Glamping Namibia: why you’ll love luxury Kalahari camping

By Roxanne Reid
Kalahari. It’s a word loaded with nostalgia for this dry thirstland, its red sand dunes, long-horned gemsbok, camel thorn trees and endless blue skies. If you’ve felt the Kalahari’s essence before, such words will bring memories that tug at your core. So imagine my joy to be glamping in Namibia – luxury Kalahari camping – in this matchless environment near Mariental.

​I love camping, especially in wilderness areas like the Kalahari Desert, a semi-arid area of 900 000 square kilometres spread across South Africa, Namibia and Botswana. I love that camping makes you feel close to nature and the earth, watching how dawn burns orange or how the sun hunkers on the horizon just before dark captures the sky. These are moments that can easily be missed when you’re enclosed by brick and mortar, your head buzzing with thoughts that have nothing to do with immersing yourself in your environment or living in the moment.

But I’m lazy and I hate setting up camp. It’s a schlep, it’s tiring when you’re already tired from travelling, and it takes time before you’re ready to sit back and breathe, to watch birds flit through the bushes, hear a branch quiver with pods.

Each glamping tent is surrounded by its own patch of Kalahari heaven

That’s why I’m so thrilled to be glamping in the Kalahari 25km east of Mariental in Namibia. All the Kalahari elements are there: the rolling red sand dunes, the shepherd and camel thorn trees, the white-browed sparrow weavers, and the sociable weavers in their huge nests built like blocks of apartments. There are springbok and gemsbok too, not to mention feisty little meerkats digging in a frenzy for a tasty meal. For these alone, I would be happy.

But there’s more: there’s our glamping tent at Kalahari Anib Camping2Go. Everything is already set up for us. There are only four tents so there’s a feeling of being one of only a chosen few, a chance to soak in the immensity and silent tranquillity.

Your tent looks out towards the kitchen and braai area with the dunes beyond

These permanent tents are delightful – big enough for four beds and with a large shaded outdoor kitchen area in the front, looking out towards thorn bushes, waving yellow grass and a burnt-orange sand dune. At the back is a generous-sized bathroom. On both sides, huge window flaps open to let in light and air while the mesh covering keeps out unwanted insects.

There’s no wifi and our MTC sim card didn’t have signal either, but somehow that seemed right – a chance to switch off and enjoy the ecosystem to the fullest. (If your skin is already crawling with withdrawal at the mere thought of this, relax – there’s wifi at the lodge nearby and your MTC sim card will work in the bar.)

Each large tent has four beds with a bathroom through the door at the back

​What do you get at your Camping2Go tent?

• Large tent under a shade awning
• Bedroom area with 4 beds
• Duvets, extra blankets and hot-water bottles for winter nights
• JH Cool water cooler and fan in the bedroom for hot summers
• Solar lights
• Open-air kitchen in front under a shade awning
• Big bathroom at the back with flush toilet, basin, large shower and plenty of hot water
• Dressing area with clothes hanging and packing space
• Kitchen with 2-plate gas cooker, kettle, double sink, lockable fridge/freezer
• 4 ammo boxes of kitchen equipment, including crockery, cutlery, pots, stainless steel mugs and wine goblets, grater, egg lifter, cutting board, etc, even a coffee press
• Dish cloths, sponge, dishwashing soap, plate drying rack
• Portable braai and fire grate
• Potjie, braai tongs/brushes and scrapers
• Clothes drying rack
• 4-seat picnic table and benches on the kitchen stoep
• 2 camping chairs for sitting around the fire
• Plugs in the tent to charge phones, camera batteries, etc
• Large outside bin (and smaller ones inside)
• Key to lock your valuables in the bathroom/storage area
• Safe

All you need to bring is yourself, your clothes and your food. Even the food isn’t 100% needed because you can eat at the lodge restaurant nearby or there’s a Camping2Go menu to order from if you haven’t had time to shop before you arrive. This includes bread, garlic bread, braaibroodjies (sandwiches to be toasted over the fire), mixed salad, potato salad, and a meat pack for you to braai yourself. You can buy firewood too.

Gemsbok (oryx) on a copper-coloured Kalahari dune

Things to do at Kalahari Anib Camping2Go
Although one of my favourite things to do here turned out to be just sitting and drinking in the distinctive Kalahari vibe, the painted shadows of dawn and dusk, there are lots of activities that you’ll love.

