Free camping?

Hey, is it possible to bush camp in Namibia or do you have to stay in designated campsites? The ones I've looked at so far aren't cheap...
Thanks in advance, Laerke

Hi
You can camp everywhere you want except in parks like Etosha where campsites are mandatory and also in private properties where you have to obtain the landlord's authorisation.
RR.

In the very north of Namibia it might be possible to “bush” camp – camp along the road or a few meters away. However, Namibia is not “Dark Africa” anymore! The people do not like visitors to camp along the road – potential danger these campers can cause e.g. veld fires! Towards central and the south it can be a security risk to you as the camper – attacks or robbers. Yip, Nam is no longer a cheap destination, even their campsite fees, excluding national parks, are high, but coming is still the cheapest way to see Namibia.

"The people do not like visitors to camp along the road " Hmmm ,I've camped (with a Mercedes Vito) near a village along the track (near Tsumeb) and nobody said something to me . I've done it also in Damaraland and near Solitaire without any problem .
I've don't make fire , of course.
RR.

Agree with opsafari

Most land near the road is farmland and fenced… only in the far north (Kaokoveld) and some very remote areas we bush camped.

"Most land near the road is farmland and fenced" Yes , but you can sometimes find a enough good place under a tree (or not) without going through the fence. There are almost nobody along these tracks , so you can camp quietly (more than in an overcrowded camping , for exemple) without any problem.
RR

To roro
You are really lucky that nothing happened. Like the other poster mentioned Namibia changed a lot in the last 10 years and is now a top tourism destination. An increase in tourism is often followed more crime… esp. in country with such a great gap in wealth between locals and visitors.

Last time I visited the community camp near Spitzkoppe other campers had been robbed. We met a lot of strange people near the roads in remote areas. At first we thought they just wanted water or a lift, told us crazy stories about their accidents but in the end it turned out they wanted money. So we never stopped again. 10 years ago it was possible to bush-camp but I wouldn't advise it now.

TO Kurz... and others
I don't think I was lucky because I have choosed to camp only in places where there was almost nobody(so almost nobody was able to attack us,and I should be unlucky to be attacked there) : First we have camped near a very little village 25km far from themain road (near Tsumeb) , and also on the track beetween Opuwo and Sesfontein, on the track beetween Palmwag and Kamanjab and at last on track between Walvis and Solitaire. We have met only 2 or 3 cars during all time we had stayed there..
RR