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.
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.
To find out more about glamping in the Kalahari and what to do there, read Roxanne Reid’s entire “Glamping Namibia: why you’ll love luxury Kalahari camping” blog at the link below.
Photo Credit - Keith Reid