Ngepi Camp is Namibian Paradise

There are a few places in the world that I’d consider “heaven on earth” — and ngepi camp, tucked away in rural namibia, is one of them.

We arrived in Bagandi, a small town near Ngepi, invigorated by our seven hour drive from Etosha National Park and ready to see what everyone (read: one person) had told us about. And yet getting there was an experience unto itself: there were deep tire tracks in the sandy dirt on the way in, and a playfully ominous sign telling us to keep up our speed, engage our four-wheel drive, and cross our fingers.

Now, mind you, the last time we’d needed 4WD on this trip, I’d gotten us stuck in the sand dunes at Sossusvlei and we’d needed a tour guide to take pity on us and get us un-stuck. So suffice it to say, I was nervous. But I followed the instructions on the hand-painted signs: keep moving, don’t stop, and have faith.

A very bumpy 20 minutes later, we arrived.

It felt a bit like pulling into summer camp — there was a caged in “pool” in the river (to protect us from crocodiles and hippos), a huge bonfire pit, and the most lively bar we’d seen in three weeks (which isn’t saying much, but still). To put it simply, it was gorgeous. It felt immediately obvious that Ngepi was going to lower our blood pressure even further and provide us with a dose of true relaxation.

Our whole trip up until this point had been fairly relaxing, but Ngepi was an entirely new level — one where we lay out on docks to soak up the sun while hippos played in the background, read books on the river deck labeled “sun deck when it’s not raining,” and soaked up the murky water in a waterfront bathtub.

Here I am, casually chilling in the gorgeous riverfront bathtub, one of many wacky outdoor bathroom facilities at Ngepi Camp.

Ngepi as a whole had such a playful vibe, with funny signs all over the place and inventive bathrooms with names like DeVine Loos, Toilet of Eden, The Throne, Poop-a-falls, and Royal Flush. My favorite was the bathroom with the river-front bathtub! There were also a bunch of fun signs, including:

“The Kitchen Sink (or did you bring that as well?)”
“All prices subject to customer attitude”
“Our staff are friendly but our hippos are NOT”
“Warning: These showers contain H2O”
“Sun deck when it’s not raining”
“We love our grass and our kids, please don’t park on either”
“Complaint box is in the river… beware of crocodiles!!!”
“No urinating in the pool (or you will be drinking it later in your coffee!)”
“Pull here to call the Dung Beatles”

This playfulness contributed to our overall feeling of zen when we were there, and the fact that we didn’t have to take down our tent every morning or pop it up every night was also a huge help. It meant we could sleep in, stay up late, and really just live our best lives on the banks of the Cubango River.

We planned on staying for two days and ended up staying for five, only leaving when we absolutely had to in order to make it back to our car drop-off date on time. On our last night, we gathered with our fellow campers around a raging campfire, taking breaks to down “Springbok” shots at the bar, and chatted into the wee hours of the night. It was a perfect end to our magical stay in Namibia.

The gorgeous bonfire on our last night at Ngepi, and in Namibia.

The Nitty Gritty

How to Make a Reservation | Send their team an email at bookings@ngepicamp.com, and they’ll send you a form to sign and fill in with your payment information.

Where to Eat | You can bring your own food in, but they serve really tasty food at the camp itself. There’s a la carte breakfast and lunch options, and a truly delicious communal dinner ($15USD per meal).

Cost | $8.63USD per person per night for campsites; they also have fancier hut options.