It’s time to leave Ongava Tented Camp behind, and I’m on the road to Mowani Mountain Camp before 9am. It’s 18km from the Tented Camp to the front gate, and each time I drive it seems shorter.
It’s a good, sealed tar road on the C38 for 100km to a refuelling stop in Outjo (which also has an excellent WC), and a further tar road on the C39 to Khorixas for another 120km. The tar road stops abruptly on the outskirts of Khorixas, and the landscape with it. It’s a wide gravel road that is like driving a rollercoaster. Fortunately there is very little traffic, which is a good thing as when someone overtakes you, you’re basically blinded until the dust clears.
The landscape changes again passing through the (small) mountains, where the gravel road is not well maintained, and rough spots are harder to spot. There are also a number of places where there are blind crests, where you have no idea of what’s ahead of you.
The landscape changes again closer to Mowani – it’s a red sand road, corrugated in places, but it is the giant’s marbles that are truly stunning. The geology is amazing – boulder after boulder stacked high or in elegant formations everywhere you look.
It’s an easier drive than expected to Mowani – I was expecting 4-6 hours, but I arrive 4 hours later, just after 1pm, so in time for lunch. Lunch is unpretentious and delicious – a chicken wrap with Greek salad with yoghurt dressing.
Mowani is everything Ongava should be – a camp in a remote location, beautifully designed, and unless my neighbours have a screaming match, I won’t see them or hear them. The ‘rooms’ or ‘tents’ are a combination of thatched chalet with ‘windows’ made out of shade cloth that can be fully raised to make the tent completely open to the elements. When I arrive, it is a scorching 37 degrees Celsius, yet the inside of the tent is cool. What’s more, there are powerpoints for charging devices, a floor fan that actually disperses air, and toilets that flush properly. In terms of shower, bathroom, beds etc, there is nothing (other than powerpoints) that Ongava didn’t have – it’s just well designed and executed. It is no surprise to learn that Mowani Mountain Camp is part of the same group of properties as Onguma Tented Camp.
The camp only offers two activities, so I elect to have the afternoon off and do both tomorrow. By 5pm I have two fully charged cameras, and a charged laptop, so I’m a happy camper indeed.
