Hello friends! This is the second half of our trip to Africa last summer and our Namibia Safari. It’s taken me a full year to write this post and go through the hundreds of photos my husband and I took. I swear it literally feels like we just got back from this amazing trip. Seeing so many incredible animals in the wild and the breathtaking landscapes of Namibia and South Africa has me planning our next adventure to Kenya and Tanzania . Sometimes I struggle with how to write about my travels. I don’t always have my phone or camera ready to shoot. I prefer to stay in the moment and capture everything with my eyes and soul . Hopefully my experiences and suggestions can give you an idea of how to plan your own trip.
Leaving Twyfelfontein our travel time to Etosha National Park http://etoshanationalpark.co.za was about 320 km and took almost five hours. We stayed our first night at the Etosha Safari Lodge https://store.gondwana-collection.com/accommodation/etosha-safari-lodge This Place is spectacular !
Etosha Park Safari
The rooms are beautiful the food was delicious and the Andersson Gate entrance to Etosha park is only 9km away . Gates opened at 7 am and since we were doing our own self-drive safari we wanted to get ahead of the packed safari tour vans to see if we could get spot lions , hyenas , and leopards . Sure enough fifteen minutes in we spotted our first male lion and an hour later I spotted a leopard .
We spent the day visiting the various water holes and saw giraffes, elephants, zebras, ostriches , Wildebeest , springbok, kudu , and black rhino ! When we got back to our resort in the early evening right outside our room a few banded mongoose were getting it on LOL They are so cute and I saw more when we hiked up into the Waterberg Plateau Park a few days later ..The next two nights we stayed in Etosha park at two lodges . Halali Wildlife Resort
http://www.nwr.com.na/resorts/halali-resort/ and Namutoni Resort https://www.nwr.com.na/resorts/namutoni-resort/Both are nice and convenient because you’re staying inside Etosha but the nicest resort in my opinion is the Etosha Safari Lodge for the quality of the meals and comfort of rooms. Each lodge has it’s own water hole located close to where the campgrounds are within each resort so, after dinner you can head out and watch the animals come to you.
It’s pretty dark but they’re lit up with floodlights so you can see many of the animals that are nocturnal like Black Rhinoceros , lions , Hyenas and if you’re really lucky wild African dogs ! We didn’t see any Hyenas this trip and when I was at breakfast some people said that they saw Hyenas at the lodge water hole around midnight ! Grrrrr Waking up at five am to catch the first sunrise and animals of the day had me falling asleep at 10 P.M.
The starry open skies of Namibia are incredible.
If you’re coming to Namibia Etosa national Park is a must . The high season runs from July to November . It never felt crowded and it’s the best time to see the animals . The average temperature was around 25 c during the day (It does get really cold at night though !!) and it’s the dry season so there’s no rain which made driving much easier but also dusty.We spent three days here and most of the day on the courses exploring each water hole and following the animals. Etosha is clearly marked with good signs so you won’t have any trouble navigating or seeing wildlife they are abundant. Don’t get out of your car and stay only on the marked roads . It’s dangerous for the animals and intrusive. There was a few times that some Zebras got really close to us . I got a kick out of watching them in their family groups. They would nuzzle each other, roll around in the bush , or just stand there looking at us while they rested their heads on each other or did the Zebra equivalent of cuddling. My husband captured them smiling as you can see here . So sweet….
Leaving Etosha we headed northeast towards Rundu passing Tsumeb , and Grootfontein. This was the most populated part of Namibia we had seen so far. The last two weeks of driving through the country we were lucky if we’d pass two or three cars a day ! We had lunch in Rundu and stayed here a bit longer to recharge our phones and check out some of the local shops for snacks. This was going to be a long travel day . Seven hours and 633 kilometers later we arrived to Popa Falls our home for the next three nights.
Popa Falls – Caprivi Strip
Popa Falls is located in the north eastern corner of Namibia in the Caprivi strip. This panhandle of Namibia borders on Angola and Botswana and was a stark contrast to most of the country we’d seen so far. Lush woodlands and the sound of the falls was nice to hear from our river chalet at night . We stayed at the Popa Falls Resort http://nwr.com.na/resorts/popa-falls-resort/ We were excited to get up early and explore the Mahango Game and Bwabwata National park. http://national-parks.org/namibia/bwabwata We went to Bwabwata first and this is where I got my first glimpse of Warthogs!! Within minutes of entering we saw herds of elephants, giraffes, ostriches, monkeys and the sitatunga! This species of antelope is so pretty and very elusive so I felt really lucky to have spotted one! I was told the Caprivi Strip was one of the few places we could potentially see the wild african dog but to no avail. We also still haven’t spotted a Honey Badger…
Throughout the day we saw so many different species of incredible birds, including some giant vultures feasting on carcasses . I loved that “Beaky Buzzard ” from Loony Tunes when I was a kid so I don’t find Vultures or Buzzzards so repulsive ? I’m probably alone in this logic. Along the banks we found Hippos and crocodiles and right at dusk as were were heading out of the park ten minutes before closing we were forced to stop. A herd of one hundred elephants were crossing right in front of us headed to the bank to swim and stay for the night. We had to slowly back up as more and more elephants kept coming . I could feel the ground shaking and it was really scary but beautiful and mesmerizing at the same time. My husband said “let’s get closer !” I though are you crazy! What are we going to do if they decide to stomp on our 4×4 and toss us around ! We are the only ones left in the park with the animals and who’s going to hear us or find us ! We got back to our place in time for dinner and my husband had Eland steak which he said was one of the best steaks he had in his life. He also ate Kudu and Springbok on this trip and said it was delicious . I’m not much of a meat eater and couldn’t even think of eating those beautiful animals after seeing them prance around in the wild so I stuck to vegetarian dishes mostly. Our meals were wonderful at each place and I never had trouble finding fresh fruit , vegetables , eggs or plant based protein.
