Splendour Of The Desert

[ RESORT REVIEW ] SPITZKOPPE COMMUNITY RESTCAMP, NAMIBIA

- Richard Van Ryneveld

I’ll never forget my first sighting of the Spitzkoppe. We arrived late in the afternoon, when the air was starting to cool after a typical hot Namibian day.

Seemingly growing out of the plains of the Namib desert was a sandstone mountain massif, a sight that will be forever imprinted in my memory. Known as the Matterhorn of Namibia, the Spitzkoppe are found to the north east of Swakopmund, with the closest town of Usakos some 50km away. It’s an imposing “sharp head”, rising some 1 728m off the desert floor.

Adjacent to it is the minor peak, the Little Spitzkoppe. This smaller peak lies 1 584 metres above sea level. Hard to believe, but the mountain is reckoned to be 700 million years old!

The local community runs the Spitzkoppe Rest Camp, with the 31 campsites spread over a large area in the shadow of these iconic mountains.

A maximum of 8 persons are allowed per site; campsites 2, 3, 4 and 5 are for overlanders only.