After the amount of interest and comments I received from my “Botswana Guide for self drive travelers” I decided to start one on Namibia as well… Please keep in mind that I will only write about things I have personally experienced and that things may change between writing this and you reading it.

I do not have as much experience in Namibia as in Botswana, but the trips that I have done in Namibia I think I covered most of the highlights and can give some valuable information. It’s a big country, so there is a lot of information!

Tourism in Namibia is a massive industry. I always get the feeling that Namibians have this talent for extracting money from you for services and privileges without you realizing or minding it. They will turn the simplest thing into a tourist attraction and manage to get it into all the guide books as something spectacular! On top of that, they will often have a compulsory guide rule, so you have to pay someone to show you something small or uninteresting.

Camping Costs

Namibians also have a very strange way of charging for camping. First they charge an amount for the camp site. This is often quoted in the guide books. Then they charge a rate per person per night for camping. Then they charge a rate for the vehicle. Then they charge an entrance fee per person. Complicated, but when you ad everything together, it normally comes to about the same as what you’d expect to pay for camping in South Africa. Somewhere between R100 and R200 per night per couple with the exception of National Parks which has recently been increased to around R200 per person per night.

OH THE WIND!!!

Namibia has a lot of it! Especially in the summer! The wind seems to start blowing at around 9-am and does not stop before the sun goes down. Except for Luderitz where it seems to blow all the time. It is usually strong enough to pick up sand and through it against your legs and can be tiring and unpleasant it you are not prepared for it. I bought a cheap wind break from a camping shop that I tie to the Bull Bar on one end and a tree on the other to give me shelter from the wind. This works wonders for the siesta hours!

Borders and opening times

Angola

Oshikango / Santa Clara - Open 08:00 - 18:00

Ruacana - Open 08:00 - 18:00

Zambia

Wenela / Sesheke - Open 06:00-18:00

Botswana

Buitepos / Mumeno - Open 07:00 - 24:00

Ngoma Gate / Kasane- Open 07:00-18:00

Mohembo / Shakawe - Open 08:00 - 18:00

South Africa

Ariamsvlei / Nakop - Open 24 hours a day

Klein Menasse - Open 08:00 - 22:00

Noordoewer / Vioolsdrif - Open 24 hours

Aroab / Rietfontein - Open 08:00 - 16: 00

Velloosdrif - Open 08:00-22:00

Border procedure

There is nothing special in the border procedure in Namibia. You need your passport, car registration papers and permission of the owner if that is not you. You go though immigration, then customs, and then you’re out of there. You do need to pay “Cross border charges” for you car. Some border posts you can buy it right there, others you need to drive to a place in the nearest town to buy it. The cost depends on the size of your vehicle. It’s normally about R120 for a 4x4. Do not try and travel without this as you will be caught and then you’ll have to go back, pay the charges and the fine…

Money Matters

Namibian currency is Namibian Dollars (N$) which is worth exactly the same as South African rand. You can pay with either in any shop and most places have credit card facilities. You can pay for fuel with credit cards in most places as well. The only places it might not be possible to use plastic is in Kaokoland up north. BE AWARE THAT YOU CAN NOT CHANGE N$ BACK TO ANY OTHER CURRENCY OUTSIDE OF NAMIBIA. So if you leave Namibia with thousands of N$, you’re stuck with it. Pula, US$, Euro and Sterling does not work in Namibia, but you can exchange it to local currency.

Meat

Meat quality in Namibia is excellent and freely available. It is usually a bit cheaper than meat in South Africa, so there is no reason whatsoever to take meat with you. There is only one restriction on moving meat around the country. There is a veterinary control gate between Rundu and Grootfontein and another North of Tsumeb. Both of these will confiscate meat coming FROM the north. You can move meat from the south into the north though. There is another sign up at Palmwag, but I have not heard of anyone being searched there.

Fuel

Fuel is readily available and usually very close in price to South African prices. Apart from Kaokoland, you don’t need long range tanks or jerry cans in Namibia.

Beggars

I’ll apologize in advance, but this is one my pet hates! Much of Namibia is inhabited by nomad farmers and very poor people who used to do fine in life before the travelers came. Now, because travelers who passed though the country felt guilty that they were privileged and handed out money and gifts to the “poor little Africans” have created a culture of beggars in Namibia. The worst town for this in my experience is Gobabis where 100’s of little kids will swarm your vehicle asking for money. Not food, not water… Money. And when you say no, politely, they just get aggressive up to the point of you loosing your temper and behaving like a barbarian. In the far north this has started up as well. The Himba people have led nomadic, self sufficient existents for longer than the white man has been in Africa. Only now, the irresponsible tourists have tough them to beg for money, or charge money or cigarettes for taking their photograph. Every little kid walks around with a “begging book” telling stories of how you must help pay school fees or fund their cricket tour.

