Botswana and Namibia – including Rovos Rail and the Blue Train

[Sobeboy15]

Planning an African adventure to Victoria Falls and a three week driving tour of Namibia, does anyone have any tips or recommendations?

Also going on Rovos Rail and the Blue Train to tick off some bucket list items any tips would be gratefully received.

Thankyou

[Cat]

No tips sadly, but I do have pretty extreme levels of jealousy!

A Botswana and Namibia double whammy has been at the top of my list for quite a while now, but it’s going to require some saving for, on a teacher’s salary.

Please report back @Sobeboy15!

[Annie]

I can happily recommend :-
Desert Quiver Camp, Soussusvlei ( dunes )
Mowani Mountain camp, Damaraland ( desert adapted elephants )
Waterhole room at Okaukuejo rest camp in Etosha ( don’t bother with game drives, just sit and watch the waterhole day and night )
Mushara lodge also in Etosha, the staff remain the nicest I have ever met and I visited in 2019.
Okonjima Plains camp for leopards.

Don’t hang around Windhoek longer then you must.

[Ant M]

Ok. Starting with Etosha- I always suggest staying at the three main camps in the park – Okaukuejo, Halali and Numitoni. The sightings you get around the camps and at the waterholes do vary so staying at all three gives the best variety of sightings. In my experience Halali camp waterhole at night is best for black rhino, and it’s common to see honey badgers in the camp. Okaukuejo is the busiest waterhole and busiest camp – elephants, rhino, giraffe and various antelopes are common at night as well as lion and leopard.
You must be inside the camps between sunset and sunrise but it’s good to get up early, go for a game drive as soon as the gates open at dawn then come back for breakfast.

The common tourist loop is Windhoek, west to Namibia naukluft and Sossusvlei. Up to Swakopmund which has opportunities for cities such as sand boarding. From there up the skeleton coast to see the seal colonies at cape cross, east to one of the camps in the damaraland region, then on to Etosha. From there down to Otjiwarongo and Windhoek. Okonjima camp near otjiwarongo is a good place to see cheetah and other big cats