Welcome to Namibia!
The second half of our trip was in Namibia and lasted eighteen days . We drove from Cape Town, South Africa through the entire country of Namibia! Our total drive was 8000km, and it was so much fun what an incredible adventure! We spent six months planning our self -drive safari through Namibia and we were finally here and doing it! Hell yea! We had to scrap the last and third half of our plan which was to drive through Botswana and end up at Victoria Falls but for legal reasons, we couldn’t take our 4X4 rental into another country. Now we have another reason to go back to Africa!
August is wintertime in Namibia and it’s pretty warm with the sun most days but the temperature would drop pretty low at nigh so this made us reconsider camping out at night. Our original plan was to get a Toyota Hilux with a pop-out camper attached so we could camp, cook and do everything in our car as we made our way through the country, but everything worked out for us in the best way. Camping out under the African starry sky sounds so cool, but after the long drive days we just wanted to take a good shower and sleep in a warm comfy bed . August is also a pretty busy vacation time especially since the kids are out of school. Countries like Italy usually take August off and everything is closed so pre-booking in Namibia is essential. Namibia is one of the top five least densely populated countries in the world and places like Safari Lodges, tours, and rental 4x4s (especially campers) will book up early in the year.
Planning your road trip
Make sure you plan and prepare accordingly. We mapped out our driving route for Namibia, pre-booked and planned all of our lodges, safari camps, and ensured we had all our essentials and paperwork straight. You will have to get a Namibian SIM card. We got ours through http://www.mtc.com.na and would top it up at MTC’s various vending machines in their gas stations and shopping centers. It’s their better wifi and phone option as the coverage is pretty good, but driving many hours through Namibia, I’d recommend http://www.tracks4africa.co.za. There were many hours we would be without wifi going through the country, and even though we had our maps and guides, having this navigation was so helpful and necessary! After hours of driving without seeing another car pass or anyone else, it was just me, my husband, and the wildlife. The best …
After clearing customs and having our Truck inspected at the SA / Namibian border, our first stop was Fish River Canyon, and we stayed two nights. The first night at Ai-Ais Hot Springs Spa http://www.aiaisresort.com and then at Hobas Camp http://nwrnamibia.comFish River Canyon was INCREDIBLE, just breathtaking. It’s the second-largest canyon in the world, and its colors and depth are massive and stunning to see. We arrived in the early afternoon and had lunch at a cool place we accidentally discovered called https://store.gondwana-collection.com/accommodation/canyon-roadhouse.
We had lunch here, and this place was where we wished we had stayed for our two nights in the area …. We enjoyed lunch, dinner, and a small safari drive called the Garas Self drive safari when we weren’t exploring Fish River Canyon, and the staff here is so kind. The loveliest people we met on our trip. I had to take a picture of this local tale I found in the women’s bathroom called TJONGOLOLO’S Box …
Fish River had the most beautiful energy. It felt like I was in this euphoric pink, purple, white clouded room. The sunrises and sunsets were just phenomenal, and even though we were supposed to be back at our lodge by dark, we stayed after dark to see the stars. Not too late as it isn’t advisable to drive at night when there’s no street light, and the animals CAN potentially pose a threat. We only managed to see a family of Ostriches cross the road. We were hoping for Honey Badgers or Lions!
From Fish River, we drove to Luderitz, which took us five hours. On the way, we saw the wild desert horses of Garub. Aus in situated in the center of the Namib desert and as we made our way we were able to spot these wild beautiful horses noshing on wild melons…. These wild desert horses have adapted to the harsh climate in the Namib we were told there are less than 80 left .. The scenery just driving through Namibia so far was just truly spectacular . The mountains , and landscapes I’ve never seen so many beautiful colors . I can’t even explain the peaceful , magical feeling coursing through me on our trip so far …
After being in the Namib it was refreshing to be on the coast and water . Luderitz is a cute town . We had fantastic oysters and stayed at the http://nesthotel.com This is where we got our SIM card , exchanged some of our Euro for Namibian Dollars and went to the gym lol. Luderitz is a great stopover for these errands . Bear in mind though that exchanging large amounts of cash is a process here . The clerks aren’t used to these transactions everyday in this small town (but bigger than most in Namibia ) and to be patient . We had Lunch and dinner the night before at Diaz Coffee Shop -Oyster& Wine Bar – Beergarden . AMAZING food , Oysters , Coffee and the sweetest staff . The chef prepared us the most amazing spicy Cioppino for lunch and I had it again for dinner that night . It was so cold and foggy being so close the the water and bay and this was a perfect meal for the chill. 
On our way to Sossusvlei we drove 349 km and about 5 hours to get to our next stay which was the Duwisib Guest Farm .
