Waterberg is red.

The Waterberg Plateau

Waterberg plateau park is a red mountain massive located between Windhoek and Etosha and is a perfect stopover on the way to the north. The red mountains are rising from an otherwise flat landscape, and has a flat top where several animals live. You can see rhinos, buffaloes, giraffes, gemsbucks, Sable antelopes, daisies, porcupines and birds, but no lions or elephants, so it’s relatively safe.

In the day, you can do your own hike up to the edge of the mountain ridge, or join a guided tour, into the park, by safari-cars further into the park. Both are worthwhile. You can also choose to stay by the pool or at the restaurants of the different camps.

The camps

We have stayed at two camps, the NWR-camp and the more luxurious Waterberg Plateau Lodge, which is part of the privately owned Waterberg Wilderness Camp.

The Wilderness camp and Plateau Lodge is absolutely amazing. We had our own little house, in red rocks as seen everywhere in Waterberg, with a small plunge pool, sun-beds, beautiful view, wine and a wonderful starry sky. At one stage we heard something behind our house, and went so check what it was? We discovered that somebody had lit a fire to heat up our water-tank, in case we wanted a hot shower. What a treat 🙂 The food in the restaurant was also amazing. In the morning, we joined a guided walk up the ridge and learnt about how the clay-layer in the red rocks preserve the water and makes the mountain ridge so full of vegetation.

The NWR-camp, on the other hand, is the starting point for the safari-cars. You have to book the drive at the NWR-camp and the go back again to join it. It also has a cafe, a pool and several walking trails up the mountain. If you are staying just one night at Waterberg, I would recommend staying at the NWR-camp, to reach the mountain-safari trip, even though the standard is less than at the Wilderness park. If you have some more time, I would recommend the Wilderness camp, as it is really amazing!

The safari

A safari-trip up the Waterberg plateau will take you along the base of the plateau, up the hill and around the plateau to view all the amazing animals living there. The guides are knowledgeable, so it’s wise to sit close to them to hear what they can tell. You will stop at certain lookouts and hides, to watch the animals and views. Sometimes you’ll find animals in the road, right ahead of you. It can be an amazing experience. The sand at Waterberg is red, and you’ll have the possibility of getting some amazing photos.

The history

When we lived in Namibia, we knew nothing about the horrors that had happened to the Namibian people in the beginning of the 20th century. We were ignorant about the  Battle of Waterberg, between German soldiers and the Herero people, and the Holocaust that happened in Lüderitz, right outside the house we lived in at Shark Island, where large parts of the Nama and Herero people were extinct. We learned about it many years later, when reading the book “The Kaisers Holocaust – Germany’s forgotten genocide“, by David Olusoga & Casper W. Erichsen.

It would be wrong of me not to tell about the historic backdrop of what happened at Waterberg, when advising you to visit the beautiful, wonderful sites of today’s Namibia. Memorials of the fallen from the battle of Waterberg are placed at the foot of the mountain, in both the NWR-camp and in the Wilderness park and can be visited to reflect and learn.