1. Enjoy an afternoon nature drive 

Don't miss a nature drive with sundowners on the top of a dune

Go for a sunset drive in an open safari vehicle in the late afternoon to learn more about the Kalahari and its animals from your guide. Use all your senses; see huge sociable weaver colonies in the camel thorn trees, feel the breeze as it ripples through the grass, listen to the liquid sound of the Namaqua sandgrouse as they fly overhead. Apart from antelope like springbok and gemsbok that thrive in this dry area, you may also see zebra, blue wildebeest, giraffe, black-backed jackal, bat-eared fox or African wild cat. There’s a feast of Kalahari birds too, including black korhaan and the kori bustard, which is southern Africa’s largest bird that can fly. The drive culminates in sundowners on a terracotta sand dune. Enjoy the spectacle of the Kalahari laid out below as daylight dies in crayon colours. If you prefer, you can do an early morning guided drive.
Read more about our sunset drive here. 

2. Go e-biking across the Kalahari ​

E-biking on fat tyres takes a lot of the strain out of cycling on thick sand

Perhaps the most fun thing we’ve done at Kalahari Anib was to hop into the saddle of an e-bike and take off along some of the tracks in the sand. As you pedal, you’re powering an electric motor so you can buzz along without as much leg-effort as it would take across the thick sand on a normal bike. Ride along one of the hiking trails (see point 3 below) or just follow your nose. Remember that if you stop to admire a bird or try to identify tracks in the sand at your feet, you may need to turn the key to restart the electric motor because it sensibly switches off when it’s not being used.

3. Take a hike 
Get a walking trails map from the friendly folk at reception and take one of the self-guided trails that vary from 5km to 16km. This activity is free of charge. You might see a few springbok or gemsbok along the way (a lucky friend even saw an aardwolf), some birds or tracks left in the sand to tell the story of who has passed by earlier. It’s a joy to walk unfettered through the Gondwana Kalahari Park without threat from dangerous predators.

If you want to learn more about the environment of sand dunes and how to read the tracks and signs, do a guided walk along a dune instead. The guide will enrich your experience by telling you about the plants, insects, birds, small mammals and reptiles that you encounter.

4. Gaze at the stars ​

The stars appear in their multitudes in the dry, unpolluted Kalahari air

At Kalahari Anib Camping2Go, you’re some way from the lights of the lodge, so it’s a perfect place to appreciate the night skies. The Kalahari has few obstructions to your viewing and the skies seem vast and filled with more stars than you can ever hope to see at home in the city because the air here is both dry and unpolluted. Seek out old favourites like the Milky Way, the Southern Cross, Orion’s Belt and perhaps a planet or two. If you’ve brought your star guide or have a star app on your phone, now is the time to haul it out.

5. Look for scorpions at night
After dinner, when the stars and moon have come out to play in the otherwise dark sky, join a guide for a scorpion discovery walk. If you have your own ultraviolet light, bring it along although the guide will have one for everyone to enjoy. See how scorpions glow blue-green in the dark under the UV light. Remember that this is nature so nothing can be guaranteed, but you should usually find at least a scorpion or two. The walk lasts about 45 minutes. Don’t forget to wear proper closed shoes rather than sandals.

6. Sit quietly and let nature approach 

Relax at your glamping tent and enjoy the sights and sounds of nature

Spend time sitting quietly outside your tent and you might get a visit from some birds. We saw black korhaans, chats, prinias, white-browed sparrow-weavers, red-headed finches, sociable weavers, scaly-feathered finches, Namaqua sandgrouses, Kalahari robins, swee waxbills and more. We also had an early morning visit from a springbok that stood on the dune in front of our tent to observe us. We heard an antelope chomping next to the tent in the early hours of the morning and looked for tracks once it was light. The most recent tracks looked like gemsbok, so perhaps that’s who we’d missed in the dark.

7. Get up early to watch dawn break 
​There’s little that’s more beautiful than the first flush of dawn in the Kalahari (see the intro pic) – unless perhaps the sunsets. Despite it being seriously cold in winter when we visited, we rose early to watch sunrise stain the eastern sky with an exquisite peachy-apricot light that deepened just before the sun popped over the horizon. As the sun clambered up in the sky, it was good to sit in a golden patch and let the warmth creep into our bones.

8. Swim on a hot day ​

I prefer the smaller of Kalahari Anib lodge's two swimming pools

Want to cool off? There are two swimming pools at the lodge which glampers are welcome to use. A large one is surrounded by loungers, green grass and quiver trees in front of the dining room and bar areas. If you prefer something a little more intimate, you’ll like the smaller pool off to one side. It overlooks a small waterhole, so it can be a bonus to spot wildlife coming to drink.

