46 |^ Caravan & Outdoor Life Magazine July 2019
WheReiStayed
lakeGrappaGuestfarm and Ski School
Yes, believe it or not there’s a ski school in the middle of
theKalahari.Weweren’ttherefortheskiing,buttocamp
at the first-ratecampsiteon the banksof the dam. The
damwasbuiltbyGerritvisserin 2007 forhissonGJ
whowasa rankedspeedskier.today,GerritandGJrun
thefarmtogether.GJismarriedtole-rie,whorunsthe
pubandrestaurant.
If youvisitlakeGrappaona WednesdayorFriday,youare
infora treat,becauseit’spizzanightattherestaurant.a
variety of toppings are set out on a table, you make up your
pizza and one of the helpful staff pops it into the wood-
fired oven. The restaurantis open every day exceptSunday,
thoughtheydoservebreakfastsona Sunday.
thecampcanaccommodate 15 vehiclesonthesitesthat
are large and spacious,with lawnsthat could grace any five-
stargolfcourse.there’sa rowoftalldatepalmsalongside
thedamthatofferpartialshadeduringtheday.
electricalpointsareclosetothecampsites,andportable
braaisareavailable.theablutionblock,withinclose
distancestoallthecampsites,isequallyupmarket.there
arefourbathroomsinall:three have a shower with a toilet
and a hand basin; the fourth has a bath and a shower, toilet
andhandbasin.
contact
t: 082 4294811 / 082 653 6612 / 082 444 3155
e: [email protected]
W: http://www.lakegrappa.co.za
GPS: S 28° 42' 48,50"/e 20 28’ 11,75"
norotshamaRiverResort
theNorotshamariverresortcampsiteissituatedinthe
heartoftheaussenkehrGrapevalley,setonthebanksofthe
Orangeriver.It’sa greatstartingpointif youareplanning
onexploringSouthernNamibia.there are 15 well-grassed
camping sites with individual electricity points. I loved the
braai facilities – each site has its own braai, neatly-built
fromstone...andtheyarequitelarge!
Communalpotablewaterisavailablefromtapscloseto
eachsite.theablutionblockisneatandcleanwithpiping
hotwater.thiswasa bigplusasthecampsitewasfullto
burstingfortheeasterweekend.the large outside scullery
also has hot water, and a large cement work surface. I liked
thefacttherewasa kettleinthescullerytoo.If youneed
todosomelaundry,Norotshamahaseco-friendlyfacilities.
OtheraccommodationincludesexecutiveSuites,Chalets
andalodge House.Norotshamaisanupmarketcampsite
andhasa largerestaurantandpubwithlovelyviewsout
overtheOrangeriverintotherichtersveldacrossthewater.
there is plenty to do at the resort and surrounding area,
including canoeing and river rafting, fishing (especially fly
fishing for the fierce fighting yellow fish), bird watching,
mountain biking, sports climbing (some well-known bolted
routes nearby) and 4x4 routes.
NexttimeI wouldlovetodothe4x4route.I couldn’tbelieve
myeyeswhenmycampingneighboursshowedmea pictureof
a leopardlyingundertheshadeofa shepherdtree.apparently
it was only acoupleofkilometresfromthecamp.Dieselis
availableat theaussenkehragrimark close to the camp.
contact
t: +264 63297 215/60
e: [email protected]
W: http://www.norotshamaresort.com
GPS: S 28° 23' 38,66"/e 17° 24' 38,85"