There are places you like to return to. One such is the Omukutu Campsite in the Erongo Mountains. We visited this place for the first time in March 2021. (There are visitors who say that it is the most beautiful campsite in Namibia; and that is not wrong!) Because we like the place so much, we celebrated New Year’s Eve here last year. We did that again this year after camping in the Khan Rivier for two days with friends.

Not only we like Omukutu, but also Glöggli, who wanders around at night and sleeps curled up in the shade during the day. When she jumps into our vehicle at night, we hear the little bell she wears around her neck. So, we always know where she is; and birds and lizards can escape in time. We enjoyed the isolation of this camp at 1,450 meters altitude. No New Year’s Eve hustle and bustle, no fireworks and no drunken laughter. There is hardly a quieter and more beautiful way to spend the days around New Year’s Eve than here.

On December 31, 2024 I put an Oryx fillet on the Braai. I served a bottle of Shiraz with the perfectly grilled fillet. For dessert we had Christmas cookies and we toasted to life and our friends with a whiskey. We looked into the embers, admired the starry sky that stretched above us and told ourselves what we experienced in 2024! What will the new year bring?