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Bit last minute, but have 33 day for a Namibia and Botswana trip. Any tips and recommendations most welcomed.
It’ll be likely Self drive camping, mid April to mid may. but with offshoots of tours and lodges.
Thank you in advance.
Suggest looking at the camps inside Etosha in Namibia – https://www.etoshanationalpark.org/accommodation/inside
You’re inside the park and means you get an early start to the day without driving in first. Not luxurious (although it looks like they’ve opened a new more upmarket one since we were there) but ideally located. We really like the freedom to drive ourselves around in Namibia as opposed to being part of a lodge’s game drive.
Did this last year and doing again (just Namibia) next year. I flipping LOVE the place. We used African Tracks for the double cab hi-lux with camping we hired.
Do not miss Soussuvlei, the area around Madisa Camp (can’t recall the name), the Caprivi strip (stay at Nunda Camp in their bungalows, Kasane, Moremi, etc
I just can’t recommend it enough.Thank you @aAmyC and @E 🙂
Is this the Nunda lodge?
How was the hi-lux? and generally the driving? Sounds silly but does Google maps suffice for getting from camp to camp?
Any bits of kit you’d definitely recommend we take, rent or ensure comes with car?
How long were your trips?
We can’t wait but I enjoy the planning : )
Two spare tyres! Tyres take a bit of a beating on the unmade roads and a nearby garage can be a long way away. Can’t remember who we hired with – it was also a double cab hi-lux – but it had two spare tyres in it so we didn’t need to get that added.
Driving was fine if a bit challenging at times. Take it slow though as driving at speed on the unmade roads causes a lot of accidents for those with little experience of them.
The double cab hi-lux is a particularly good idea if there are two of you. It meant that one of us could drive while the other was able to move from side to side in the rear cab and we both got the best views of whatever was around us.
We didn’t use Google maps. We bought a map as mobile reception wasn’t consistently OK. I would think that there are likely to be areas even now where reception isn’t viable for Google maps.
Thank you @aAmyC and @E 🙂
Is this the Nunda lodge?
How was the hi-lux? and generally the driving? Sounds silly but does Google maps suffice for getting from camp to camp?
Any bits of kit you’d definitely recommend we take, rent or ensure comes with car?
How long were your trips?
We can’t wait but I enjoy the planning : )
Yes Nunda lodge! I knew camp didn’t sound right. They are so great there and the owner (Cameron, a Brit) is so gracious and hospitable. Food is excellent too.
Our trip with 3 weeks too. I put a local sim in my phone which I had to keep topping up but also used google maps which I downloaded to use offline no problem.
Didn’t use any spare tyres but having two was reassuring. My OH wishes we had rented a fridge but I don’t think we really needed one. The car should come with everything you need but one thing not to be without is a compressor/inflator to help inflate your tyres as you’ll need to adjust the pressure according to road conditions. The hi-lux (we named Beryl) was phenomenal. So reliable and capable and comfortable. I wasn’t a fan of the roof tent so we probably only did 9 nights in it and everywhere else in lodge type accommodation. I really liked Chobe Safari lodge too. That’s in Kasane, Botswana. Camp sites aren’t the best but they also have rooms. Good food there and it’s setting is hard to beat.Oh and if you’re on Facebook do join DriveNam and DriveBots groups as they’re incredibly helpful. As are Namibia from the roadside and camping in Namibia groups.
The roads in Namibia are generally very good – some tar roads and some gravel, but even the gravel ones are smooth and well maintained. On the coast if you go to Cape Cross to see the seals, you’ll drive on a salt road which again is good but slightly less grip than tar.
The most common route is across to Namib Naukluft and Sossusvlei, then up the coast to Swakopmund then up the skeleton coast towards Damaraland – a lovely place to stay (be careful and drive slow along the skeleton coast as its a common place to get punctures). Then across to Etosha.