We spent the next morning at the Mahango Game reserve hoping to see Lions but we did not. There were far less animals here, mostly birds so we headed back to Bwabwata and spent another full day. My husband took so many beautiful pictures and the landscape was so lush green and beautiful. So many water buffalo , hippos , otters and crocodiles frolicking in the water. If the lion is king of the jungle then the elephants are the kings and queens of the rivers. The moment the elephants made their way to the water all of the animals make way for them . Even the hippos ! Some of the hippos didn’t want to leave the water but they don’t mess with the elephants .Even when they start splashing water with their trunks and they start making waves (literally!).We even saw a baby elephant chase away two adult giraffes from the watering hole in Etosha
Waterberg National Park
I was so happy seeing them in Capetown and to see them again in Waterberg made my heart so full. We stayed on top of the Plateau for awhile and at our Simba chips and Crunchie bars. One Dassie stayed close by and I sprinkled the crumbs from my Simba chips on the rock to see if they would try them . Oh they did! When I put the last piece of my Crunchie bar out they snatched it up ! I’ll never forget that sweet face. I even got a smile! We were able to book an afternoon safari from 3 PM to 6PM into Waterberg. You cannot go into Waterberg National Plateau Park without a guide and I don’t see how you could even see anything without one. The bush here is so dense and thick. After driving around for awhile I couldn’t even figure out where we were . The guides are experts at finding and showing you where the animals are and ours was exceptional and made our excursion really fun. On our way back to camp at sunset we stopped and we saw a white Rhinoceros. It was just so perfect to end our trip with this magical animal .
Our trip was coming to end and it was time to pack up and drive to Windhoek. This is the capital of Namibia and usually the starting point for most travelers . We stayed at the Utopia Boutique Hotel http://naankusecollection.com/establishment/naankuse-utopia which is perfect for exploring downtown Windhoek . The last two weeks during our safaris we ate within our resorts and didn’t have the ability to really eat out so for our last night we had dinner at The Stellenbosch Wine Bar and Bistro http://thestellenboschwinebar.com It was nice to have something different and a good glass of wine before heading home to Italy.
My tips and final thoughts for traveling to Namibia
Namibia by far has been one of the best trips and most incredible experiences of my life. There is so much more of Africa I want to explore. I’ve never seen such breathtaking beauty , met kinder people and seeing these unique animals in the wild is something to behold.
Some things I’d like to let you know if you plan on Namibia . Namibians drive on the left and all signs are in English. We obtained an International Driver’s license to rent a 4×4 and drive in Namibia . It doesn’t replace your Actual Driver’s license and you don’t NEED it in Namibia but we did it to be one hundred percent secure. Traveling after Covid had us NOT wanting to be caught without any potential necessary documents . We used this online service in case you want to look into it further. http://idexplore.org
Tap water for brushing your teeth is ok but stick to bottled water for drinking.
Bring mosquito repellant. We didn’t need it until we were up north in Caprivi but it’s still good to have . Also sunscreen especially for your face ladies!
Clothing wise especially for safaris bring long pants and layers! Linen and cotton will be most comfortable during the day .It gets really cold at night and was freezing in the late nights /early mornings in August . The Sossusvlei area is windy and there’s a lot of dust in the Namib so bring a bandana or something to protect your face from the sand. I was told that Blue clothing attracts the Tsetse fly which is responsible for African sleeping sickness .
All of the food we ate in Namibia was wonderful. In Swakopmund , Windhoek and Luderitz you’ll find some fun German pubs with traditional German cuisine . Luderitz is famous for their own variety of Oysters , and if you’re brave like my husband there’s Kudu , Eland , Springbok and different Antelope steaks to try .
I’m so happy I got to see this incredible country ! While planning our trip we enjoyed watching Nick from Namibia http://instagram.com/nickfrnamibia . His Youtube channel http://www.youtube.com/@NickfrNamibia is a great resource and we liked his attitude and personality. I hope you enjoy our beautiful photos of the animals !!! XO Tera
