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Namibia 2015


 

• Days: 12 days
• Period: May 2015
• Weather: Dry, no rain at all. Temperature during the day 25 - 30 degrees. In the night and evening it was quite cold, especially in the south (one night it was only a few degrees above zero).

Namibia 2007

2007 - Route 1 and 2 

• Days: 44  
• Period: November - December 2007
• Weather: The temperature varies a lot. In the North is was very hot also during the night. At the coast is was really fresh (during the day even below 20 degrees. In In Most other places it was warm during the day (often over 35 degrees) but cool in the night (ocasionally we used an extra blanket). Although it was officially rainy seasons we only had one or two showers (one in the North and one in Etosha)

2005 

• Days: 3 weeks
• Kilometers: about 4600 km
• Period: August 2005
• Weather: Dry, no rain at all. Temperature during the day is nice (20-25 degrees), in the night and evening cold, especially in the south (only a few degrees we even had frost for one night).

General information:

• Currency: Namibian Dollar (N$)

• Internet: Available everywhere

• ATM's: Different banks in almost any town

• Creditcards: Accepted throughout the country

• Safety: There are many places in Namibia that are not very safe anymore. Crime is more common than a few years ago. In Windhoek on the parking of a very luxurious mall they broke into our car and stole some small stuff (even with car guards around). We have the idea that some of the guards are helping the thiefs so watch out where you park your car. In Windhoek you should not only be careful with your car, you also have to watch out for getting robbed yourself (even during daylight). We saw it happen once and they also tried it with us. They wanted us to look under car because as they told us there was something wrong and if you do they try to steal from you. We noticed that is was not OK so nothing happened, but it seems to happen quite a lot. Other areas where you should be careful are the coastal areas. Luderitz should not be that safe and all the Mile campsites above Swakopmund like Mile 14, Mile 72, Mile 108 are very unsafe. We heard many stories about people gunpointed and then robbed here. A good tip for parking is: park as close to the shops as possible, find a car guard, ask his ID (so you know he is an official guard), take his ID with you and promis him a good reward when you car is still undamaged when you return. This really works. 

Prices (per December 2015)

• Value Money: €1 = 12,8 NAD

• Fuel:  Around 10 NAD per liter diesel

• Camping: Camping in Namibia is not very cheap. The prices a varies between 200 and 300 NAD per night for two persons and a car. In the National parks camping is very expensive (Between 300 and 500 NAD per night for two persons and a car.

• Overall Namibia is definitely not cheap.

Visa

• For Dutch citizens a visa is not needed. On entry you get a stamp in your passport which is valid for a maximum of 90 days. This is for free.

Border crossing

• ENTRY 2015: we entered at Trans Kalahari border post on the border with Botswana.  Procedure was quick and easy. The only costs we had to pay was a road fund which cost us N$ 220. This road permit is valid for 90 days as well but only is for a single entry. When you exit the country en re-enter again, even within these 90 days, you have to buy a new permit. Permit can be paid in ZAR or NAM (only cash)

• EXIT 2015: We left Namibia at Sendelingsdrift on the border with South Africa. Procedure was quick and easy. When we left they also asked us for the road permit. To leave the country you must cross the Orange River by car ferry (price is 160 NAM for one car with two persons.

• ENTRY 2007: we entered at Mohemba on the border with Botswana (North).  Procedure was quick and easy. The only costs we had to pay was a road permit which cost us N$ 160. This road permit is valid for 90 days as well but only is for a single entry. When you exit the country en re-enter again, even within these 90 days, you have to buy a new permit. During police checks they only asked for this permit once.

• EXIT 2007: We left Namibia at Buitepos on the border with Botswana. This is on the Trans Kalahari Highway. Procedure was quick and easy. When we left they also asked us for the road permit. 

Highlights or not (prices were valid in the year mentioned)

• Fish River Canyon 2007: N$ 80 per person per day and N$ 10 per car per day. Camping is N$ 100 per person per night and N$ 100 per night for the campsite. Nice but is a bit similar to the Canyons in the US

• Duwisib Castle: Small old castle. Compared to many other treasures in Namibia not very special place but still a nice on stop on the way.

• Kolmanskop 2007: N$ 40 per person. Old mining village; was interested

• Luderitz: Small town not some nice buildings. Watch out for your stuff here. 

• Sossusvlei 2007: Entry is N$ 80 per person per day and N$ 10 per car per day. Camping is N$ 150 per person per day and N$ per campsite per day. Very nice. To get here take the route through the Namib from Aus to Sossusvlei is very beautiful (D707).

• Cape Cross 2007: Entry is N$ 40 per person per day and N$ 10 per car per day. A very large colony of seals here. You can get very close.

• Epupa Falls: One of the nicest places we visited on our journey, and it is for free.

• Etosha NP 2015: Entry is N$ 80 per person per day and N$ 10 per car per day. Camping is N$ 100 per person per night and N$ 262 for the campsite per day. Great park with lots of animals. Okaukeujo has the best waterhole and a great camp; this was the best. In Halali we saw many elephants and lions; camp was good and not very crowded. Namutoni; we did not liked this camp very much; small waterhole and not much animals.

• Waterberg Plateau: Good campsite with pool. Nice area where you can do a lot of walking.

