Namibia on Wheels

By Anna Fairhead and Jonathan Slater

Namibia – a self-drive destination of extreme landscapes offering empty roads and an average of 300 days sunshine. Around every corner it holds delights for all age ranges and driving abilities with itineraries encompassing majestic sand dunes, fascinating wildlife, rugged mountain passes alongside water sports, adrenalin-soaked activities, comfortable lodges and a range of camping options including the freedom and solitude of wild camping.

Namibia On Wheels has been compiled from the authors’ vast personal experience, both good and bad, of traversing the length and breadth of Namibia. This first hand knowledge has been collated to produce a unique comprehensive guide offering everyone the chance to enjoy this fantastic country safely and to its fullest. 

It will guide you through the whole process of planning a never to be forgotten road trip in this safe and increasingly popular, but relatively unknown, destination. Whether scenery, deserts and mountains, culture, adventure, conservation or wildlife captivates you, Namibia offers it all and this book will point you in the right direction.  It contains rarely found information from itinerary planning, vehicle hire process and what to look for in a rental 4x4, through to subjects as diverse as health, money, cross border procedures, taking your own vehicle, motorcycling, photography, on the road advice and eco travel. 

An array of photographs showing the diversity of Namibia’s scenery and wildlife to whet anyone’s appetite can be found on the attached website, which also offers downloadable itineraries and lists to help with packing, first aid kits, shopping and emergency help.

As an e-book, this publication will be an invaluable planning and touring aid for international visitors to take with them on their trip to Namibia.

“Smart people learn from their mistakes. But the real smart ones learn from the mistakes of others” Brandon Mull

• Language: English
• Publisher: Troubador Publishing Ltd
• Release date: Sep 24, 2022
• ISBN: 9781803133331

Book preview

Contents

INTRODUCTION

WHY NAMIBIA?

WHEN TO GO

ITINERARY PLANNING

LODGES, CAMPING AND BUSH CAMPING

RENTING A VEHICLE

TAKING YOUR OWN VEHICLE

MOTORCYCLING

TRAVELLING IN CONVOY

SAFE CONTROL OF A 4X4

HEALTH

MONEY

PACKING YOUR BAGS

ENTERING NAMIBIA

COLLECTING YOUR VEHICLE

KITTING OUT YOUR VEHICLE

SAFETY

PHOTOGRAPHY

ON THE ROAD

BUSH MECHANICS

ECO TRAVEL

EMERGENCY HELP

DEPARTING NAMIBIA BY ROAD

AT THE END OF YOUR TRIP

REVIEWS

INTRODUCTION

Smart people learn from their mistakes. But the real smart ones learn from the mistakes of others – Brandon Mull

After two weeks of drinking in the staggering Kaokoland scenery in the arid north of Namibia, and enjoying the infinite pleasure of exhilarating, but dusty, wild camping we were eagerly anticipating a cooling swim, delicious meal and a comfy bed at our favourite lodge, when BANG … not a welcome sound on an overland trip! Quickly jumping out to check the vehicle, we spied our full jerrycans scattered in the orange dust 100 yards back, the ratchet tie-downs hanging forlornly from the roof. Our failure to check their condition before using them to secure the jerrycans could have resulted in serious injury to anyone following us … a scenario we thankfully narrowly avoided.

This book differs from most other guides. As four intrepid travellers, we have amassed a total of 22 visits to Namibia over as many years, traversing the length and breadth of this astonishingly beautiful country. All our first-hand knowledge has been collated to produce this comprehensive guide so you too can enjoy this fantastic country safely and to its fullest, drawing on our own broad experiences, both good and bad. From the moment you decide to visit Namibia, this informative book will steer you through the maze of vehicle rental and preparations, itineraries and driving techniques along with on the road and emergency contact information, and includes essential lists to make your visit as smooth a ride as possible from start to finish. Our accompanying website www.namibiaonwheels.com is regularly updated and includes some wonderful photographs from our travels.

This land of spectacular scenery and unspoilt wilderness has stolen our hearts, but sadly we are now seeing a country in danger of becoming a victim of its own success. Namibia is the home of awesome skies, towering sand dunes, jaw-dropping scenery and welcoming locals, so it’s no wonder an ever-increasing number of travellers are itching to make the country their number one destination for an adventurous holiday of a lifetime. However, with higher tourist numbers comes inevitable and often undesirable human interference, particularly to the country’s fragile eco-structure, historic indigenous population and diverse wildlife. Along with many others like us, we would like to see this country’s tourist industry flourish in an acceptable way for everyone, and hope that by imparting our collective knowledge, we have pointed you in the right direction so that you too will come to love and respect this amazing country.

The mountainous view of Angola from the Namibian side of the Cunene River in the stark north-west region of the country

We have endeavoured to make sure that all the information in this book is correct at the time of print, but inevitably things change and the red tape could be altered at any time, so please always check for updates when planning your trip.

