Namibia Travel Guide
Africa

Encounters Travel is a small-group adventure tour operator offering lively, good value Namibia Tours such as Namibia and Botswana Uncovered and Grand Southern Safari including South Africa, Botswana and Zimbabwe.

Traffic jam ahead! The hazards of self-drive in Etosha National Park, Namibia

Why holiday in Namibia?

This amazing south-west Africa country combines the world's best mass-wildlife watching, stunning desert scenery, masses of spectacular sand dunes which you can climb, sandboard down, quad bike up and balloon over in a fairly primitive environment, yet is supplied with life's essentials (good beds and cold beer) at key points, and you have a truly superb exotic destination.

Then there are a couple of tranquil, attractive coastal oasis towns - Swakopmund and Luderitz - sun that shines just about everyday and 2,000 kilometres of beaches - unused except by a few hardy surfers and 200,000 seals. What's not to like?

Well actually the San hunters who once wandered its bone-dry gravel plains and shifting sands called it 'the land God made in anger', while Portuguese sailors who were wrecked on the Skeleton Coast called it 'the sands of hell'!

Downsides
- distances between main attractions are large (3 to 8 hours) and many roads are dirt so expect to spend a lot of time on 4 dirty wheels.
- In a self-drive car you have a 1:4 chance of damaging the vehicle in a single car accident (according to local sources). e.g. sliding off on a bend, so that could be an expensive option. At least get fullest possible insurance.

Weather

Best: May-October (winter, up to 25C daytime, down to 0C possible at night)
Worst: Nov- March (excessive heat 35C+. Some rain makes wildlife watching more difficult as they are not so dependent on waterholes). South African school holidays as well as Namibian ones can stuff up accommodation.
School holidays: Most of May, late August - early September, early December to about 20 January.

Length of stay
Minimum worthwhile stay, not incl. flights: 10 days to do a fast circuit of the highlights - Etosha, Swakopmund, and Sossusvlei.
Recommended: 4 weeks to visit the north and south areas.

Main attractions

***Etosha National Park. As far as number of wildlife you can see, this may be Africa's greatest game park. Pictures and Information

***Namib Desert - a sensational sea of rolling dunes, with activities galore. Pictures and Info

***Sossusvlei. Totally mind-bending 400m high pink dunes. Pictures and Info

***Swakopmund, on the coast, is a pretty, relaxed town in old German style, with plenty of activities on offer. Pictures and Info

**Skeleton Coast, barely attractive, but salt roads, seals and sand forever make this worth a look-see. Pictures and Info

**Twyfelfontein/Damaraland provides high quality 2,000 year old San rock art and spectacular scenery. Pictures and Info

The Waterburg Plateau is touted as main attraction but doesn't really deserve a lot of attention. Pictures and Info

*Caprivi, a narrow strip of scenic riverland sandwiched between Angola, Zambia and Botswana, with four excellent but rarely visited game parks and various fishing and river-adventure facilities. An ideal stopover for overland explorers to/from Botswana and Zimbabwe, it's a 3 hour drive to Victoria Falls from Katima.

*Opuwo area, the Kaokoland is home to the Himba tribe people who still wear red ochre body-paint and traditional dress.
Himba settlements can be visited with a guide; do this with sensitivity but do not expect culture without payment.

*Kalahari desert near Mariental, not quite as exciting as it sounds, but provides good hiking and bird watching opportunities, as well as photogenic quivertrees near Keetmanshoop.

**Luderitz, a bizarre Bavarian (German) village stuck on a barren coast, it's a long drive south but the endless beach supports seals, penguins, flamingoes and ostriches.

***Fish River Canyon, the world's second largest after America's Grand Canyon, attracts keen hikers.
Hobas, at the north end, is the best starting point with masses of camp sites, stunning viewpoints and good short walks.
A challenging, spectacular 85 km four-day trail is one of Africa's toughest, but a fitness test is required to get permission! Reward yourself at *Ai-Ais hot springs resort afterwards.

