For a lot of visitors, Namibia will possibly be one of the most suprising countries in the world. With its wildlife, pictureperfect desert views, angular mountains, colonial cities, stretched out landscapes and friendly residents it has a lot to offer for travellers. And the fact that travelling throught this country is quite convenient makes it a perfect destination for the individual traveller. Get informed about it on this website!
Namibia has lots of possibilities for sightseeing, photography, hiking, safari, outdoor sports, etc.
And since pictures tell a lot more than text,
a visual impression of some places to visit
in Namibia can be found here.
Below we mention the highlights that we have experienced ourselves during our four-week trip throught Namibia.
Of course Namibia can offer even more, depending on your itinerary and duration of your stay. For example we haven't
seen the northern and northeastern part of the country, and undoubtedly it will be beautiful over there as well!
Etosha is the largest national park of Etosha and world famous. Within the park it is quite easy to spot lions, elephants, giraffes,
lots of antilopes and gazelles, zebras and gemsbok. When you are lucky you will see also rhinos, cheetah and leopards.
The animals are spread all over the park, but the biggest action can be found around the waterholes, where the animals are concentrated.
Fifty waterholes have been constructed to attract animals and so improve the viewing prospect for visitors. The Etosha Pan dominates the park:
the salt pan desert is approximately 130 kilometres long and 50 kilometres wide. Normally the salt pan is dry, but it fills with water
in the summer period.
It is recommended to stay at least three and preferably four nights in of Etosha. Doing so it is possible to stay in
all three of the camps and experience their uniques characters.
Waterberg plateau Natonal Park is located on a huge platform on the waterberg mountain. The park does not have any gates,
naturally all animals stay on the platform and are not motivated to have a look down the mountain. Geologically, the oldest
rock stratum is over 850 million years old and dinosaurs tracks were left there some 200 million years ago. The first human
inhabitants were the San people, who left rock engravings believed to be several thousand years old.
The camping and accommodations are situated at the foot of the Waterberg mountain. Wildlife is everywere: baboons,
jackals and mongooses are crossing the camping-site regularly. For some people it could take some time for getting
used to that, but it does not result in any danger.
At sunrise and sunset safari trips are organised. Joining the safari truck will mostly result in seeing buffalos,
antilopes, baboons and kudus. Lucky people also see rhinos and leopards. The Waterberg Plateau National Park is ecologically
diverse and rich and has over 200 different species of bird with some rare species of small antelope on the lower
hills of the mountain.
This non-typical touristic place to visit can be truly recommended for the cheetahs, very friendly owners
and staff and relaxing place to stay. The Cheetah farm in Otjitotongwe is situated in north-eastern Namibia, 24 kilometres east of
Kamanjab on the north side of the road. It is home to a non-profit organization, aimed at conserving cheetahs in a natural environment.
The 7,000 ha farm, has both tame and wild cheetahs, many bought from farmers to prevent them from being killed.
The cheetah originally occupied most of Africa except for the equatorial forest and the true desert, (Sahara & Namib) as
well as much of the Middle East and India, where it became extinct in the early 1950's. It is now extremely rare in the
rest of Asia and Africa, north of the equator.
It is estimated that there are less than 7,500 cheetah left in the world, and about 6,000 of these are found in Southern
Africa. According to a 1970 study, the numbers of cheetah in Namibia had improved, due apparently to the removal of lion
and hyena, by farmers. In some cases, it was because of the re-introduction of various antelope species, favoured by these
fleet-footed cats.
More recent surveys have shown that Namibia has 2000-2500 cheetah, of which 95% are on private (game of cattle) farms.
Unfortunately, some farmers have continued to shoot cheetah because of their tendency to raid stock, particularly where
their natural prey species are scarce, or absent. Whilst the current figures do not make the cheetah endangered in the
absolute sense of the word, the extraordinary degree of genetic uniformity that these cats have been shown to exhibit,
raises the possibility that a disease could devastate wild populations. Otjitotongwe is dedicated to the preservation
of the cheetah species.