• Boattrip to see seals and dolphins 2007: N$ 430 per person for the long trip of 4 hours. In Walvisbaai you can do a trip to see seals and dolphins. Some seals are tame and jump onto the boat. It is touristic and not cheap but we really liked it. In the seasons you might even spot whales, leatherback turtles, orka's or mola mola's. We booked the trip with Mola Mola Tours, close to the harbour.
• Quad riding 2007: 250N$ per person for one hour. We did this in the dunes of Swakopmund. Great experience.
• Horse back riding 2007: A few km's  outside Outjo, there is a ranch where you can go horse riding. This farm has excellent horses and the owner a former army instructor trains the horses himself. There is also a very small but nice camping area.
• Nakambale Museum 2007: 100N$ for two persons for camping including entrance fee. It is some kilometers out of Ondangwa and is not very special, but as they also run a campsite it is a good place to check out and the traditional kraal is nice to see. An alternative for camping is the campsite in town which we did not like at all.
• Ombalantu Baobab 2007: Entry 15N$ pp. This is a very big baobab with a real church inside. Around this Baobab there is a very nice campsite. A good place to stay.
• Spitzkoppe 2007: For camping you pay 45 N$ pp and 10N$ for the car (entry fee is included). This is a very nice area to camp and walk. You can also do rock climbing here (you must bring your own gear).
• Kaokoland: This is the rough 4x4 part of Namibia. The roads are tough; sometimes you must drive over very big stones. A part of this area is the famous van Zijl's Pass. This is a very steep pass. As we heard from most travellers there is only a very small section which is tricky (so steep that you cannot see the road), but the rest should be OK. As is was raining when we were there we took another road. We went to Entenga and then we took the more southern track to Orupembe. Here there is also a pass but much easier and less steep. Although the road is longer and some tracks perhaps worse that the ones leading to and from the Van Zijl's Pass. When going into Kaokoland it is worth to drive through the Marienfluss all the way up to the Angolan border. There is a nice campsite here. From Orupembe down to Puros you can choose between two routes. One is a very corrugated gravel route. The other is a very beautiful route through two dry river beds. This was one of the nicest routes of our whole trip but it is a bit risky. You should be warned for aggressive elephants (although we saw them and they were not aggressive, we kept a safe distance however, and flash floods. This last thing is a very real risk. When we did the track they sky was blue and not a drop of rain fell and still a few hours after we passed it the river flooded.
• Feral horses: About 20 from Aus on the way to Luderitz you can find feral horses. There is a view point that looks out on an artificial watersource. This is a very nice spot to visit. It is magic to see these beautiful animals in the wild. Visiting the horses if for free.

Links: 

Below you will find links to sites, that we used during our preparations.

• www.ascocarhire.com - Here we rented our car. They have a very well maintained car park and good services (free pick up from the airport)
• http://home.planet.nl/~berge504/pages/indexpag.html - Very extended travelstory with lots of information (only in Dutch) 
• www.nacobta.com.na - Tourist initiatives by local people. They maintain some great campsites
• www.nwr.com.na - Official site from Namibian Wildlife Resorts. Here you can book accomadation for any of the National Parks. For some parks (Okaukeujo (Etosha) or Sossusvlei) you have to book early, especially during high season.
• www.namibian.org - Contains lots of information about trips, accomodation etc.
• www.explore-namibia.com - for organised individual travelling (including car rental)

Tips

• In high season some campings might be fully booked, especially Sesriem and Okaukeujo in Etosha. Pre-booking in advised.

• NWR campsite may be used with max. 4 to 8 people and two cars. So, as the sites are expensive sharing can be a good idea.

• When camping at Sesriem you have to pay entrance fee for every night you stay there, as the campsite officially is part of the reserve. Therefore it is much cheaper to stay only one night on this very expensive campsite. Then you only have to pay entrance fee for one day which is 24 hours. So you can enter the day you arrive to see the sunset and the next morning to see the sunrise.

• Entrance fee in Etosha is for 24 hours. Keep this in mind when you enter the park. Entering after noon therefore can be worth considering. In that case you have another morning of game driving on the day you have to get out.

• About 35 Km out of Outjo on the way to Otavi you will find the Gamkarab Farm. Here you can camp on the farm and this is really a very nice experience. You will be treated as personal guests instead of tourists and you will experience life on the farm. Charles the owner also has some nice activities to do. He is a trained hunter and if you want you can shoot with his arms, you can ride his excellent horses or climb a cave down to a subterrain lake.

• In Swakopmund is a good biltong shop where you can buy for much lower prices than in the supermarkets elswhere.

Roads

• Most of the road are good gravel roads. Only between the major cities there is tarmac. The gravel roads in Namibia are well maintained and in pretty good condition. On most of them you can easily drive 80 km an hour. Some roads however have bad corrugation. Although most roads are gravel roads they are suitable for all vehicles. Even the roads from Opuwo to Epupa, from Ruacana along the river to Swarbooisdrift and from Sesfontein to Puros can be driven without a 4x4. However the track between Swartbooisdrift and Epupa and all the tracks in Kaokoland are only accessible with a 4x4. Between the Springbokwassergate of the Skeleton Coast NP and Swakopmund lies a salt road. This is a very flat and good road accessible for all vehicles.

Addresses

Holidays

GPS-waypoints 2015

Grid: Lat/Lon hddd°mm.mmm"

Download page for list of waypoints in Excel or Garmin format

GPS-waypoints 2007

 Grid: Lat/Lon hddd°mm.mmm"