Our Experience Sleeping in a Roof Tent in Namibia

We have received a lot of questions about our time in Namibia. I am sharing my thoughts on the roof tent in Namibia because it was one of the highlights for us. It was unique for us, but I couldn’t imagine doing it differently.

Our Camping Experience in a Roof Tent in Namibia

Behind the Decision

When we initially were considering our self-drive tour through Namibia, we had a number of options to consider. We could rent a car or SUV for our commute and stay in hotels or tents. There was the option of a camper van like we used in Australia. We could have done group tours that would take us on a bus around the country from site to site. Of course, that was a not-so-self-drive option. Or we could drive a 4×4 pickup truck through Namibia and sleep in a small roof tent.

Given the pricing of the hotel and cabin options, we opted out of that. We decided to try something different since we were doing a campervan in Australia. The group tour was not only expensive but it is also not really our thing. If you don’t know by now, we like to go at our own pace and not be confined to someone else’s itinerary. That left the most affordable, and arguably the most rugged, option. We signed up to live out of a rooftop tent for two weeks and explore Namibia’s remote landscapes and parks the best way we know how: alone.

Here is the company we went through if you want to see more information.

First Impressions of the Roof Tent Experience

At first, I wasn’t sure how this would go. We were coming off of two weeks in a campervan in the Australian Outback, and I was a little concerned that the lack of space would start to get to me, or worse, us. Not to mention, the campervan was plush. It had a bathroom and a full kitchen inside it. I got some of the best sleep of our whole trip. Quite honestly, it was some of my best sleep in many years. The roof tent was going to be a whole new experience. We no longer could cook inside. There is no bathroom in a pickup. And I was certainly not going to get the kind of shuteye I had grown accustomed to in the van.

In retrospect, my worries are a little funny to me. As I reflect on the whole experience, space should not have crossed my mind. After all, we’ve lived out of two backpacks for the better part of a year, and it hasn’t been an issue. I would now argue that living in the truck gave us more space. Since we couldn’t hang out in the truck, we had no choice but to spend our time outside. This was incredible. There is no more vast space than being outside. Our experience is one we would both do over and over again. So what was it like?

All About the Truck and Sleeping Quarters

When we picked up the truck in Namibia’s capital, Windhoek, I was ecstatic to see that we were getting a brand new, full-size Toyota crew cab (4-door). It was set up with anything we could possibly need on the road. The bed had a diamond plate steel topper on it that gave us access to all three sides but kept all of our contents hidden. The bed was equipped with the most excellent set of camping supplies. Hard black totes were perfectly installed to house our cutlery, stove tops, pots, and pans, and there was even an extra one left open for our purchased groceries. In addition to that, there was an electric cooler for refrigerated goods like beer and cheese.

This left plenty of room for two extra tires (something that is often needed in Namibia but that we were fortunate to avoid using) and all of the linens for the tent. And, of course, our luggage. We really didn’t need to carry anything in the full-sized cab other than the snacks we wanted with us. We were lucky to have the brand new truck and tires since we saw so many people having to change blown tires in the middle of the Namib desert. The terrain here was no joke.

The truck’s roof tent looked like a small box when it was all folded down and covered for transport. Each day, when we arrived where we would camp, assembling was only a 5-minute or less task. Remove the protective tarp, unfold the tent and ladder, insert four metal sticks for support, and voila! The tent provided more than enough space for two of us. It had a 2 1/2″ thick mat that was built in for comfort. This little mat and the exposure to the fresh air had me sleeping even better than in Australia! The cool nights in the desert, the sounds of animals, and fresh air sweeping through the tent led to relaxation unlike any I’ve ever experienced while camping.

Campsites in Namibia

Each night we camped, we were in gated campsites with bathrooms. Some also had small cooking spots. “Not too rugged,” you say? I think you’ll feel different knowing these little tidbits.

First, if you are camping outside of a campsite, you could be mistaken for poachers and be eliminated on sight. This is not an exaggeration. Poaching is punishable by death, and best not get yourself into a situation for any confusion. Second, the animals here could literally trample you to death by accident, so being behind a safety wire is moderately reassuring. Third, going outside the car when “beyond the wire” is clearly dangerous, but even inside the campsite, you are only protected by a couple of electric wires. Small animals come in as they please. We heard warthogs snacking at night and had antelope by our tents multiple times. Nights when we heard lions growling and roaring, we kept repeating to ourselves, “You can hear them for up to five miles away.”

Overall Thoughts on the Experience of Camping in a Roof Tent in Namibia

Overall, doing life with the pickup and roof tent in Namibia exceeded all of my expectations. We got to locations we never would have seen, thanks to the 4×4 that could snorkel its way through anything. We slept amazingly. And we saw stars that surpassed anything we’ve ever witnessed, even on the clearest, darkest nights anywhere else in the world. The sounds were the perfect ambiance at night when the human world drifted off to sleep, and the animal world of Namibia came to life. Sure, there were spiders and some flies along the route, but those situations faded in the memory when looking back.

We’ve experienced incredible camping in northern Minnesota and have been left alone for miles in the Australian outback. But those experiences really don’t stack up to driving through Namibia in a pickup with nothing but some clothes, cooking supplies, and one badass rooftop tent to call home.

Let us know if you have any questions on the experience. If you want to see a full tour, you can check out the Namibia highlight in our Instagram profile.

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