Damaraland: Yes or No?
 

We are planning a trip to Namibia for next September -- about 10-11 days in all. Currently we are booked at the Damaraland Camp for two nights but having some discussions in our group about whether we want to make that stop or no. The woman helping us with the planning is definitely in favor, but friends of friends say it is a moonscape-like place and not all that interesting. We know there are rock art sites, Himba villages, and maybe desert elephants to see which sounds interesting. Has anyone got advice for us?

Speaking from research only and no experience: In Sept I'd keep it, especially if you like seclusion and remoteness. In June I opted out of Damaraland because I thought there might be too much available water that early in the dry season, meaning the desert eles and rhino could be harder to locate.

I will plan for Damaraland when I am able to go when it is likely to be drier, such as Sept. even Aug.

For others to provide advice, based on what they've done, include your other activities.

Skeleton Coast is a moonscape, but Damaraland certainly is not.

We've stayed at Grootberg Lodge for three nights, and we needed every minute to see it all. We did following activities;
- Game drive on top of plateau (nice views, loots of ungulates)
- Himba trip (via a riverbed with stunning birdlife
- On foot towards desert elephants.
- (Black) Rhino tracking, also on foot.

Trip report here; http://safaritalk.net/topic/9681-namibia-2012/

It was a lot of fun. Terrain is very rocky, especially on the plateau. But also very bushy.

There's not just Grootberg. Alternatives are Etendeka Mountain Camp, Khowarib lodge, Hoanib Camp, Fort Sesfontein Lodge, Palmwag main lodge, and the more pricy Palmwag Rhino Camp. Don't know any "Damaraland Camp" though.

Ciao,

J.

We visited Khwoarib lodge in Damaraland on our Namibia self driving trip and the manager took us to visit a Himba tribe. It was an unforgettable experience. The rock paintings are ok, but I would not go just for that. We took a game drive from Tsweifelfontein Lodge to look for desert ellies. This is only exciting if you have never seen wild ellies before. We went to Etosha afterwards and saw many more elephants, so the game drive in Damaraland could have been skipped. So I would say skip it if you are going to Eosha, keep it if you do not. Overall, Namibia is a big rocky desert, so if you have never seen a desert or think it is all sand dunes, you might be disappointed. If you have been to the Mojave Desert or Sonora desert, well, it's kind of like that except it is in Africa with scarcely any people around but you may see zebras, elephants, antelopes and giraffes by the side of the road, especially in Damaraland. Incidentally, there are dunes in Namibia and they are spectacular, like nothing in the US, definitely worth going.