**Orange River, on the border with South Africa is a terrific rafting spot.

Windhoek, Namibia's capital, has a good climate but is a charmless hodgepodge of car-dominated, modern mall culture, leavened with a frisson of potential muggery.
You may have no choice so ***Joe's Beer House is a superb place to pass some time.

Domestic transport

Minibuses are the main public transport system, but don't necessarily go where tourists want to, as most of their customers are locals.

Although Bugbog generally prefers individual travel (in Namibia that means by rental car) to tours, this is one country where touring with a group is probably the best option, because:

- distances between sights are very long and tiring.
- gravel roads can be dangerous for inexperienced drivers, physically and financially.
- accommodation is limited so pre-booking is useful.
- local knowledge, such as which is Etosha's wildest lodge (Okaukuejo!), is the best way to make the most of your time.

Festivals
Check guide books for precise dates:
21 March, Independence Day, with nationwide festivities.
26 August - the nearest weekend celebrates Maherero Day in Okahandja, north of Windhoek. This is the place to see a whole lot of women in their bizarre traditional Victorian dress.
Late October sees Oktoberfest nationwide, Germany's favourite festival - beer and sausage overdose guaranteed.

For some precise dates, more suggestions and information see: Exotic Festivals

Activities

Wildlife Safaris: there are many little game parks around the country but Etosha (see right) is so superb, others are hardly worth the cost unless you can get to see big cats up close.

Hiking: Waterburg Plateau, Naukluft Mountains and Damaraland have some good walks but Fish River Canyon is the place for serious hiking. See right.
Short dune hikes all over the Namib Desert are a good way to burn off some energy and get tranquilised.

Quad Biking and Sand Boarding are not exactly eco-friendly, but do use fixed routes and are very exciting.
Sandboarding can be lie down or stand up styles, but needs very dry dunes.

Scenic Drives: the west side of the country provides endless stunning roadscapes. 4WD is unnecessary though much of the time you may be on gravel roads. The best cruise has to be the 75km drive down the Sossusvlei valley with massive dunes on each side.

The Desert Express, a train from Windhoek to Swakopmund on the Skeleton Coast. This romantic throwback to the fifties is a first-class sleeper that takes 22 stately hours to get to the coast. It's very classy, comfortable and includes brief safari stops en route. Cost about £200.

Swakopmund, on the edge of the Namib Desert is activity central in this country.

Ballooning and flying: fantastic views especially over Sossusvlei dunes, but expensive of course (and don't expect ballooning to be quiet!).

Kayaking: Walvis Bay, near Swakopmund is favoured for sea kayaking, with plenty of birdlife, including flamingoes and perhaps seals or dolphins.

Horse riding: many private lodge/farms offer guided rides.

Visas
Europeans, Americans, Canadians, Irish, Australians, New Zealanders and most other nationalities can get 90 days permit to stay on arrival at the airport.

Electricity
230v, 3 round pin (the same as South Africa).

Language
Like South Africans, Namibians are multi-lingual, with English and Afrikaans at the top of the list.

Money
This country is not particularly cheap, with very limited accommodation possibilities in some key locations.
There are ATMs around and credit cards are widely accepted.
Usefully the Namibia $ is fixed 1:1 to the South Africa rand, and you can use rands in Namibia, but cannot use N$ in South Africa (or anywhere, for that matter).

Shopping
Unsurprisingly precious stones and funky mineral rocks are top of the tourist shopping list and you can expect to be approached frequently by "Pssst, mister, stones?" merchants. Many stones will be less valuable than they look so do check in shops before buying 'offline'.
Other popular items are ostrich leather goods, wood carvings, masks and paintings.

Food
Local staples are corn or millet porridge with meat or fish stews, but tourists will probably spend more time consuming fatty, dead animals in the German or South African tradition, though Swakopmund does do a good line in seafood.
Vegetarians? Tough!

Health
Protection against Malaria is advised if you will be in the north east other than in wintertime (June-Sept)

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