Namibia - camping, bookings, parks - annoying rules!

[JP Gaillard]

Hi all

I am driving through Namibia in a week for 1 month on my way to Botswana then. I read the LPs guide on the place and it is quite shocking that they seem to say that everything needs to be pre-booked...? I hate pre-booking because you never know when you get somewhere, how long you want to stay, or side trips you can go on.

so basically- is it just a bunch of crap and in the end you can just show up and do your thing as long as you ask politely for permission and annoy no-one? Or do you indeed need to pre-book with these guys in Windhoek???

What about wild camping (without making fire of course). People did it outside of the parks or no?

JP

[DustyBin]

Hi JP, We read the same suggestions to prebook a few years ago. However we had no problems getting camping in any of the parks. We never prebooked once and would only expect to if your were looking to stay in any of the visitors accomodation they have available in the parks.

Have a great time.

[Richardq]

Hi, we were there in 2005 and had no problems just turning up at the game parks without a booking. Bush camping is harder in parts of Namibia because a lot of the land is wire fenced. However, when we became desperate, we decided to ask permission of a farmer to camp on his land and it turned out to be one of the highlights of the trip - the farmer took us on night drives through his farm, etc. If you do find a wild spot to camp and do light a fire try to make sure you only burn dead timber (some of the trees can have the appearance of being dead but are in fact "hibernating" through the dry season. Also, we were advised to be careful what tree you burn as there is a species that gives off poisonous fumes (not sure if this true or not?). Etosha park was great during dry season and we got to see tons.

[JP Gaillard]

This forum is awesome. simply awesome. thanks for the responses!

[Vaufi]

Where you would need to get a permit BEFORE camping or riding through the park are mainly those that haven't any local staff like for instance the "Vogelfeder Berg" or some places east of Walvis Bay. I was told that if a park warden pitches up and you don't have a permit, it could be quite expensive.

But other parks or nature reserves like Sossousvlei, Spitzkoppe, Twyfelfontein, Brandberg etc. there is local staff where you can buy your permit, engage a guide, get camping permission without any problems.

What put me off was that often entry fees have different price levels for
a) Namibians (lowest fee)
b) citizens from other African states (slightly more expensive)
c) oversea visitors -> rip-off compare to a) and b)
This also applies to state-run parks in South Africa.

[marker]

never had to pre-book in Namibia but in Botswana I was turned back at Moremi for not having made a pre-booking, even in lowseason. After a heavy discussion I was allowed in for the afternoon only.

[lecap]

According to my experience you only need reservations over school holidays and maybe weekends & long weekends. This also depends where you go.
You should also be careful if you rely on a place with very limited capacity like some of the smaller lodges.
I would try at least to phone the next planned overnight place in the morning. Might help to prevent nervewhacking night rides.

Yes, we did camp on the side of the road. It does not really make sense for most of the time as you find enough places with at least basic facilities. You will have to be considerate as the land belongs to someone as mentioned above. North of the veterinary border you will not have fences and no one will bother as long as you don't pitch smack bang right next to a village but you will have to consider wild animals.
My advice: Aim for official camp sites or lodges that allow camping.

Originally Posted by Vaufi

What put me off was that often entry fees have different price levels for
a) Namibians (lowest fee)
b) citizens from other African states (slightly more expensive)
c) oversea visitors -> rip-off compare to a) and b)
This also applies to state-run parks in South Africa.

Hi Vaufi. Please try to see these price differences in connection with the average income in South Africa / Namibia / EU countries / the USA.

Every visitor has to contribute a certain amount to the upkeep of the parks, its facilities and the salaries of park staff. The only way to keep the National Parks like Kruger affordable for the locals is to charge different rates from overseas visitors and have programs like the Wild Card.
Having one price for all would not mean any dramatic change in the budget of an overseas traveller visiting one or a few of the parks but it would take away the chance of experiencing the parks from many locals.
As a consequence it would withdraw local support for the parks as the people might not see the importance to upkeep and protect an expensive holiday resort for of overseas visitors.

Remember you can only protect what you know.

[Charlie_Chalk]

JP - Any updates on how your trip has gone? I'm going to be heading out to the same areas in a month's time and would love to hear more about it all...