearest neighbour, that’s how well spaced the campsites are. Go for a walk along one of the trails, join a guided drive or make the most of the lodge’s swimming pools, bar and restaurant. If you prefer, simply relax at your campsite and enjoy surround-sound Kalahari, from white-browed sparrow weavers and sociable weavers to the distant boom of an ostrich or yelp of a jackal. There are no large predators in the private reserve, so there’s no need to look over your shoulder, though you may get a visit from some antelope.

Where: 30km from Mariental on the C20 to Stampriet
Rates and bookings 
Read about things to do at Kalahari Anib


3. Kalahari Farmhouse’s campsite

If campsite ablutions are your worst nightmare, you’re gonna love them here – four loos and four showers for eight campsites, and they’re beautifully clean, tiled spaces with lots of hooks and a shelf in the shower. Each loo has its own basin and mirror. There’s also a kitchen/laundry area, as well as a built-in braai with prep table, bin, tap, power point and light at each site. Pole fences on each side give the grassed sites under the shade of palm trees some privacy. Take a walk to the lodge to swim in the pool, visit the Self Sufficiency Centre, enjoy a drink in the bar or a meal in the restaurant. Best of all, sit back on your campsite and enjoy the rural vibe, listen to the palm leaves rustling in the breeze and the Namaqua sandgrouse flying overhead.
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Where: On the outskirts of Stampriet, 62km east of Mariental along the C20
Rates and bookings 
Read about the lodge and Self-Sufficiency Centre
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Central Namibia

4. Camp Elephant, Erindi Private Nature Reserve

This is the most expensive campsite we’ve ever stayed at – more than four times as much as some of the other sites on this list. But we figured each site had private ablutions and it was on a private game reserve, so we’d treat ourselves to two nights for a special wedding anniversary.

The ablutions are fab, and there’s a double carport with shade cloth, so you can park a vehicle and/or motorhome/caravan. A picnic table, braai and grassed area, outdoor wash-up area and fridge complete the facilities. There’s also a pretty waterhole in front of the chalets, where we saw hippo, wildebeest, springbok, zebra and warthog. You can’t see the waterhole from the campsites, but it’s not far to walk.

But we had lots of niggles at Camp Elephant. First, the corrugations on the D2414 to get to the reserve were bad. Second, don’t announce on your website and booking confirmation that book-in time is 14:00 and then tell everyone who arrives at that time that it’s 14:30. This created a bottleneck of screaming kids and cars playing loud music while they waited to get their keys on what was a very busy weekend (I can only assume that Namibians get a reduced rate). That busyness was a third irritation, though perhaps in hindsight a midweek booking would have been wiser. Fourth, the campsites are very close together so there isn’t much privacy. Fifth, despite the high price of the campsites, if you want to go on a self-drive around the reserve you have to pay another few hundred dollars. There are lots of guided activities, but they also come at a steep price (up to around N$700 per person).

Where: About 90km north-west of Okahandja on the D2414 towards Kalkfeld
Rates and bookings 


Northern Namibia

5. Sophienhof Lodge’s campsite

Sophienhof lodge has rooms and bungalows, but if you camp you can also use facilities like the restaurant and pool. Unusually for Namibia, the sites are on green grass. They have shady trees, bricked braais, taps and power points. If you’re fussy about ablutions, you’ll find the ones here rather basic and a bit shabby though serviceable enough. The shower I used in the main block had an unsealed cement floor and was gritty underfoot, though I wasn’t sure whether from cement grit or sand that hadn’t been cleaned. There are canvas-tented ablutions too, also with untreated cement floors. Nonetheless, it’s an affordable stopover on your way north to Etosha or west towards the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Twyfelfontein.

Where: About 10km west of Outjo on the C39 towards Khorixas
Rates and bookings

6. Palmwag Lodge campsite

If you’re heading deeper into north-western Kunene, chances are you’ll stop over at Palmwag Lodge campsite, an oasis of waving palm trees along the Uniab River. Sandy campsites come with power point, a braai, small shade awning, tap and sink with cold water for washing up. The reed and canvas ablutions have hot-water showers. Chill at the swimming pool nearby, order a light meal or cold drink from the bar. If you have time, sign up for a guided drive in the hope of spotting desert-adapted elephants or rhino. You can fill up with fuel here too, making it a useful stop in an area not overflowing with places to buy fuel. It’s best if you bring cash.

