Two weeks of driving
The sparsely populated sand dunes and the abundantly rich game reserves of Namibia had been on our bucket list for ever. Finally, in June 2019, we took a two weeks driving trip in the country, dividing our time between desert roads, sand dunes, sea side towns and national parks. June is winter in the country, the days are crisp and clear and nights cold; people are nice and friendly. It was one of the most amazing travels of our lives.
For those, who want to make a trip to Namibia, here is a quick glimpse of our itinerary. The detailed stories and tips about the places we visited are in the separate posts.
Windhoek
Windhoek is the capital and largest city of Namibia. It is the seat of the government and has the busiest airport in the country. A quiet city of a little more than four hundred thousand people, Windhoek boasts of a few historical monuments, a Craft Centre show casing and selling local handicrafts and a semblance of night life. It was good to spend a day there to get a feel of the place. More details and descriptions about this quaint city is found in my post Windhoek.
Sossussvlei
This was a must have stop in our itinerary as the age-old sand dunes of the Namib Naukluft National had always fascinated us. We drove two hundred and fifty odd kilometres and spent two nights amidst the dunes at the Namib Desert Lodge. The dunes of Sossusvlei are 60 kilometres from the entrance of the park at Sesriem. We had budgeted for a half-day excursion, but as we were making our way back from the vast expanse of copper coloured sands, we felt it was too short a time.
Swakopmund
The seaside towns of Walvis Bay and Swakopmund are the third and fourth most populous settlements of Namibia. We made a two nights stop in this area with a flavour of the country’s German connections. Beach walks, nice restaurants, day out in the sea made up our stay. It was also our last and longest city stop in the whole trip, so we sorted out practicalities like changing currency and extending our mobile connection.
Damaraland
We made a one-night stop at a rocky camp called Camp Kipwe in this mountainous region that lies inland east of the Skeleton Coast and to the south west of Etosha. The landscape offers a different view from the sand and sea and the rock carvings at Twyfelfontain are definitely worth a visit.
Etosha
One of the most popular national parks of Africa, Etosha is a wonderland beyond imagination. We spent a night at Okaukuejo at the western edge and another two at Namutoni camp at the north eastern boundary, drove through the length of the park to travel from one camp to the other, stopped by at multitudes of watering holes, all the while being overwhelmed over and over again by the wonders of nature.
Caprivi strip
The Caprivi strip is the narrow strip of Namibian territory which extends eastwards like the extended trunk of an elephant. As we drove in to this area the landscape became greener. Our two nights at the Shametu River Lodge consisted in spending lazy mornings and evenings sitting beside the river, visiting a waterfall and visiting water buffaloes in the Buffalo National Park.
Okavango delta
We crossed the borders of Namibia into Bostwana and drove through metalled pot holed roads to the town of Maun from where we were transported by charter flight to the Moremi Game Reserve in the Okavango delta for an amazing sojourn in the biggest inland delta in the world.
The landscapes in your photos are divine! Thank you for providing a brief summary of your entire trip, and what to expect in each location – it’s really useful and will help in planning future itineraries!
Thank You. Please continue to read my posts. Do let me know if you think I should include some other information that will help future travellers.