The farm offers superb photographic opportunities at scheduled cheetah feedings, and also offers guided game drives
to view wild cheetah. There are also a number of unguided nature walks.
This second city of Namibia is located in the middle of the desert and adjecent to the ocean. The city is a real
eye-catcher with its German-like houses and modern spotless streets. It is quite a bizarre combination to walk throught the streets
and see the desert at the background.Possible attractions in Swakopmund include a transport museum, the National Marine Aquarium,
a crystal gallery and spectacular sand dunes near Langstrand south of the Swakop River. The city has scattered coffee shops,
night clubs, bars and hotels. There are balloon rides, sky diving and quad biking facilities.
The German influences are very strong here. Most of the residents here are German or have German origins. And of
course you get real German 'schnitzels' here for dinner!
Surrounded by the Namib Desert on three sides and the cold Atlantic waters to the west, Swakopmund enjoys a temperate climate.
The average temperature ranges between 15 degrees Celsius (59 degrees Fahrenheit) to 25 degrees Celsius (77 degrees Fahrenheit).
Rainfall is less than 15 mm per year, making gutters and drainpipes on buildings a rarity. The cold Benguela current supplies
moisture for the area in the form of fog that can reach as deep as 140 kilometre inland. The fauna and flora of the area has adapted
to this phenomenon and now relies upon the fog as a source of moisture.
Approximately 80 km north from Swakopmund you will find Cape cross seal reserve. The reserve is well known because it is the site of
the largest breeding colony of Cape fur seals on the Southern African coast. At the peak of the breeding season in November and
December as many as 200 000 seals can be seen here.
Especially near Swakopmund, sandboarding for a first impression! is
a popular and very exciting activity.
Namibia seems ideal for individual travelling and self booking. It is very easy to find accommodations, the roads are
suprisingly well maintained and a lot of people understand or speak English and German.
When you remember the country is large, thinly populated and has therefore remote areas (see tips below), travelling
is a piece of cake and selfdrive is absolutely no problem. Road signs are OK, most roads are tarmac ones and the gravel
roads are generally in good condition.
Gravel road: 800 km per day / 100 km/h
Tarmac roads: 400 km per day / 60 km/h
Like mentioned before, Namibia is an accessible country which in which it is relatively easy to travel.
Here are some specific tips for visitors of Namibia:
- A normal car is perfect for the most parts of Namibia. 4x4's are cool but the costs are not in proportion
- Never cut down on water supply in the car and during hikes
- Fill-up your tank every time you pass a gas station. Sometimes there is one every 300 km's!
- Warm clothes are very useful when the temperatures drop down at night
- Always hire an extra spare tire for the car
- Wildlife can be easily found near the waterholes, especially at sunrise and sunset
- Book your trip yourself and save lots of money and get maximum freedom
- Hire your camping equipment in Windhoek
Apart from the usual stuff to take with you on holiday, the following items can be useful in Namibia and are possibly
forgotten in advance:
- Lonely planet of Namibia
- Detailled road map of Namibia (available at car hire company and gas station)
- Music CD's for killing time at the straight long roads
- Camera with sufficient optical zoom for photographing wildlife (at least 10x or 300 mm)
-...
Especially when you are living thousands of kilometres from Africa, a trip to Namibia cost a lot of money. Nevertheless
there are good possibilities to keep the costs at an acceptable level.
Below some prices are listed in order to give an impression of the costs (2008):
- Return flight ticket Amsterdam-Windhoek: 1050 euro
- Car hire (Volkswagen Polo, including spare tire and all-risk insurance): 70 euro per day
- Overnight stay in hotel (middle-class, private bathroom, double room): 60 euro per night per room
- Overnight stay at camping site: 10 euro per tent
- Overnight stay at camping site in Etosha National park: 30 euro per tent
- Top-end meal per person: 20 euro
- Budget meal per person: 5 euro
- Tent hire and sleeping equipment for two persons: 8 euro per day
- Sandboarding 3 hours including lunch: 30 euro per person
- Gasoline: 1,20 euro per litre
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