Richtersveld Wilderness Camp

I absolutely loved this place, this was true camping and a small drive into the park to see the petroglyphs that unfortunately have been vandilised by people before but still amazing to see. We stayed on Campsite 1 which had a view of the mountain and the river but unfortunately with all the rain the river was flooding but still so worth it (this place is for real camping so no bar or comfy couches and prepare for the heat as it gets hot hot). Claire & Gavin are such amazing people and hosts and made us feel very welcome as we stayed there over new years and told us all about the area and helped us with all our needs. The showers and toilets are great. The fishing here was insane, just fish after fish, we could only use Mielie due to the river being so high so no luck catching yellow fish on lures but alot of PB Carp and few Barbel.) Campsite 1 has a huge colony of these small black ants all over the place which was extremely annoying but thats camping for you. We stayed here between 28 December 2025 - 3 January 2026.

We stayed in the middle of summer (December) and though excessively hot, we thoroughly enjoyed our stay. We were one of 2 couples there for the week. Sites were clean and well equipped and had no break in power. River was low during this time of year so we spent all our days sitting in the river, watched fireflies at night on the river bank, visited neighboring resorts for a drink at the bars and had a quick pop over in Namibia to see the fish river canyon.

Overall this site was amazing as it was quite and clean, just what we needed for a break away from the hustle and bustle . Will definitely be going back one day.

3 of us stayed at the Richtersveld Wilderness Camp in December 2023.

We stayed on the King fisher campsite which was spacious, had a covered wash-up and prep area, and private open-air ablution with hot water during the sunny part of the day.

From our tents we had a gorgeous view of the Orange river and mountains on the Namibian side. We had easy access to the water by walking a short way down the sandy bank. As it was scorching hot this time of year, we spent a fair amount of our afternoons in the water. The open-air ablution was very rustic and whimsical if you like the idea of showering under the trees, but no roof means going to the loo during a rainy spell might be problematic...

Every morning and evening you are treated to the sound of birds and cicadas singing. We spotted some hoopoes and kingfishers, as well as a family of weaver birds in the trees at the river's edge.

Now, if you are squeamish about bugs, here's a warning: you might not like the abundance of spiders, especially the Red Roman arachnids that come out at night. It was our first time encountering them, and their size and speed of movement is very unnerving (they run toward you to try and hide in your shadow). It also seems that our campsite was above an ant colony, because there was no where we could sit or stand without ants crawling up our legs.

Bugs aside, the campsite is extremely peaceful. What's also great about this camp in particular is that you get to use their canoes free of charge. Paddling up and down the river is an absolute must. Fishing is also popular here. There was also a large communal deep freeze for use by campers, which was very welcome.

Johan the grounds manager greeted us on arrival and offered to bring us braai wood. The 2 resident dogs were often by our side, and the brindle-coated female even followed us along the riverbank for quite a distance when we went upstream in the canoe. We spotted a lone Vervet monkey in the trees next to our campsite one morning, but the dogs did a good job of warning him off, so he didn't bug us at all.

Being close to some other farms which boast a bar (Growcery) and restaurant (Oewerbos), means that if you're really hankering for a pizza, burger, or low carb chicken wrap, you don't have to travel far. There is a small convenience store 20 minutes back toward the Vioolsdrift border crossing that stocks almost everything you need on a camping trip as well.

A great stop for a family visiting this part of the Northern Cape, and a nice introduction to the Richtersveld area.

RWC is one of the most special places SA has to offer. Quite, well maintained, great camping spots and amazing fishing and paddling to be done. Not to mention making your way into the national park for amazing g 4x4’ing, wild camping and adventures.
One of my most favourite camp spots around!
Just love the Richtersveld Wilderness Camp ⛺️

It was a wonderful campsite. Very clean and so beautiful to watch the orange river around a camp fire. Perfect stay over before our border crossing.