Where: About 115km west of Kamanjab along the C40, just a little north from where it joins the C43 to Sesfontein
Rates and bookings
Read more about Palmwag


7. Olifantsrus, Etosha National Park

This dedicated campsite (no chalets) in the western section of Etosha National Park is set on reddish sand among mopane trees. You get a braai and small shade awning, and share a power point and tap with another site. The ablutions and kitchen are kept clean, but need a little maintenance here and there. Compared to other Etosha campsites, though, they’re good. The staff are friendly and helpful, there’s an interesting elephant info centre, and you can buy light meals and cold drinks from a small kiosk. We prefer the sites along the perimeter fence for views into the bush. The camp’s best feature is the double-storey hide over a waterhole – a great place to spend a few hours while in camp.

Where: About 75km north-east of Etosha National Park’s Galton Gate (if you’re coming from Kamanjab on the C35), or 150km north-west of Etosha’s Andersson Gate (if you approach from Outjo on the C38)
Rates and bookings
Read more about Olifantsrus


8. Etosha Safari Camp’s campsite

This campsite is a peaceful substitute for the overly busy Okaukuejo campsite inside Etosha National Park, but still close enough for a great wildlife experience at waterholes like Nebrownii and Okaukuejo. Unlike Okaukuejo’s sandy campsites with little protection from the sun, you’ll find green grass and shady trees. Ablutions and wash-up areas are simple but kept clean. You get a power point and tap at your site, with recycling bins not far away. Return from a busy day of game viewing, take a dip in the lodge’s pool, visit the vibey shebeen bar for a cold one, then go to sleep to the sound of rustling mopane trees.

Where: 10km south of Etosha National Park’s Andersson gate on the C38 from Outjo
Rates and bookings​
Read more about the camp and its bar

9. Leadwood Campsite, Onguma Lodge

Just outside the Von Lindequist gate in the east of Etosha National Park is the entrance to Onguma; Leadwood Campsite is 9km inside the private reserve. This position makes it a fabulous stop if you want to visit Etosha but not to camp at Namutoni’s small and often overcrowded campsite. Leadwood is laid out on sand under big leadwood trees, each site plenty big enough for a caravan, motorhome or 4x4 camper with roof tent and a ground tent too. Each of the six sites has its own private ablutions, power point, braai, tap, bin and kitchen sink. The ablution/kitchen area is cleaned every day. The sites are carved out of the natural bush and set fairly far apart so you don’t have to feel crowded. There’s also a waterhole, restaurant/bar and pool on the property that campers can use. Keep an eye out at dusk for lesser bushbabies in the trees around camp. We saw three of them huddled together as they slept, and waited until they woke and started bounding through the trees to feed once it got dark.

Where: Turn off 50m outside the eastern Von Lindequist Gate of Etosha National Park on the C38 (about 105km from Tsumeb)
Rates and bookings


10. Ngepi Camp

This is one of the ablutions at Ngepi; the intro photo shows the view from the riverside campsites

This is a delightfully wacky camp in the Zambezi region (formerly Caprivi) of north-eastern Namibia. Each site has a power point, tap, braai, a small patch of grass and some shade. River-view sites let you fall asleep to the tuba-sounds of hippos. Each ablution is different, from an open-air ‘adventure centre’ among trees to the hip-bath with a view over the river, or a toilet that looks like a royal throne. Wander the campsite to take in the eccentric ablutions, the funky signs that show off the owners’ sense of humour. Have a beer at the bush bar, swim in a floating cage pool, and visit Popa Falls and the Mahango core area of Bwabwata National Park nearby. 

