Okonjima Omboroko Campsites
Camping in Okonjima Nature Reserve epitomises the African safari experience. Your small group or family can become one with nature as they visit the AfriCat Carnivore Care Centre, track leopards, learn about the indigenous people on the Off-The-Beaten-Track’’ experience, or hike the area along some of the walking trails offered in the nature reserve. Grow attuned to the sights, sounds and ways of Namibia’s wildlife. The 5, partially-equipped, private campsites, share a swimming pool at the foot of the Ombokoro Mountains and are located in the 2000ha ‘non-rehabilitation’ park. 4 of 5 camps, have ‘sundowner-viewsites’, located from a high-point, along the edge of the mountain range.
Camping in Okonjima Nature Reserve epitomises the African safari experience....
Become one with nature
For a truly African safari experience, track leopards through the 20 000ha Okonjima Nature Reserve with a guide, followed by a sundowner and bonfire, before falling asleep beneath the stars to the sounds of jackals, the zebra and cicada songs.
Each of the 5 private, self-catering campsites consist of:
- Fixed lights and multipurpose power points . (a ‘stand-alone’ electrical socket to charge your camper-fridge and separate power-points for all your electronic gadgets)
- Private, under cover hot-water showers,
- Private, flush toilets,
- A covered, washing-up/dining area,
- A sundowner viewpoint, (not @ PAWS)
- Two inclusive bundles of fire wood per night. (More firewood can be arranged with your guide at an additional cost.)
- P.A.W.S (People And Wildlife Solutions) hosts our student groups, but can be booked for a large family or group of friends as well. This is the only ‘tented’ campsite (with 10x dbl, rustic, dome-tents) and the only campsite with a water-hole, that is visited by the natural wildlife in the area.
- Camp Chimelo and P.A.W.S cater for more than one vehicle and larger groups, while Camp Koshi, Kendi and Chilala are the smaller campsites.
Please note:
- Guests need to bring their own tents, food and drinks, and additional fuel, as the various campsites are not catered for by Okonjima Lodge. (@ the PAWS Campsite however – guests are welcome to make use of the student dome-tents)
- Our Ombokoro Campsites rates are split between a camping site and an activity rate. All trails and wildlife tracking activities are excluded and need to be pre-booked on arrival at an additional cost. (see rates)
- Campers are welcome to reserve breakfast, lunch or dinner at Okonjima’s Plains Camp or eat lunch at the Day Centre (when open) with a booking on arrival, at an additional cost.
All subject to availability and booking on arrival, as preference is given to lodge guests. In terms of lodge facilities, the curio shop is also open to campers.
Children are welcome, however due to the nature of some of our activities, child participation may be restricted depending on age.
All extra’s (meals and activities) are subject to availability and booked on arrival, as preference is given to lodge guests. In terms of lodge facilities, the curio shop is also open to campers.
Children are welcome, however due to the nature of some of our activities, child participation may be restricted depending on age.
Activities on offer at Okonjima...
The Okonjima Nature Reserve sprawls over 200 square kilometres of undulating plains, mountainous outcrops, and riverine thickets, and it is here that leopard (Panthera pardus), the most adaptable of all the wild cats, thrive. Read more about our Leopard Research.
These intelligent, solitary predators occur in high density in the expanse of Okonjima Nature Reserve’s multi-faceted topography. The Reserve’s predator research programme has spanned three decades, and its findings have provided great insight to leopard behavioral patterns as well as offered an upbeat prognosis for a sustainable future for the species in today’s Africa.
A two-day Okonjima stay offers the best chance to view wild leopard in Namibia, as well as those collared for research purposes, in their natural habitats. Research programme leopard are actively tracked, and their collars are an invaluable resource for locating, and then returning to the Reserve, cats which have migrated to surrounding farmland where they are perceived as threats to livestock. The Okonjima Nature Reserve, a huge protected area set amongst the rugged commercial farmlands of central Namibia, comprises a diversified ecosystem representative of both the larger and small mammals of Namibia, as well as most of the country’s endemic birds.
Game drives and guided & self-guided bush walks offer visitors an intimate, up-close perspective of Namibia’s wildlife and, especially, its most protected species.The Okonjima Nature Reserve is home to and runs extensive research projects on rare and endangered species, big and small.
Quick Fact
‘The Omboroko’ is the name of the main river on Okonjima. The Okonjima ‘mountain range’ – is also called the ‘Omboroko Mountains’. Omboroko means a natural ‘Crater’ or what seems like a ‘man-made Excavation’ in the Oshi-Herero language. There are a few natural ‘crater like formations’ in the area, which is why the Herero people named the river and the mountains on Okonjima – ‘The Omborokos’.
Meaning of the Individual Camps:
CAMP CHILALA: in the Tonga language of Zambia means, “Sleeping or a Place to Rest”.
CAMP CHIMELO: in Igbo – a language of Nigeria means, “Made by God.”
CAMP KOSHI: in a west African dialect means “full or satisfied”
CAMP KENDI: in the Meru language of Kenya meaning “The Loved One”
PAWS: People And Wildlife Solutions – this campsite is also our AfriCat Environmental Education campsite for large groups of visiting students. (local & international)
- Shower, including hot water per campsite
- Flush toilet per campsite
- Undercover scullery and dining area per campsite
- Two fixed spotlight per campsite for cooking and dining
- A ‘stand-alone’ electrical socket to charge your camper fridge and separate power-points for all your electronic gadgets.
- Wood
- Private, sundowner’, view-point for 4 campsites. (PAWS, instead has a water-hole close by, for wildlife)
- Shared campsite swimming pool for all campsites
All Activities
o ACCC (can be booked prior)
o OTBT (can be booked prior)
o Leopard Tracking (only on arrival)
o Game/Night Drive (only on arrival)
o See Rates for Trail OptionsLunch at Day Centre (book only on arrival)
Dinner/Breakfast at Plains Camp (book only on arrival)
- AGE 3 – onwards
- AfriCat Carnivore Care & Information Centre
- AGE 5 – onwards
- AfriCat Carnivore Care & Information Centre
- Off The Beaten Track and a short game drive
- AGE 6 – onwards
- Park Activities
- AfriCat Carnivore Care & Information Centre
- Off The Beaten Track
- AGE 12 – onwards
- Park Activities
- AfriCat Carnivore Care & Information Centre
- Off The Beaten Track
- Guided Bush Walks in the Okonjima Nature Reserve