9. Have lunch at the lodge ​

If you’re peckish after your morning activity but don’t feel like faffing with making your own lunch at your glamping tent, go to the lodge to enjoy lunch under a large spreading tree on the deck. Look out over veld, thorn trees and termite mounds and soak up the Kalahari ambience. We enjoyed the guacamole burger and chips, and chicken schnitzel with chips and salad.

10. Enjoy sundowners ​

Feel the Kalahari sand underfoot either in the lodge's bar or at your glamping tent

​If you’re feeling sociable, enjoy sundowners in the lodge’s alluring bar with its two large fireplaces on Kalahari sand. For me, though, there’s no better place to enjoy sundowners than on the stoep of your glamping tent. Start the fire crackling in the fire grate, grab a glass of beer or wine, and gaze out over the red dune in deep silence. Watch the sun set fire to the sky and the landscape curl up for the night.

You may see giraffes on the reserve

​
​Glamping elsewhere in Namibia
Kalahari Anib is only one of six glamping camps that The Gondwana Collection offers in Namibia. At all of them, you may use the swimming pool and other amenities of the lodge nearby, and participate in the activities. Like Kalahari Anib, they all offer braai packs, salads and bread as well. Here are the other five.

1. Namushasha
In the far north-east of Namibia is the Zambezi region (formerly known as the Caprivi). It’s a skinny finger of land that hugs the Kavango and Kwando rivers and appears to be an entirely different country from the deserts of southern or north-west Namibia. Here among this lush, tropical vegetation lies Namushasha River Camping2Go. It’s about halfway between Divundu in the west and Katimo Mulilo in the east. Don’t miss a game drive into the Bwabwata National Park or a sunset cruise along the river.
Read more about Namushasha River Lodge

2. Etosha
Etosha Safari Camping2Go lies 10km south of Andersson Gate into Etosha National Park, opening up chances to go self-driving into the park or on a guided drive from the lodge. Since accommodation inside the park is a lot more expensive than glamping here, this is an affordable way for couples or families to experience Etosha, which is justifiably one of Namibia’s top attractions.
Read more about Etosha Safari Lodge and its sister camp next door, Etosha Safari Camp

3. Palmwag
In north-west Namibia, Palmwag Camping2Go lies near an underground spring and the Uniab River, making it an oasis surrounded by dark red basalt rocks. About 80km west of Kamanjab, it’s a perfect stopover on your way to places deep in the Kunene region of north-west Namibia, like Purros, Van Zyl’s Pass, the Marienfluss and Epupa Falls, or to Torra Bay and Terrace Bay in the Skeleton Coast National Park.
Read more about Palmwag Lodge & Camp

4. Namib Desert
In the south you’ll find the Namib Desert Camping2Go between Solitaire and Sesriem. This puts you in reach of the dunes of Sossusvlei and Dead Vlei, which are two of the most-visited and most-photographed marvels in the country. Don’t miss the guided sundowner drive that leaves from the lodge; the views from the top of the dunes are epic (see photo below).
Read more about Namib Desert Lodge

The view from the dunes on the sundowner drive from Namib Desert Camping2Go

5. Hakusembe
A new glamping camp opened at Hakusembe River Camping2Go near Rundu in north-east Namibia’s Zambezi (Caprivi) region in time for Easter 2024. This is where to experience the lush wetland of the Kavango River, so different from the semi-arid landscapes further south and west. It makes a good stopover en route to the Zambezi, Botswana and the Victoria Falls. We loved the boat cruise on the river at sunset, full of birds and beautiful views.
Read more about Hakusembe River Lodge

​Need to know

• To get to Kalahari Anib Camping2Go, drive north of Mariental along the B1, then turn right on to the C20 that goes to Stampriet. The turn-off to the Kalahari Anib lodge and camp is well marked on your left about 25km east of Mariental. A short gravel road will take you to reception where you book in for the Camping2Go glamping tents.
• To book for any of Camping2Go tents, email [email protected], tel +264 61 427 200 or +264 81 129 2424 (after hours).
• To see all the Gondwana Collection lodges, glamping tents and campsites around Namibia click here.
• If you plan to spend more than one or two nights at any of the Gondwana Collection’s Camping2Go, campsites or lodges, it makes sense to buy a Gondwana Card that offers discounts. For instance, Namibians get 50% discount on accommodation, visitors from SADC countries get 40% off. There are also discounts on activities and meals. Check here for all the details.
• Need to hire a vehicle? The Gondwana Collection can help you with that too. They have Toyota Fortuners, Suzuki Jimnys, people carriers, 4x4 Hiluxes and Landcruisers fully equipped for camping. Gondwana’s Namibia2Go car rental division people are the ones to talk to.

 
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