Reviews of Etendeka Walking Trail

"I thoroughly enjoyed the three-day walk.

We were a group of five travellers and had an expert guide (plus a back-up team of three). While the focus was not so much on actually finding wildlife (although we did see giraffes and zebras), the guide showed us how to read and interpret tracks (and other left-overs), which was fascinating.

Our guide also explained the geology and the indigenous flora and fauna. He was invariably friendly and supportive.

The overall organisation (pick-up, transport of luggage, food) was top-notch!

This walk comes highly recommended." See all these reviews: 16n in Namibia

"Fantastic scenery and enjoyable walking. We were there for a full moon so had the sunset one side and the moonrise the other. 2nd camp is a great position. Food was plentiful and good." See all these reviews: 23n in Namibia

"Our guide Boas was excellent! He showed us many animals that we would have otherwise missed. (in addition to the animals listed below, we saw baboons and klipspringer antelope. Boas also had a deep knowledge of the plants and animals at Etendeka. The walking was the right distance - enough to get a good workout and see lots of places, but not exhausting. The stars at night were amazing as well!" See all these reviews: 8n in Namibia

"This was an excellent experience interrupted slightly by the weather. Boas was a very informative and engaging guide about the environment and about Namibia more generally. There is big game around and we were told about an uncomfortably close encounter with a lion about a month earlier.

The first evening was a walk of a couple of hours along the riverbed in great scenery to get to River Camp and a chef before a simple but tasty dinner around the fire. There was plenty of warm water for the bucket showers.

Overnight the wind really started to blow and even on the open decks it was very noisy. Under duvets deep inside the weatherproof sleeping bags though, it was fairly easy to sleep, fortunately not too soundly to hear and then see under the full moon a herd of seven elephants walking through camp right next to the platforms at 3am!

In the morning it was really blowing. Even by August standards, the camp staff at the end of the trail later said the wind was exceptional, and actually some guests at the main camp abandoned their stay that morning due to the weather. Boas decided to miss out the first stretch of the trail to avoid walking directly into the blowing dust along the riverbed, so we were driven maybe 4km onto the plateau. The rest of the walk was spectacular. The views were very hazy due to the dust but any disappointment in the middle of the day was compensated by spectacular sunsets and the sunrises for a couple of days.

Climbing the ridge we were reasonably well sheltered from the wind. However, at the top of the ridge it was probably blowing about force 8. It was wide so never dangerous but due to a lot of loose rock it was pretty difficult to maintain footing. A beer and lunch when we got to Mountain Camp was more than welcome. After a bit of an afternoon rest, the wind died down a bit and we had a good short walk of a couple of hours around the plateau, absolutely littered with crystals.

After a simple but tasty meal, it was another noisy night but we were well practiced by now at the benefits of being well and truly buried in the sleeping bags.

The final morning was a steep but easy walk downhill all the way to the main camp for about an hour and a half.

Overall, highly recommended. Great scenery, good guiding and walking in a spectacular area. Although it is definitely not roughing it and the camps are fixed, it is as described and closer to a camping experience with staff, than a more typical lodge. Think two nights is probably as good as the three night option and we were told is what most people do. The extra day is a day walk returning to the Mountain Camp. On the walk in, out and in the afternoon we had covered - at least in part - all the immediately available directions." See all these reviews: 16n in Namibia

"An amazing couple of days.

Gelasius, Max and Johns were a fantastic team and we felt very well looked after.

Loved the bucket showers!" See all these reviews: 20n in Namibia

"The scenery and walking was excellent. The guide was very good .

Our only criticism is that it was very cold the first night and the bedding was inadequate. When we asked the second night, they had hot water bottles which they hadn’t thought to give us!

So to improve - hot water bottles already in the bed if it’s cold. A duvet sleeping bag, not just a duvet which is difficult to wrap around you when you’re inside a bag!" See all these reviews: 15n in Namibia

"Excellent all around!!" See all these reviews: 14n in Namibia

"The highlight of one month trip! "Trek through one of Namibia’s most remote and untouched landscapes on foot, have sundowners as you look out over never ending vistas of ancient rock formations and sleep under a blanket of stars. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to connect with nature".

We were picked up at Palmwag Lodge at 4 p.m. We were very excited and perhaps also a bit nervous. We were going to trek through one of Namibia’s most remote and untouched landscapes on foot. We drove about 20 minutes to the starting point. We where about to hike approx. 25 kilometers into the Etendeka Mountains. The open Land Rover drove off the small trail onto a small dry riverbed where we set out. We were our family of four people and a very friendly family, likewise of four people, from Switzerland. Our guide Boas briefed us on the trip.

First, a short 3-4 kilometer hike along the dry riverbed to River Camp. The next day, an approx. 14 km long walk up to Mountain Camp, near the top of Crystal Mountain. All through the deserted Etendeka plains and mountains. This is an area with "cats" (we were prepared link), hyenas and black rhinos. Usually the animals are very shy. As Boas said:
"the biggest risk is to sprain the ankle". We believed him.

After a lovely walk along the dry river bed and over a small hill, we reached Rivercamp, which lies on the banks of another dry river bed. In this camp, there are five sleeping platforms where you can sleep relatively safe under the open sky. The two platforms lie a little by themselves on one side of the common area, while the other three lie on the other side. There is no big difference no matter which platform you get. On each platform we found two camp beds with bedrols. The bedrols consisted of a waterproof bivouac coatings (which should prove to be very useful). Then duvet, pillow and a bed sheet. Everything was fine and clean and was ready for use when we arrived.

Our large luggage had been driven to the camp in advance. Pure luxury. In a bag at the end of the field bed, we found a thick blanket, and on a small table, there was a flashlight. Nearby a flush toilet (!) and a nice bucket shower. The bucket shower was a bucket upside down with a shower head. Surprisingly for us, there was also solar heated hot water that could be poured into the bucket. Everything was tastefully built of rusty steel and gabions (steel mesh with stone in it), so it fell nicely into nature.

At sunset, our guide and his two helpers had lit bonfires and prepared our dinner. Chicken pot and fried vegetables made on the bonfire. How nice to sit by the fire and enjoy G&T while darkness creeps in and you can hear the crackle of the bonfire and the sounds of the night.At night, my son and I were on the same platform talking about the moon and the stars. My son saw two shooting stars and a satellite pass across the sky. What a completely enchanting evening and night. It reminds me of a specific night at me and my son's trip to the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park.

The next day, we went the long beautiful hike through the Etendeka Mountains to the top of Crystal Mountain. The adventure just continued ..." See all these reviews: 21n in Namibia; 2n in Botswana; 2n in Zambia