The road was gravely and super rough . We passed so many animals even these squirrels that we had to stop and photograph . They were so freaking animated and cute ! This is where we also saw our first Zebras! They were so brown from all the dry desert dust ! We had fun chasing a Jackal for a bit too LOL I got the cutest video of him (maybe her) trying to outrun our Hilux
We could have made the trip in 4 hours easy but we just kept stopping to photograph every animal and the quiver trees!!! I wish we would have just driven straight to Sossusvlei because we had Sesriem Canyon , The Dunes , and Dead Vlei on our list to see. I really could have stayed two nights at our incredible place The Desert Hills Lodge .
http://daosa.com.na/desert-hills-lodge/
Sossusvlei is a huge clay pan in the center of the Namib Naukluft park and it’s surrounded by the massive red / orange sand dunes. The orange coloring is cause by the Iron Oxide deposits. We were getting up at 5 -6 am every morning so we could get a head start on our daily drive because the entrance into the parks get quite a long line . It’s also FREEZING and windy until about noon during the winter time so bring a good jacket , pants and layer so when it starts to warm up mid day you’re prepared . The temperature fluctuations are wild . When you enter from the Sesriem entrance the first large dune you see is Elim Dune which is 5 km in . Dune 45 the most popular and most photographed dune is at km marker 45 (hence it’s name ) and we hiked it to the top (170 meters high!!) in about 40 minutes! It’s not easy climbing a sand dune!! I did a few cartwheels and wheel yoga poses at the top to celebrate !
We spent a few hours here just climbing the dunes, hiking the canyon and had a nice picnic lunch . The last 5 kilometers of the park you can only access with a 4×4 and my husband had fun driving that !
We were able to spend a good chunk of time here since our drive late afternoon was only about 70 km . We drove through the Naukluft Mountains and stayed at the Bullsport Lodge https://buellsport-naukluft.com since this was on our way to Swakopmund . I liked this place a lot . It was super cozy and the rooms were huge! Dinner and breakfast were served in one main dining room and we met another nice couple traveling from the UK who had started their trip on the Skeleton Coast National park . I was really happy to get their insight and hear their stories because it was the one part of Namibia we wouldn’t be traveling through even though it was the inspiration for our Namibia trip! Years ago I’d read some blog about a rogue traveling couple from Alaska (I think ?) and their stories about driving through the Skeleton coast just fascinated me . I thought I had to go to Namibia one day and here we are! The driving distance was just too far and we really wanted to see as many animals as we could so maybe one day !
On the way to Swakopmund we stopped in Solitaire to get fuel , try the best Apple pie in Namibia at Moose McGreagor’s http://solitairenamibia.com and get that photo at The Tropic of Capricorn ! I think I squawked at my husband a hundred times over stopping here ! We also got there at the exact time the sun was directly ahead and we were alone !!! It was just another one of those fun ,romantic ,check it off the bucket list moments for me … The drive took 4 hours and going through Walvis Bay was like going through a wasteland in Mad Max. The Uranium mines kind of gave it that feel for me but once you get into Swakopmund you see how the desert rests right up against the sea and it is visually stunning. We stayed at http://casa-al-mare.com and the proprietors were a lovely Italian couple who made us feel so at home and were so fun to talk with . It was really foggy which is inevitable being so close to the ocean so we booked a Quad tour through the dunes and had such a fun afternoon doing that.
Zeila Shipwreck
It was kind of a trip to encounter Camels after ATV’ing in the desert but the company we rode with also offers camel rides through the dunes and The Sandwich Bay Harbor which could be .. interesting ??? It was time to leave our friends at Casa al Mare and head to Damaraland where we would (hopefully) get our first glimpse of Elephants and we were going to Camp at the Twyfelfontein Campsite. As we were leaving I had a nice chat with our host Silvio and expressed to him how I was a bit sad I wasn’t going to drive the ACTUAL Skeleton Coast into THEE Skeleton Coast Park and get that picture in front of the skull gates . He indulged me with his own story about driving the coast , how desolate and isolating it was and yea he said it’s cool to get that picture .. maybe but it’s ALL the skeleton coast around here LOL and “you gonna cry and get all emotional when you get to Damaraland and see the elefanti , it’s gonna be wonderful for you “. It was the right thing to hear in exactly the right moment . Thank you Silvio …
The drive to Damaraland was an intense trip and I’ve been on a few in my life ! From Swakopmund it was going to be about 4 1/2 hours / 315 kilometers and the route is called the ” Valley of a thousand hills”. Oh I felt it and after a solid four hours of driving I started to wonder if I had navigated us wrong or took the wrong map ! We passed through Khorixas , Burnt Mountain , The Petrified forest , and the Organ pipes. We didn’t stop to see any of the rock paintings which Twfelfontein is known for we continued on until we arrived at our campsite. Our campsite was … rustic. It was definitely an experience made more fun by another visiting family we met at the campsite. They were from Spain and Italy traveling with their two daughters and had traveled to about 50 countries as a family . It was so cool to hang out and share stories plus we had some fun company to see animals with! I say rustic because this is just a campsite. The chalets are bucket showers ( you have a toilet and running sink water ) and bed but it took us calling another safari lodge about an hour away to get a guide to take us into Damaraland . You’re not allowed to take your vehicle in yourself.
Seeing the elephants in the wild for the first time was an experience I will never forget . We saw a family and small herds of maximum 10 to 15 . Little did I know what awaited us in Popa Falls! This was also our first Giraffe sighting ! Seeing the herds of elephants was such an emotional experience. They are enormous and I really can’t put into words just how beautiful they are . This next half of our Namibia trip covers Etosha National Park , Divindu , Popa Falls , The Caprivi Strip and Waterberg Plateau so I will see you in the next one XO