If you didnt want to go via the Skeleton coast and Damaraland then heading back to the B1 and up to Otjiwarongo will get you to Okonjima – a lodge/camp that’s home to a Cheetah conservation project and which offers the best chance you’ve got of seeing these beautiful animals up close.For Etosha there are expensive and very nice lodges outside the park, but I recommend staying at the camps in the park and spending at least a couple of nights at each of the three main ones. The reasons are that you’re limited to being in the park between sunrise and sunset – gates are closed outside those times and you can be fined and ejected from the park for being out in the curfew, so staying in the park means you can leave the camp and sunrise and be in the heart of the park at the time the animals are most active. Stay at all three camps as you get different wildlife in each area, and since the camps have floodlit waterholes you can sit out at night and see a nice variety of animals – at Okaukuejo you’re likely to see lion, elephant, giraffee and various antelope species and white rhino, Halali has always been good for me for black rhino sightings and also honey badgers in/around the camp, and Namutoni similar to okaukuejo at night but good for some other species in early mornings. Driving in the park is limited to the roads which in a hilux will be fine – I’ve done it loads of times in a normal 2WD car and got through even the worst bits ok. There are night drives available to book – a guide will take you out in one of the park vehicles and its a good chance to see some different species.
From Etosha heading east, Shamvura camp just before the Caprivi strip is a good place to stay, especially for birders. Its on a hill overlooking the river and the Angolan flood plains, so lots of birds and they do trips out on the river. It’s run by an ex game ranger from Etosha so he’s extremely knowledgeable. Another place to consider is Ngepi tented camp (either pitch your own tent or they have some accomodation to rent) which is on the banks of the Cubango river.
Driving through Caprivi there’s not much to see – its a long straight road (but be careful of wildlife running across). It’s an area where hunting happens so elephants etc are very wary of people and so arent as easily seen as in Etosha.
Crime is generally very low, but be careful about leaving stuff on show in the vehicle particularly if you stop in Rundu or Katima Mulilo
Contrary to the above, last May we only saw one elephant in Etosha (found the park didn’t live up to my expectations) but dozens in the smaller parks in the Caprivi. I loved Mahangu especially and saw the biggest elephants I’ve ever seen there and there were hardly any other tourists at all. Magical.
Contrary to the above, last May we only saw one elephant in Etosha (found the park didn’t live up to my expectations) but dozens in the smaller parks in the Caprivi. I loved Mahangu especially and saw the biggest elephants I’ve ever seen there and there were hardly any other tourists at all. Magical.
What you see if very much linked to when you go. The best sightings are around October time just before the rainy season as the only water around is at the waterholes. In May there tends to be more water around so there’s less need for them to visit the waterholes. I’ve still had good sightings in May but later in the year is a lot busier for wildlife sightings.
You were lucky in Caprivi – there are a lot of elephants but due to hunting they are generally harder to see, and can be more aggressive than the ones in Etosha if you get close. I do love the Caprivi though – it’s very different to the rest of Namibia which makes it worth including on a trip.It’s definitely a wonderful experience when there are few people around to sit and watch the wildlife
Thank you all! This is all great advice.
We are going mid April to mid may but i have feeling we’ll back in a future year in October.
The top candidate for our 4×4 camping equipped vehicle has some exclusions where we can’t drive, in Namibia….by any chance are you familiar with any of them?
To Sandwich Harbour
Along the Kunene River
From Epupa Falls east on road No. 3700 to road No.3701
Up Van Zyl’s passI’d imagine those exclusions are due to people getting stuck in the past
Sandwich harbour is just south of Swakopmund and Walvis bay and is where the big dunes meet the sea. Although your rental may not allow you to drive there you can take organised trips from Swakopmund to go see the area.
Epupa falls is in the very North of the country on the Angolan border, and the Kunene river and van Zyls pass are pretty remote so getting stuck would be a problem especially as I wouldnt expect any phone signal around. I have a feeling the roads round there are just sand rather than gravel so arent easy to drive on unless you’re experienced.
Always fill up with fuel when you get the chance – in more remote areas places to fill up are few and far between. Petrol stations are generally not self service – they’ll fill it for you to the brim (even rocking the vehicle to get rid of air pockets to get every last drop possible in the tank), and will clean the windscreens for you.
Oh and although I’m sure you wouldnt dream of speeding, speed traps arent unusual 10-20km from towns, usually at one of the picnic spots where they can wait in the shade.
keep an eye out when driving for warthogs – the grass verges are very wide and when the grass is long you dont spot warthogs but they have a tendancy to race across the road and hitting one would cause a bit of damage. Similarly guinea fowl (aka flying bricks) tend to fly across at windscreen heightI be thought they all had those exclusions. Watch YouTube vids on Van Zyl and you’ll see why. It’s for extreme off roaders, almost always in their own vehicle.