All this could have been avoided if those “passing through” travelers did not try to save Africa… Africa does not want to be saved! If you want to help the community, use their camp sites, and their guides. If you want to help more, donate some pens and books to the local school. But for %^&%# sakes! Do not hand out money or cigarettes or sweets or even food. Especially the Himba is not used to the food we eat and the germs we carry.

Not that I have any strong feelings about this of course… And by the way... Botswana does not have this problem, so there is no excuse for Namibia to beg and the fewer people give to beggars, the more the problem will start going away.

Places I have been

I’d like to divide the country into four parts: The Soft South, The Tame Centre, The Hard Core North and The Caprivi.

The Soft South

I call it the “Soft South” because fuel, food and water is plentiful and you don’t need to over plan a visit to this part of the country. You also do not need a 4x4 vehicle to get to these places, unless specifically stated otherwise.

Border posts

The main border post is Sendelingsdrift/Vioolsdrif by Springbok in the south. It’s a good tar road to there from Cape Town and from there all the way North to Rundu and beyond.

I have also used Veloorsdrift which is highly recommended! I got there from Augrabies National Park in South Africa and was on my way to Fish River Canyon. It has a really good dirt road on the Namibia side and will not slow you down at all. There is no customs, so you would need to get your road tax somewhere else. I’m not sure where. The whole procedure took us 15 minutes for both sides and we were the only people there on that day.

Recently they have opened the border post at Mata Mata camp in the Kgalagadi Trans Frontier Park. I have not used this one, but it does make sense to use if you stay for 3 nights or more in the park itself. You are not allowed to use it unless you stay in the park for a minimum of 2 nights.

The other obvious border post is Buitepos on the Botswana side. This is the closest border post from Gauteng. Be aware that YOU DO NOT WANT TO DRIVE IN BOTSWANA AT NIGHT. During school holidays this border post can be manic and the Kalahari Highway though Botswana can be really busy! If you are using this route, make sure to book your overnight accommodation if staying over in Botswana. Kalahari Rest Stop by Kang is my place of choice. If you are entering Botswana twice on one trip, ask for a “multi entry vehicle permit” the first time you enter Botswana. This will save you some serious queuing and a bit of cash on your return trip.

Hobas Camp Site and Fish River Canyon (240-km from Onseepkans/Veloorsdrift)

Canon road house is close by (16-km) and has fuel. There are also very inquisitive horses there. We had one sticking his head into the car to get to an apple… I’m sure they are harmless.

Hobas Camp site is the closest place to stay to the Fish River Canyon view point. It is a nice camp site with plenty of shade, a swimming pool, small shop and good ablutions. The prices change all the time, but at the time of writing it was about R140 per night per couple including everything.

From the Hobas camp site it is about a 15 minute drive on a terribly corrugated dirt road to the view point over the Fish River Canyon. You will immediately recognize this place from photographs and postcards. You can walk or drive along the edge of the canyon for many km’s.

Further South in the same national park is the Ais Ais hot springs. This is where the Fish River Canyon hiking trail starts. You have to be three or more people to do this hike and you need a doctor’s fitness certificate. The trail is only open in winter because of flooding and high temperatures in summer. Ais Ais was closed in 2008. I’m not sure if it is open again.

Fish River Canyon is the 2nd largest canyon in the world. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fish_River_Canyon

Quiver Tree Forest and Giant’s Playground (195km from Hobas camp site)

On the way there you pass through the picturesque town of Keetmanshoop. It has a very pretty church which is photographed often and appears in most guide books. It is a very conservative community. My wife almost got into trouble for wearing a bikini top in town…. They have a large supermarket, hardware stores, mechanics and fuel in town.

The Quiver Tree Forest is privately owned and the cost of camping is similar to the Hobas camp site. Again there is plenty of shade to hide from the sun in. They also have a swimming pool and the ablutions are adequate. The family runs a cheetah breeding project and as a guest there you can see them feed the cheetahs in the afternoon.

The quiver trees seem unimpressive in the mid day sun, but the hole place comes alive in the last hour before dark. The camp site is right next to the forest, so you are free to roam around it at sunset. To be perfectly honest, the biggest and most impressive quiver tree forest I have seen is actually close to Nieuwoudville in Namaqualand in South Africa. However, the same family owns a place called “Giant’s playground” and that is very impressive! It is a field of rock formations that appear to be stacked and balanced on top of each other and is definitely worth a visit. Do not expect monument valley though! Everything is a much smaller scale.

Aus (260km from Quiver Tree)

This is a little town made famous by a POW camp established by South Africa for German soldiers in WWI. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aus,_Namibia

So the first time we went there we asked around in town to get directions to this POW camp and no one knew what we were on about. The remains of the camp is actually on the eastern side of town by the B4/C13 junction. You can usually spot it by the amount of tour busses parked there. The interesting thing about this place is how the Germans made houses from empty food tins which were a lot more comfortable than the tents that their guards had to stay in. There is a memorial explaining the history and some ruins left.

