About Camp Rooiklip
Development from the farm in a barren part of Namibia, to an environmentally conscious paradise where nature conservation and sustainability are key.
Drought on the edge of the Namib
After a long drought, the measured precipitation exceeded the 100 ml limit for the first time in 2021, by 2.1 ml! while the 4 years before that - 2020/30.5 ml + 2019/14.8 ml + 2018/93.0 ml + 2017/99.0 ml - were all below and a long period of drought had to be endured. The wild animals left, starved and died of thirst. It was a very sad time. The farm animals were fed and eventually sold after many deaths. That hurts a farmer who lives with and from his animals!
Corona pandemic and change in tourism concept
Then the Corona pandemic hit us at the beginning of 2020! All bookings have been canceled and refunded. We have closed our company “Rooiklip Chameleon Adventure Tours CC”. All the employees wanted to go home to Ovamboland, so Frans and Lore were alone on the Rooiklip farm!
After much deliberation, we have decided, due to our age, to stop operating the lodge! That means no more DBB accommodation and no kitchen. From March 1st, 2020, our guest business will only consist of "Felsen Camp" with three campsites and "Camp Flintstone (Self-catering )" with three stone cottages and 8 beds, a fully equipped kitchen and a wonderful dining area with a large braai place in front of it.
We would like to stay with it, it is a manageable size for both of us "old people" and we feel comfortable with it. Guests are slowly coming back, although the lockdowns were a barrier that was difficult to overcome!
Hopefully 2022 will be a better year for all tourism and Namibia is a coveted and safe holiday destination thanks to its size and very low population density! Things are looking good again.
Nature conservation has top priority
The pandemic has made the whole world think or rethink, including us on Rooiklip! For us it is the confirmation that we were on the right track from the beginning when setting up our guest farm. Under all circumstances we wanted to preserve the valuable, beautiful nature, live in and with it as part of the whole with love and respect! Conservation was our most important task and that's how our little oasis on the edge of the desert came into being. We love our wild animals above all the "mountain zebras" that live here, time and again our employees found abandoned or sick young animals out in the veld while tending sheep, which they brought to our home and we did everything to keep them alive.
Oryx antelopes also live here with us. Kudu, springbok and steenbok enjoy the peace and freedom on Rooiklip, where they are cared for when the animal is in need. Predators are also important in the natural cycle, so we have leopards, cheetahs, hyenas, jackals and, of course, snakes.
Rooklip accommodation options for our guests
Felsen Camp
At the "Felsen Camp" Frans has created 3 camping sites under 650 million year old rock roofs, installed showers in the rock, set up toilets with small hidden septic tanks and nicely laid out cooking and braai areas so that camping guests have everything needed in one place. Every single place is fully equipped, nothing has to be shared with other guests. We pump fine groundwater from a depth of 100 m with the help of the sun and a solar water heater provides warm water for showers etc. This wise foresight has proven itself in Corona times, there is a distance to the other places and everyone can move freely!
Camp Flintstone Self-Catering accommodation
The "Self-Catering Camp Flintstone" is set up for guests who do not want to camp. It originated from the "Research Camp of the TUM" where, until the great drought, biologists researched flora and fauna on the edge of the oldest desert in the world. When the drought began in 2019, the research camp was closed and expanded into the "Selfcatering Camp Fintstone". Here, too, our requirements were the same as for the "Felsen Camp", absolute preservation of nature and the valuable rock. The "little stone houses" were only built with stones "lying around" in a very special way by Frans - with nature in nature!
A small 12 volt photovoltaic system supplies the camp with 12 volt electricity for charging the electronic devices and brings light into the rooms. We pump water of the best quality from a depth of 100m 1.5 km away on the farm. The 2 large submersible pumps in the borehole are operated with solar, as is the hot water supply with solar geysers. We generate electricity in our private houses for cold stores, freezers, refrigerators, washing machines, etc. with a large photovoltaic system. (220V).
Internet connection is also available from the pool to Camp Flintstone and Felsen Camp.
Our comfort is nature! We want to preserve and maintain that.
Farm Rooiklip activities
Rooiklip is a farm, 7050 ha large and 190 km from Windhoek or Swakopmund. We endeavor to show and explain to our guests the geology in the "Great Escarpment" (Great Continental Escarpment). There are designated hiking trails that are described on flyers.
Mountain biking on difficult, mountainous paths is a challenge and joy for every "cyclist"! A large pool is available to all guests and our dogs will accompany and look after you.
What we don't offer are big gatherings, events and loud amusements. Rooiklip is a place for individualists, here you will find relaxation, switching off from everyday life and peace, protected by millions of years old primary rock, whose charisma we little people cannot escape.
Our farm driveway is best accessed with a 4x4 vehicle. In the rainy season the paths are washed out and the riviere (dry riverbeds) run, so that one has to wait until the water has run off again, which is the case in a short time, often hours.
Then, once you reach our farm boundary and the Highway to Heaven sign welcomes you, it's not far to your Destination Felsen Camp or Camp Flintstone! You will be welcomed at the reception, everything will be explained and shown to you. You can buy wood or venison from us and enjoy a cold drink at the bar before driving the last few meters to your accommodation.
With this picture we would like to say goodbye - and hopefully arouse the desire to experience it all up close!
At sunset, for example, you can sit by the pool under a fantastic starry sky, with a good glass of wine and look out over the wide open country.
The air is clear, the water is pure and the wine is delicious!
Welcome to Rooiklip