Trip Report #26 (28- 29 July): Ngepi Camp

Driving into Namibia reminds me of arriving in Amsterdam after backpacking through Europe – faintly familiar and comfortable. 

We share the Protea Hotel run Zambezi Lodge Campsite with Sam Nujoma’s extensive security detail and watch from our camp chairs the formal procession and VIP guest arrive.  Safe sleeping tonight. 

With characteristic hospitality we are invited to a braai by Vernon, a young South African/Namibian who is working on a short term road construction project in the area and opts to camp with Ogies, the cutest Jack Russell girl, rather than pass his time in hotels (understandably). The party grows with the kameeldoring fire and include visits from police officers who exchange stories of Zambian Mokoro raids (fables of chest freezers being liberated, precariously balanced and exported on  Mokoros!) on riverside properties for meat and braai broodjies. 

For the first time in weeks we wake up to the sound of roosters rather than Fish Eagles.  Zambia is less than 10km away and backtracking our steps is extremely tempting.

Fortunately our next stop is Ngepi Lodge which the Lonely Planet claims to be the best backpackers in Namibia.  We take the gravel road less travelled via Linyanti swamps and marvel at the engineering road building excellence with the memory of our experience in Mozambique still fresh, but beginning to feel imagined/exaggerated and impossible.

Ngepi is indeed fabulous, fun, environmentally friendly and offers wake up calls by Fish Eagles. The bird life is truly impressive, helped on by a natural forest floor cover which provides lots of food for the birds.

 

 

 

 

 

Best toilet on trip.

 

 

Apparent split bathrooms. 

 

 

 

 

The inside.  Note the lock on the men’s side.

 

We would have liked to stay longer, but our holiday time is running out and Namibia is vast with much left to see so we push off to Tsumeb – reportedly the prettiest town in Namibia.        

Regards, M-L