Ironman 224's review of Sesriem Camp is so spot on - I only wish that I'd read it before we went. Yes - Go for the sunset instead of the sunrise at Dune 45. We were like ants marching our way up at sunrise - not for the faint hearted or none too fit! We were a group of 8 totally woosy campers, and this was our first tent experience on our 10 day safari of Namibia.

After reading the various negative reviews of the Sesriem Camp, I can only say that we weren't expecting very much. How happy we were to be proven wrong! The site itself is extremely pleasant, and the individual camping areas with the stone low wall and large tree in the centre are just lovely. There is also an electricity box in each individual area where you can charge up cameras, phones, and any other totally ridiculous paraphenalia which us non campers usually have with us. (Embarrassingly so much more than your average real campers).

We had a jackal who came by on both evenings to have a look around (from a distance), and on the first night we had the excitement of a Spitting Cobra who tried to move into Camp with us. Imagine the excitment for the non campers! Thankfully, the men of the camp who had to deal with said spitting cobra, omitted to tell us women folk and children for fear of frightening us. As if!!

The campsite was only half full when we were there, but there was a very good atmosphere. The ablutions blocks were clean and well enough maintained and there was plenty of hot water. (But we did try to economise on using too much). Maybe when the camp is packed, it is a different story, and I can't imagine that queing for the ablution block is a bundle of fun. But our own experience was positive, and we have no complaints at all about the location or cleanliness of the facilities.

The swimming pool was a very welcome break for 8 hot non campers, and the kids in particular loved the pool which was a decent size and had some sun loungers around the edge. If you are a real camper, you will take your own fold away sun lounger with you, as most of the ones which are provided are kaput.

We went for breakfast at the restaurant whilst our friends were on a hot air balloon trip (been there, done that and much cheaper elsewhere) and it was absolutely fine, as camp fair restaurants go. Special mention should be given to the Milk Shakes which were delicious. The shop is well stocked and prices reflect the isolated location, but again, no complaints.

Overall, we found the staff to be friendly and helpful, but as we work in South African 'now now' time, maybe we weren't as stressed about the lack of speedy services as others may have been. We enjoyed Sesriem Camp, and it treated us novices very nicely indeed.

Some people say this camp site sucks, it's overpriced, stay at the Desert Camp outside the park, etc.. we thought it was a great campsite. Every site is large, has a tree for shade, water, power, a big light, a braai, is -very- clean, and has a little rock wall surrounding you to keep the sand out. The pool is really nice too! There's a nice bar and a restaurant (though make your own food, it wasn't so good the one time we ate there).

We were happy we spent two nights here, we arrived around 5PM from Swakopmund, went to check out Dune 45 at sunset and had it to ourselves. The next morning everyone races to Dune 45 for sunrise, have fun racing up with 100 other people :) We skipped it and went straight to Dead Vlei/Big Daddy which I highly recommend. We left camp at 5:00 and got back at 15:00 (most people probably back by noon) and it was nice to just jump in the pool, relax, and not have to drive anywhere after being in the heat all day. Next morning we drove to Naukluft at 7:00 and hiked the Olive trail from 9:00-13:00 (if you go, when you reach the chains, take the right side, left side gets sketchy at the end). Afterwards it was a 3.5 hour drive back to Windhoek. We had a VW Polo, no problem on the roads.

All that said, I think the 5AM sunrise start is overrated so don't feel bad if you decide to stay outside of the park and start a bit later, in fact I think Sossuvlei/Dead Vlei/etc.. is better in the late morning, hotter yes.. but wayyyyyy less people around. Just bring lots of water, sunscreen, and a hat and you'll be fine. And if you want to see a sunrise/sunset, opt for sunset. You can take your time getting up and there will be very few people, if any, up there with you.. unlike sunrise.

The camp is located inside the Namib Naukluft National Park. We had a very good campsite looking towards the Elim dune. The amenities were clean & there is a lovely pool area. The bar had a good atmosphere & the shop was well stocked. Note: the second day was very windy & there was lots of dust everywhere which one would expect in this location. We highly recommend Dead Vlei at sunrise which is 65km away.

It's the only chance to reach the dunes prior sunrise. Everyone outside the national park has to wait until sunrise. Be aware that it's approx. an hour to drive towards the dunes.
We managed to get a place in the overflow area (T6) which is quite a walk to the toilet shower area. The staff is like all other NWR staff very unfriendly and roude.
The bar is nice and the food is good.