We had a huge male kudu leap out in front of us while my boyf and I were arguing over whether he was going too fast or not. That argument was soon settled!Hi Ash,
I am from Botswana (Maun). Where in Botswana are you going? I can either advice or give you contacts.We were in Namibia in April 2019. It was easily the best holiday we’ve ever had.
We flew into Windhoek and drove from there to Sossuvlei where we stayed at Desert Quiver Camp. Stopping for the obligatory photos and a pastry at Soliitare. About 7 hours drive in total.
My husband turned 60 while we’d were there and I asked for a desert dinner and they arranged the most magical evening which we will never be able to beat.
We climbed the dunes and tried to drive the 4 x4 ourselves through the sand to Sossuvlei but had to give up and get a local to help us, along with a few other over confident tourists.
From there we drove to Swakopmund which took about six hours on almost all dirt roads. We quickly understood why driving is called an African massage.
From Swakopmund we did a trip to Walvis Bay and kayaked with the seals which was fun. The flamingos there were amazing.
Also Swakopmund is a great place to try tandem skydiving. I did not ( would rather set my hair on fire ) but my husband did and loved it. The video evidence is fantastic with great views of the pink salt farms.We then headed to Damaraland and stayed at Mowani Mountain camp. We were lucky enough to track two herds of the desert adapted elephants.
Next stop was Okaukuejo rest camp in Etosha, where we stayed in a waterhole room. We sat and watched animals come and go for hour after hour, i honestly wish I was still sitting there. I was practically Mowgli.
Then it was Mushara Lodge which was a dream. I have a video of the staff singing to us over breakfast which still makes me cry . It was magical. I also have a video of my husband being chased by a warthog which makes me cry for very different reasons.
Central highlands and Okonjima Plains Camp was our final stop.
We stayed 3 nights in each place and had a 4 x 4 , sorry no idea what it was. We were given a good tip to put our bags inside black bin bags as even in an enclosed truck the dust gets absolutely everywhere.
Have a wonderful time !
Hi Ash,
I am from Botswana (Maun). Where in Botswana are you going? I can either advice or give you contacts.Hello @Boi , we are at the research planning stage, your recommendations/contacts are greatly appreciated. We do know that we need to end up in Kasane around mid – May, from there leaving the rental 4×4 and catching bus to Victoria Falls for a couple of days before flying to Johannesburg to catch the flight home.
This trip sounds amazing! Given it’s 33 days – unless you have a lot of time to plan and negotiate with each place, I’d highly recommend using a well regarded local or regional company to fill in the gaps (as opposed to a UK company who will generally want to book the whole trip). I tend to use East Cape Tours who are excellent – they have a small UK presence (and are run by a Brit) but are based in South Africa with a good number of staff and cover most of Southern Africa. Their online brochures (put together for each client) are stunning! Happy to give you a contact if you like.
A good UK travel firm to book through is Expert Africa – one of their team actually wrote the Bradt travel guide to Namibia, so they are very knowledgeable. I’ve used them in the past, and they were very good
Did 2 weeks driving round Namibia last August with my son and loved it. We had a white hilux double cab from Europcar which also allowed my 20 year old son to drive. Had paper maps but didn’t really use them as we had pre-downloaded google maps. Didn’t really have any navigation problems as there are so few roads. We had a huge blowout and shredded a tyre but with 2 spares provided we were on our way in 20 minutes, and the support from Europcar was very good in terms of telling us where to get a replacement wheel/tyre.
For accommodation our favourite would be Kulala Desert Lodge down near Sossuvlei, particularly the ability to sleep on the roof of the lodge under the stars. Food also very good there out on the deck at sunset.
Spitzkoppen Lodge also very good and another great location in a boulder strewn landscape. Various walks, climbs and guides available.
For Etosha we stayed just outside the Anderson Gate in Etosha Oberland Lodge which also served up good food in a really nice location. The room here was huge with its own outside decking area.
We also stayed at Grootberg Lodge which is a lot more basic than the previous three but is in an absolutely stunning location at the top of Grootberg Pass. Its worth a stop there but I would only do one night. We stayed for 2 nights and did the rhino tracking but this involved a very early start and 6-8 hours in an open jeep and we saw nothing. I think if you have been to Etosha you can skip this.
Our itinerary was put together by Steppes Travel and I would have no hesitation using them again.
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