Namibia safari
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
My Namibia Trip and Self-Drive Safari
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
South Africa 2022
I’m finally sharing with you all our INCREDIBLE trip last summer to South Africa and Namibia! This was one of the most incredible trips of my life. I tend to plan our trips around countries and continents that have an animal I’m obsessed with and since my husbands spirit animal is the Honey Badger, we were on a mission to see one! It took us one full year to map out our trip. We knew since we were driving we had to study the route and roads to plan our stops. Initially, we wanted to get a Toyota Hilux with an attached camper so we could alternate between hotels and campsites. We wanted to camp some nights at the NWR Campsites but we had a difficult time acquiring a camper. It ended up working out better for us and well if I’m being honest I’m not as rouge as I used to be. I always tell my husband that “I’m more rico than Eco” !!! I prefer comfort as I’m sure many of you feel me on this! In August we departed from our home in Italy and landed in Cape Town. It was a 15-hour flight and really comfortable on Emirates. I had the pleasure of sitting next to a wonderful woman who relocated from London to SA and opened an Artist Space in Muizenberg called The Commons.https://thecommons.co.za . Such a cool spot that I highly recommend! This Beach community is so freaking cool. There’s a lot of fantastic food options here also for Vegans. Every week there are different live performances so check their site for live music, poetry, art, yoga and meditation classes. We stayed at The Raddison RED Cape Town V&A Waterfront for our first few nights in Cape Town. From The rooftop bar you can see Table Mountain,which we hiked the next day and being in the Silo District we were walking distance to everything. Breakfast here is also REALLY good. I’m not a breakfast person outside of vacation but when you’re on holiday you need to start your day with something right ! Instead of walking we rented an E-Bike through Electrek http://www.electrek.co.za and it was so fun! Like after a 15-hour flight, indulging in amazing food and hiking table mountain we decided that checking out CapeTown on an E-bike would allow us to cover more ground and we had so much fun doing it! A few dinner spots we had a lovely evening at were Belly of the Beast http://bellyofthebeast.co.za great tasting menu and excellent wine list, Gold http://goldrestaurant.co.za, a fun place with really amazing real African food. Bouchon http://bouchon.co.za it’s like tapas style (UM no the plates were good size and filling!) But the service was very good and their local wine recommendations were wonderful pairings for our lunch. On that wine note we picked up our 4×4 and drove along the SA Whale Coastal Route to our next spot Hermanus then Stellenbosch. I’m the queen of pamphlets and guides I have to take one from every spot we go. I get that I phones are amazing for this kind of stuff but guys I get so much joy from reading an actual pamphlet and guidebook. Also maps. I LOVE maps and globes. You get the idea. I took some shots of the ones I took and they were (aside from locals telling us what was up) REALLY helpful and also give you some good insight and history about the area. I’m dorky and love this info. We stayed at Whale Rock Luxury Lodge http://www.whalerock.co.za. This is without a doubt one of the most incredible places I’ve ever stayed at. The owners were so kind, everything was fantastic here literally every detail. Mind you it’s winter time and being on the coast it’s freezing cold our room was so warm and cozy with the most comfortable bed and linens. We had our whale watching and shark diving excursions the next two days so we took a beautiful walk around the cape and OMG you guys for me my first animal trip out were the DASSIES!! The Dassie / Rock Hyrax is the cutest coolest animal EVER with it’s sweet cranky face. So much fun to see these critters around. We had a beautiful lunch that day at Perlemoen. It had just opened a week prior I believe but it’s located in the Old Harbour on the harbour’s edge. It’s such an incredible view hiking down to the rock platform and then you’re hanging with dassies , and eating the most incredible , fresh caught fish and seafood with DASSIES and it’s the most spectacular view! The old Harbour here was the first abalone hatchery how cool is that! For dinner we went to The Fisherman’s cottage http://fishermanscottage.co.za and we had the most incredible Malva pudding of our life. It was our first time having it and let me tell you this place spoiled me because for the rest of the trip I didn’t have any other Malva Pudding that lived up to that one!! I also had their Thai Red curry and it was so fresh and 100% authentic Thai. Whale watching was eventful and we spotted many Southern Right Whales as August is their breeding season. Shark Diving was cancelled due to bad weather and I’m NOT mad about it. I mean yes it would have been cool and scary fun but it was off to Boulders Beach to see the African Penguins then the Cape of Good Hope! What a beautiful drive. For real though this western Cape side of SA is just wow. So Blue, green, the most incredible sunrises and sunsets. We saw so many Baboons in the road on our way in and they have zero fear of cars and people so make sure you take your time driving through the park to the cape point. The Cape of Good Hope left me feeling so peaceful. I’ve always wanted to come here and now I can
