During the tours “Cape Town to Victoria Falls Explorer” and “Namibia Botswana Desert and Delta,” Sunway Safaris takes you to the breath-taking and magical place known as Spitzkoppe. Translated as pointed dome in German it is situated about 200km north of Swakopmund in western Namibia. These enormous and foreboding red granite outcrops are over 700 million years old and reach a height of about 750 meters above the desert floor.

The settings of the campsites are simply unparalleled as you pitch your tent so it is nestled at the foot of these enormous red domes that dominate the sky.

I have two favourite times of the day at Spitzkoppe – sunset and bed time. There are few sunsets in the world that can compare. I love to take my group and climb one of the granite outcrops and watch the sunset over the vast and flat expanse of grassland around Spitzkoppe. The light of the setting sun shines against the rocks and plays with the colour of the grass and sand. And, when you sit quietly you hear the socialable weavers twittering away as they bed down for the night. As you watch and listen so your mind stills and soul settles.

After a glorious sunset, hearty dinner and some campfire chatter, it’s my next favourite time of the day…bed time. You must be thinking why? I love this time of night because I roll out my mattress on top of the truck (any clients are welcome to share this prime position), snuggle down into my sleeping bag and star gaze. There are millions and millions of stars unobscured by light pollution and the occasional wisp of wind and shooting star. There is no better way to end a day and fall asleep.

As you can well tell, Spitzkoppe is a firm favourite of mint and most of the guides, you cannot tire of this beauty. With very basic facilities but absolutely unbelievable scenery and rock formations, Spitzkoppe is definitely a place for anyone interested in being at one with nature in its purest forms…..definitely a place I love to visit time and time again.

Gregory Bates