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I am leaving for a three week vacation in Namibia in May (past rain season). A 4x4 car is rented and I plan to bring my own tent (and most other required camping gear). I've been on camping trips all my life, like to sleep in a tent, even on hard ground, and even just in sleeping bags without tent.

The alternatives that come to my mind are

Currently my favourite is a tent on the ground doing without the outer rain protection and just using the inner, meshed fabric, similar to this one Advantages are:

  • Easy to put together, quick to tear down
  • Mosquito protection
  • View to the stars

Neutral is:

  • Little temperature isolation

Disadvantages include:

  • Less protection against some animals (Hyenas)
  • No rain protection

How feasible is this option?

Is any fear of Hyenas exaggerated? In my experience small aggressive animals such as squirrels and other little critters can make life more miserable than bears, but I haven't been exposed to African wildlife yet. Should I be concerned about baboons?

I'm fine with fleeing into the car if rain starts or just pull over the original rain protective outer shell of the tent.

What do you think about the alternative of a sleeping bag in the (partially open) back of the car (4x4 single cab, e.g. Toyota Hilux)?

cfi
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1 Answers1

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I would not sleep on the back of your car. You seem to have a single cab. Then the back should be long enough to sleep on. However, the back will become quite dusty. You will be mainly driving on pads, and dispersed dust will lay down on the back.

In your case I would choose between the rooftop tent and the ground tent. The advantage of the rooftop tent is that you rent on site and you leave it there. If you take your own tent, you will have to fit it into your luggage. Maybe you will have to pay an extra allowance for taking it. Thus, if taking the own tent option seems interesting from a financial point of view, don't forget this point.

The disadvantage of the rooftop tent is that you will have to mount and demount it several times a day: demount it in the morning if you do an excursion, mount it again to have a siesta, demount for the evening drive and mount to sleep.

The camping grounds are guarded and very often also fenced (as e.g. in Etosha). The bigger animals are thus kept out.

I would not be bothered about hyenas. Baboons are much more scary. They are clever, insolent and sometimes even aggressive. They are skilled climbers and a rooftop tent won't deter them. Even smaller monkeys, like the vervet monkey, can be a major annoyance. However, in principle you won't find these smaller ones in Namibia.