After the (culinary) pampering program, solitude awaited us. We experienced a revival of 2018 and decided to visit the Erongo Plateau Camp on the Eileen farm. This was where we met Geli and Uwe with their bright red car (Citroën 2CV) and the place where we first experienced the vastness of Namibia in a visually impressive way. From our campsite, we could see at least 100 km into the «nothingness». The experience was repeated. Funnily enough, as we usually travel without pre-bookings, our campsite at the time was the only one that was free. We gladly took it and had a great time – including the incredible view.
A new experience – Black Rock Campsite
We were impressed by the Erongo Mountains. It looks imposing and appears out of nowhere in the landscape. Not far from the Erongo Plateau Camp is the Ombu Farm. If you follow the tracks there and drive another 14 km through rough terrain, you reach the Black Rock Campsite. Hannes, a German immigrant who runs a mine near Usakos, bought this beautiful piece of countryside many years ago.
Hannes has built a wonderful campsite in the middle of nowhere and rents it out for very little money. Another campsite in a predestined location is under construction and we were lucky enough to spend an afternoon with Hannes and learn a lot about his farm from him. Our time there was a pleasure. The building is incredibly spacious and offers enough room for a group of visitors. For two, it is therefore already lavish. We enjoyed the lavishness and will definitely be back.
It’s time for elephants
We felt the desire to get back in touch with our favorite animals, the elephants. Once you are in the Erongo region, it makes sense to pay a visit to the Brandberg White Lady Lodge near Uis. Here we regularly had the good fortune to have very intimate encounters with the desert elephants. We made our way to the lodge, booked in for a few nights and made ourselves comfortable on the large campsite. On the very first night, we were woken up by a deep growl. This was immediately followed by a scratching noise on the roof and another rattling noise at the window. Guido slipped out of bed and pressed his face against the fly screen of the open window in the canvas. The welcoming committee had arrived and we were surrounded by at least four elephants examining our car with their trunks.
We felt a deep sense of happiness and when the group moved on, we slept for a few more hours. We then spent another night at Elephant Rocks Campsite on the Brandberg and enjoyed the magnificent view of this special mountain. This stop marked the end of the theme of solitude and we then turned our attention to the wildlife of Etosha.
