My last camping trip
Windhoek, Namibia
By “last” I mean both most recent and the end of a series. Unless by extreme coercion, I am done with camping.
When you’re camping, something that shouldn’t be wet is always wet and therefore stinky. Paper towels, shorts, shoes, bags. At least three nights of our camping trip we slept through downpours of rain and even in the Namibian desert conditions - dry and well into the 90s or over 100 degrees - a musty dampness remains.
Also, something is always falling out of something else. Clothes falling out of suitcases, towels falling into the dirt, oatmeal falling out of the container, papers falling off the dash onto the floor of the truck.
While camping, easy tasks are difficult or uncomfortable, or both. Cooking takes forever, washing dishes is grosser, sleeping is hotter and with more mosquitoes, and getting ready for bed or going to the bathroom often requires going up or down a ladder, taking a long walk and carrying an armful of stuff. Driving anywhere requires a complete camp tear down. I don’t like drinking coffee out of metal cups. Packing and using leftovers is a pain.
To be at all enjoyable, tent sleeping requires near perfect conditions: darkness (no campground flood lights); not too hot or not too cold; not to windy, but a slight breeze. This is not easy to achieve.
Camping also isn’t any cheaper than a lodge or hotel. You have to buy or rent a bunch of gear and supplies - stovetop kettle, lanterns, camping chairs, aluminum foil, plastic bags, and on and on. You have to grocery shop, buying loads of preservative-filled, packaged food, inevitably more than you need so end up throwing stuff away. For this trip, we paid $109 USD/night to rent the truck (already over our $100/night accommodation budget) and on top of that had to pay for camping sites.
I’m often up for a challenge and don’t mind working hard. But with camping, the payoff isn’t worth it. I can still experience close encounters with wildlife and see desert sunrises when sleeping in a lodge or hotel, probably for the same price and after a better night’s sleep.
Still, after considering several different ways of exploring Namibia, I’m glad we decided to book the safari 4x4 camping pick-up and drive ourselves. The roads and infrastructure are reliable, making Namibia a great first do-it-yourself African country to visit. I heard Namibia referred to as, “Africa 101” and I can see why. I’m pleased we gave it a go.
Hearing lions roar during the night outside Etosha National Park was a chilling experience and I do feel proud of crawling on top of the truck morning and night for tent set-up and take-down. It was hot and sweaty, but good exercise, too.
Josh did 99% of the driving, but for a few hours I drove the truck. Driving a stick shift on the left side of the road with the steering wheel is on the right, was tough, but I did it. Changing two flat tires was super hard (again, Josh was the hero here), but we figured it out.
In our portfolio of gap year experiences, a self-driving, camping safari covering over 2000 miles from South Africa to Namibia was a riotous success. And I never want to do it again.
First big rain. UGH.
Another campsite, after more rain. BOO.
