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About Our Camping Tours
Our camping
tours (which last for one, two or three nights) lead you to a huge variety
of landscapes, animals, birds, insects, reptiles, plants, rock art,
fossils, artifacts and minerals. The focus of each tour is different,
but all destinations are spectacularly beautiful and well off the beaten
track. Some tours concentrate on wildlife or birding; others on landscapes,
art and culture. Some involve walking and climbing; others are more
leisurely. | to top of page | Damaraland: Elephant and rhino tracking (three nights)First we head north to the Brandberg - Namibia's highest mountain and home to an impressive collection of rock art including the famous 'White Lady'. The first night's camp is on the foothills of the Brandberg.
The second night's camp is near the enchanting Ugab River, a linear oasis which draws countless animals to its water source. This is ideal country for desert-adapted elephant, a fascinating group of animals which survive against all odds in Damarland's harsh conditions. On the third day we head for the Doros Crater - a favourite stamping ground for rhino - via the historic settlement site of Gai-As. For our third night's camp we return to the Ugab River banks. We leave for Swakopmund the next day via the Messum Crater, Welwitschia sites, the Cape Cross Seal Colony, Henties Bay and the coastal lichen fields. | to top of page | The Erongo Mountains (two or three nights)
For the first night we camp on the 1 728 meter Spitzkoppe inselberg, dubbed Namibia's Mattehorn. The Spitzkoppe holds a wealth of geological, natural and cultural interest, while the surrounding area is famous for gemstones, particularly tourmaline and topaz. Here, and in the breathtaking landscapes of the Erongo mountains, you can see fine examples of rock art, spanning several centuries and posing unsolved riddles of origin, meaning and heritage. Famous pieces, such as Ameib's White Elephant, the Sheen Torch parade and the Snake Charmer are just a few of Erongo's treasures. With each new discovery, you are drawn to the next. Our campsites for the second and third nights nestle in the Erongo mountains - a perfect setting for exploratory walks and climbs. Our journey back to Swakopmund is via a small scale rose quartz mine and Rossing Mountain. | to top of page | Nights in the Desert (one or two nights)This tour takes in the Kuiseb Delta, Sandwich Harbour and the Namib Naukluft park. It includes exciting 4x4 dune driving beside the Atlantic; historic delta trails, ancient Topnaar sites, part-fossilized elephant tracks; constantly changing desertscapes and specially-adapted fauna and flora.
The two night version of this trip allows a more leisurely exploration of Sandwich, the Kuiseb and the Naukluft, as you head towards the Tinkas Plains. These grassy plains are set against red granite mountains - the site of our second night's camp. We return to Swakopmund via in the famous Welwitschia plains, the Goanikontes Oasis and the surreal Moon Landscape of the Swakop River Valley. | to top of page | Sossusvlei Safari (three nights)We head out of Swakopmund for the Kuiseb Delta via Walvis Bay and its famous Lagoon. There is good birding all along this stretch of the journey as well as marvelous sandy desert scenery, uniquely-adapted flora and fauna and the fascinating !Nara fields of the dwindling Topnaar community. We travel along past fossilized elephant track at Rooibank and on towards the Desert Research Station at Gobabeb before finding out first night’s camp site at Homeb in the Namib Naukluft Park. This is the point at which Kuiseb river divides a landscape of massive sand dunes and flat gravel plains. For sundowners we climb to one of the most impressive viewpoints in the area, before setting up camp under huge acacia trees.
After an early morning dune walk on the fourth day, we break camp and head homeward through the Welwitschia Plains of the Namib Naukluft Park, the desert oasis of Goanikontes, and the Moon Landscape of the Swakop River Valley. | to top of page |
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We
first offered short camping tours for guests who had been out with Turnstone
for day trips and wanted to spend a little longer in the bush or the
desert. Our commitment to top quality interactive guiding remains at
the centre of our work. We take a personal approach to each tour, and
continue to place a high premium on good company, good planning and
good fun. We feel that your camping tour should be more than a "few
nights under the stars", and we hope that you will gain real insight
into the wildlife we see, the environments we explore and the ecosystems
which support them. 
We take a maximum of four people (unless by special arrangement) and
we discuss every trip on an individual basis. Each tour is built around
your specific interests and is geared to your particular pace. We provide
comfortable equipment, reliable vehicles, excellent meals, and above
all, a first class guide. Take a few days off from the well-traveled
route of hotels and lodges and come camping with Turnstone ... 
These
men have enormous experience of the surrounding area, sharply-honed tracking
skills and good knowledge of individual animals. Obviously, we cannot
guarantee that you
will see elephant or rhino, but we have an excellent success record to
date.
This
trip take you along the Swakop and Khan River valleys towards the magnificent
Spitzkoppe. This scenery forms an unusual backdrop for the area's fauna
and flora, with the chance to see Kudu, Oryx, Klipspringer, Baboon,
Ostrich and Springbok in a unique desert setting.
At
Sandwich Harbour, the strange mix of fresh and saltwater lagoons surrounded
by lush greenery draws thousands of migrant and resident birds. The site
has been declared a 'Wetland of International Importance' and is a legally
protected bird reserve and marine sanctuary. What was once a 19th century
whaling station is now a deserted natural paradise, where the northern
point of the Sossusvlei dune chain plunges into the ocean. The first night's
camp on the edge of the Kuiseb Delta provides spectacular views from some
of the world's highest dunes and the second day takes you further into
the massive Namib Naukluft Park - quintessential Namibian scenery. 
On
the second day we travel through an ever-changing rock desert landscape:
The Kuiseb Canyon; the Gaub Canyon; Solitaire and finally to Sesriem.
Here we pitch camp in the afternoon in time to take an early evening
drive out to Elim Dune, a nearby beauty spot with sweeping views over
the Sossusvlei area. Early to bed and VERY early to rise to see the
spectacular sunrise at Sossusvlei. We take brunch along to make the
most of our time in this unforgettable dune chain. After lunch we drive
down to Sesreim Canyon, a picturesque formation of eroded conglomerate
rock and the only waterhole for miles and miles. A leisurely evening
braai rounds of the third day back at the campsite. 
Walking
trails on 
It
is named after a beautiful purple flowering bush (Mundulea sericea),
favourite food of the Eland, and said to have medicinal and magical
properties.
Mundulea's
dolomite and limestone mountains are millions of years old. They contain
fathomless caves and potholes, deep gorges and underground lakes.
Ancient Leadwood trees, Marulas, Wild Figs and White Syringa,
which provide vast shade canopies, are just part of the wide variety
of plants, trees and bushes found on the reserve. The game you are likely to see includes: black rhino, eland, tsessebe, roan, giraffe, black-faced impala, Hartmann’s mountain zebra, kudu, oryx, hartebeest, springbok, dik dik, steenbok (check spelling), duiker, ostrich and warthog.
Points
of interest are built into all walks, which are geared to the individual
requirements and abilities of our guests. In practice though, the highlights
are always the unexpected finds, the things that happen along the way
and the sheer unpredictability of the Namibian bush.
We spend each night back at the bush camp, with nothing but fireside conversation, a delicious meal and great South African wines to distract you from the sounds of the bush and the glories of the bushveld night skies..