Where: About 14km from Divundu on the D3403; Divundu is 200km east of Rundu
Rates and bookings
More photos of Ngepi


11. Nunda River Lodge’s campsite

At Nunda River Lodge’s campsite in Zambezi (Caprivi) you can have the best of both worlds, choosing either a sandy riverside site or a shady, grassy site a little further away. You get a built-in braai, bin, tap and power point. Reed screens offer some privacy from neighbouring campers. The ablutions are clean though simple, and a donkey boiler is lit in the late afternoon to provide piping hot water for your shower. You’re welcome to enjoy the lodge’s facilities like gardens, pool, restaurant and deck overlooking the Kavango River. Watch the sunset turn the river gloriously golden at sunset.

Where: About 9km from Divundu on the D3403; Divundu is 200km east of Rundu
Rates and bookings
Read more about Nunda


12. Kwando Camp

Not far from Kongola in northeastern Zambezi you’ll find Kwando, where you can camp on green grass under shady bushwillow, knobthorn and apple-leaf trees. If you pitch camp near the pool you can plug into a power point there, run off a generator that’s on for four hours in the morning and four in the evening – plenty to keep your camp fridge and lights going. There are really good ablutions too. Listen to the birds in the trees, swim or lounge in the gazebo next to the pool, enjoy a drink at the lodge’s bar overlooking the Kwando River before your braai.

Where: About 25km south of Kongola on the C49; Kongola is 400km east of Rundu
Rates and bookings
Read more about Kwando Camp


13. Namushasha Lodge’s campsite

This campsite in north-eastern Zambezi has green grass, river views and private ablutions that are super-clean. Each site has a power point, and staff members make a fire in the donkey boilers in the morning and late afternoon for a steady supply of hot water. The sites along the riverfront are superb for tents and trailers, though you’d have to choose carefully for a caravan because some of the sites aren’t flat. Visit the Bwabwata National Park if you have a 4x4 and experience driving in thick sand, sign up for a cruise down the river with a guide, take a dip in the lodge’s swimming pool or visit the heritage centre for an insight into the locals’ traditional way of life. Don’t miss having a drink on the lodge’s fabulous triple deck overlooking the Kwando River.

Where: About 25km south of Kongola on the C49; Kongola is 400km east of Rundu
Rates and bookings


14. Ohange Lodge’s campsite

We avoided camping in the stables area and opted for a bush camp under a big camel thorn tree. It was marked out from the surrounding thornveld by a ring of short sticks, much like a cattle kraal would be. In the large sandy space inside we had our own power point, private kitchen and ablutions as well as a shade cover next to them. Someone came to light the donkey boiler when we arrived at 14:00 and by late afternoon I had a superb hot shower. Although the ablutions were simple and rustic, they were spotlessly clean and well thought out: there were hooks, two shelves for your clothes and gear, shower caddy for toiletries and a tiled floor. We spent the afternoon watching springbok and an eland while listening to rutting impala, pearl-spotted owls and red-billed spurfowl. The evening was full of stars. If you love simple but comfy camping, you’ll enjoy this as much as we did.

Where: About 30km north of Otavi on the B1 towards Tsumeb
Rates and bookings


15. Waterberg Plateau National Park campsite

This campsite is in the beautiful Waterberg Plateau National Park, which is reason enough to visit if you’re interested in walking trails, mountaintop views (the climb to the top of the massif is well worth the effort) and birding. The views of lichen-covered mountains are compelling. Unfortunately, the last time we visited in mid 2018, the D2512 section of the journey was badly corrugated, which made the last 25km or so unpleasant. It’s a big campsite, with 45 sites, some of them on sand and others on grass. Each site has a braai, tap, power point and bin and some have shade trees. Ablutions have been upgraded and are clean and neat. Out of season is the best time to visit, when it’s less busy and there are fewer people to lure baboons off the mountain for an easy snatch-and-grab meal. You can do a guided game drive, but the pick of the activities is definitely the walking trails. Campers can use the restaurant, bar, kiosk, shop and swimming pool. The camp also sells fuel.

Where: About 90km south-east of Otjiwarongo via the B1, C22 and D2512
Rates and bookings

Did I mention your favourite Namibia campsite? If not, please share the scoop by mentioning it in the comments.

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