CHAPTER 1

WHY NAMIBIA?

They say you only cry twice in Namibia – once when you arrive and once when you have to leave.

The iconic picture is of huge sand dunes and the petrified trees of Deadvlei but, as we quickly learnt, there is so much more to be discovered during even the most limited of road trips around this beautiful country.

Boasting the deepest canyon in Africa, second only to America’s Grand Canyon, Namibia also possesses the highest sand dunes and one of the oldest and driest deserts in the world, the arid Namib, believed to date as far back as 80 million years. Going back in time even further, about 550 million years, the area was part of Gondwana, the birthplace of the geological wonders of Namibia today. Any budding geologist will find this country an absolute treasure trove.

Living proof of the Gondwana age 550 million years ago, with the different layers of silt from the lakebed clearly visible

The scenery alone is enough to blow your mind. Set against the backdrop of endless horizons, you will encounter a vast array of spectacles including deep valleys in the south, moonscapes near Swakopmund, isolated granite peaks at Spitzkoppe and the stark and perilous Skeleton Coast housing the majestic towering sand dunes.

Choosing Namibia as a self-drive destination for an extraordinary touring holiday in Africa can tick so many boxes, and opportunities abound with fascinating driving experiences for all abilities. The variety of trips range from a predominately tar road tour visiting the main towns and some attractions, seeing game on a safari trip through the various national parks, adding an ethnic slant with educational visits to tribes such as the Himba and San Bushmen people, or embarking on a fully self-sufficient expedition exploring majestic mountains and seasonal rivers and the vast and stunning areas of the Namib. For those wanting to include Namibia in a border-hopping trip, its location on the south-west coast of the continent offers enticing road crossings into South Africa, Botswana and Angola, and easy access to Zambia and Zimbabwe.

With an inviting annual average of 300 days of sunshine, we have always looked forward with great anticipation to leaving behind our winter woollies and spending a few of our northern hemisphere winter weeks throwing on shorts and a t-shirt each morning. At the other end of the day the huge night sky is an absolute wonder to behold with very little light pollution to spoil the view, offering the perfect canopy to accompany a nightcap.

Unlike some of its neighbouring countries it is relatively well organised and safe, politically stable and is protected by, in our experience, a reliable and honest police force.

Namibia’s population now numbers just over 2.5 million, sparsely inhabiting a landmass of just over 825,000 square kilometres, one of the lowest national densities. To put this into context, compare this population density of three people per square kilometre with China’s 148 and the UK’s 275, and you can quickly see the get away from it all attraction.

The citizens are made up of 13 main diverse ethnic groups, several other smaller tribes and a small percentage of whites. Although they speak around 26 different languages happily, for the majority of visitors, English is a very common language and is used by most of the people you will meet on your travels. However, in the more remote areas of the country you might struggle to make your English understood, making interaction all the more fun and interesting and putting your sign language skills to the test.

A Herero lady waiting for a lift to Opuwo

Donkeys are the Himba’s transport in the absence of a 4x4 pickup offering a taxi service

A few useful Himba words from our notebooks

Namibia has been hailed as a conservation success. National parks and other protected areas account for a remarkable 17% of the land, and the 86 registered communal conservancies, the result of communities and Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) working in partnership with government, increase the total of the country’s area under conservation management to almost 40%.

Dr Margaret Jacobsohn, a Namibian writer, anthropologist and community-based conservation specialist, states Namibia pioneered a community-based, African approach to conservation instead of the usual fortress model. In her engaging and informative book Life is Like a Kudu Horn she defines community conservation, or community-based natural resource management, as empowering rural people to viably manage their natural resources, including wildlife and high-value plants, to generate local social, cultural and economic benefits which, through wise management and balanced use, are conserved for future generations whilst providing significant returns today.

She goes on to add since enabling legislation for community conservation initiatives was passed in 1998, land for wildlife has more than doubled by 166,276 sq. km, more than 5000 rural jobs have been created in remote areas and returns to conservancies, from almost nothing before 1998, have totalled hundreds of millions of Namibian dollars.

So if you are looking for a holiday to suit all budgets and driving abilities, with sunshine and warmth, friendly and welcoming people, low crime rates, farsighted conservation, spectacular scenery, fantastic wildlife, endless photo opportunities and exciting activities, then look no further …

BE PREPARED TO EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED!!

CHAPTER 2

WHEN TO GO

As UK farmers, we have to travel in the winter when we’re unable to work the land. It is an absolute joy to get away from the northern hemisphere winter and at a time when Namibia is less crowded, vehicle hire and accommodation is cheaper and pre-booking unnecessary, affording us the luxury of flexibility in our itinerary. Coupled with abundant photo opportunities and sightings of young animals and birds, this makes for the highlight of our year.

Namibia is a predominately hot and dry country with the majority of days bathed in sunshine, making it an ideal year-round southern hemisphere tourist venue. However, it does have set tourist seasons generally determined by the weather, which may have an influence on the time of year you wish to travel, where you want to go, what you want to see, availability of accommodation, your budget and whether you are taking children.

The tourist seasons are defined as:

high season (June – October with peak season from mid-July to mid-August)

-pleasant day temperatures with cool nights, dipping to freezing or below in the desert; less humidity in the east of the country

-accommodation and campsites need booking well in advance

-good road conditions, albeit relatively busy with possible queues at vet fences

-excellent wildlife viewing due to water hole gatherings and sparse vegetation

-October sees southern right, minke and humpback whales passing close by Walvis Bay

-good time for desert activities

shoulder season (November)

-temperatures start to rise with short, sharp thunderstorms during the afternoon in some areas

-accommodation becomes cheaper with more availability

-game viewing still good

low season (December – April with high season around Christmas and New Year)

-hot and humid with temperatures sometimes exceeding 40°C during the day and warm nights; the sea frets can keep the coastal temperatures cool

-short spells of rain and storms can occur but are usually interspersed with sunny spells

-careful travel planning with flexible timing and itineraries becomes imperative; roads in remote areas can be difficult to navigate when the rainy season takes effect making some tracks impassable, and being able to divert to drier areas of Namibia can be a blessing

-the drier western areas are prone to possible flash floods due to rains further inland

-the tropical climate can lead to flooding which can quickly subside but may leave deep dongas (seasonal watercourses) in dips in gravel roads and tracks

-accommodation and campsites are mostly readily available and priced accordingly, and it is not always necessary to pre-book at this time of the year, giving you the ability to change your itinerary according to the weather

-great bird and animal watching with plenty of photo opportunities of new life starting their struggle to survive; however dense foliage can effectively camouflage even the largest elephant lounging nearby

-some roads can seem completely empty for miles

shoulder season (May)

-mild temperatures and drier weather

It’s worth noting, however, that these defined seasons can throw up unexpected weather variability. In the Marienfluss, an amazing valley tucked between high mountains in the north-west of Namibia, we have seen a carpet of green grass after heavy rains one year, followed by total desert conditions almost to the very same day a year later, as shown above. This is a country to be prepared for anything!

There’s so much to see and do in this diverse country that we feel a visit of around two weeks is an absolute minimum; if you can afford both the expense and time for more you won’t regret it.

We book our truck, flights and first night’s stay for our low season trips about four months before our departure date, and have always enjoyed the luxury of choice. However, in order to book a vehicle and accommodation for a trip during the high season, especially if game viewing is the main reason for your Namibian holiday, you will need to start planning much earlier, ideally about a year in advance. You will experience busier campsites and lodges, more traffic on the roads and queues at the vet fences at this time of the year, but you will be rewarded with easier game viewing and more pleasant daytime temperatures.

A word of warning when arranging a visit during the rainy season – this is the time of year when the weather makes it necessary to allow extra time in your itinerary. Travel problems can be hard to imagine when you’re basking in the sun with no precipitation in sight, but clouds can creep up on you and, when it does rain, the downpours can cause chaos. Gravel road surfaces can morph into slurry and get washed out by running water rushing through the dongas, and the more remote tracks may become impassable for a few hours, or even days, before drying up enough to enable you to continue on your journey. Furthermore, as a result of rains inland, seasonal rivers can flash flood creating a potentially dangerous situation. In short, this may not be the best time of the year to visit Namibia if you are on a tight schedule or travelling with young children.

CHAPTER 3

ITINERARY PLANNING

Where to Start

Namibia has a huge amount to offer visitors including fabulous scenery, amazing geology, tribal culture and adventure activities. However those wide-open vistas involve huge distances between towns and attractions, so make the most of your holiday by putting time and effort into planning your itinerary before you leave home. Careful forethought could give you, your family and travel companions the most exciting and adventurous holiday, and one they will never forget.

Firstly decide the type of holiday you want; where do you want to go? What do you want to see? And what activities do you wish to participate in? Choose whether you want to camp or lodge, or use a combination of the two. Take into account that these decisions will determine the type of vehicle and equipment you

Reviews for Namibia on Wheels

[Peter Girling · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A first-class guide to the practicalities of overloading in Namibia. The detail and amount of information presented has clearly been accrued over many years of exploring in country. This is all first hand knowledge from people who have been there, bought the tee shirt and then wore out the teeshirt over many visits.
Overlanding in Africa can be daunting, so read this book and it will help allay many fears allowing you to truly enjoy a great adventure.

[Jonathan Slater · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

You will really want to go or you will decide it is not the country for you!