There are also wild Namib Feral horses in the area. No one really knows where they came from, but they are wild and not owned by anyone. One theory is that German Soldiers left them there. Another is that a ship sank off the coast by Luderitz and the horses survived. Who knows…

The Klein Aus Vista Lodge and camp site is the best place to stay in town. They are affordable, well run and have great facilities! Every camp site comes with a wind break and shade! They also run tours into the desert to look for the wild horses.

Luderitz and Kolmanskop (125km from Aus)

There is one road to and from Luderitz from Aus. It is tar and well maintained and you can comfortably cruise on it.  Some 20km after you leave Aus, you’ll find an artificial water hole with a hide. This was put there as a place to see the Wild Horses and is always worth a little stop.

13km before you get to Luderitz is the ghost town of Kolmanskop. You can easily spot this from the main road and can see the ruins of houses being engulfed by the desert sand. This town was established in 1908 and abandoned in 1956. Since then the desert has been allowed to creep in. Some of it has been restored as a tourist attraction and guess what…. You have to take a guided tour. You get tickets for this tour in Luderitz. I forget where, but it is obvious to find. For photographers they have a special permit which you can use from sunrise to sunset. I remember that being on the verge of extortion, so I did not pay for that. Saying that, the guided tour is very much worth the money and the effort. The information they give you is very interesting and mind blowing to learn how these people existed in those times. They used to get their fresh water in blocks of ice and every house got 20l a day…

Luderitz has one camp site only and that is on Shark Island. Remember the wind? We arrived in Luderitz before lunch and went to the camp site to hide from the wind. We found a nice little cave to hide in, but got bored at some stage and decided to go exploring. It was so windy that our car overheated when driving with the wind. You struggled to open a car door and apart from the Diaz Cross south of Luderitz, and one small ship wreck in the mist, we did not really see anything. We got back to the camp site after dark. The guard took pity on us and showed us a secret camp site out of the wind. That was perfect until we climbed into the Roof Top Tent and realized that our shelter was only as high as the car. We both had constant dreams of being on a boat that night, but awoke to a windless morning. The wind started again by 9am. We vowed NEVER to camp in Luderitz again. There is plenty of affordable accommodation with solid walls around. Apparently all days are not like that, but I am yet to meet someone who had a windless day in Luderitz.

The other reason to go to Luderitz is to do a dune trip in your own 4x4 from there to Saddle Hill, or sometimes to Walvis Bay. There are only 2 operators who are licenses to do these trips. They charge a ridiculous amount of money and I honestly do not think it’s worth it. Coastal Tours in one of the operators.

Duwiseb Castle (340km from Luderitz)

55km North of Aus you will find the D707 turning off to the west. This road skirts the Namib Naukluft Park and has impressive views over the dunes. Highly recommended route to the North!

Some slightly mad German decided to build a castle in the middle of the desert and breed with race horses. One of the theories of the desert horses is that they came from here. The result is a museum, coffee shop and camp site close to Helmeringhausen. The camp site is cheap, has plenty of shade and place to hide from the wind and the ablutions clean and nice. The museum is a rip off and the coffee shop is extortionate. So honestly, unless you are looking for a place to stay over, or want to look at the castle from the outside, I wouldn’t bother.

Sesriem and Sossusvlei (160km from Duwiseb)

Sesriem Canyon gets it’s name from the amount of “rieme” (Leather straps used to tie oxen to a wagon) it took, tied end to end to reach the bottom. This is an impressive little canyon that you walk around in in the middle of the day as there is always shade. It is said that many of the Cowboy movies of the 70’s and 80’s were shot here and when you see it, you understand why. It seems the perfect place for an ambush!

The Sesriem camp site is a rip off. As simple as that! It is not only expensive, but the water often runs out in the ablutions and the facilities are often not so clean. It is also marked by hordes of screaming and dope smoking hooligans on overland trucks that seem to have the sole purpose of spoiling your relaxed atmosphere. Not that I have any strong feelings about it… However, the only way to get into the park where the Sossusvlei dunes are before sunrise is if you stay in this camp site. The outer gate opens one hour later.

The drive to Sossusvlei from the camp site is still about 65km and can take up to an hour and a half depending on the current condition of the road. It was resurfaced in 2008. On the way to Sossusvlei is dune 45. This is the 45th highest recorded dune in the world and also the most photographed. The popular thing to do is to climb to the summit for sunrise, hence the need to stay in the Sesriem Campsite. You will also NOT be alone when doing this as the hordes of overlanders all have the same mission!! Further along you get to the Sossusvlei car park where you can park up and walk into the vlei itself and go play on the dunes if you wish. You can drive into the vlei, but you need a 4x4 for that bit.

These dunes are spectacular! The tower above the desert floor and when the sun is low the colors are astonishing! The vlei itself is simply a dry crust of light colored earth with a bunch of trees around and some picnic benches.

Even more spectacular is a place called Dead Vlei. Not many people make the effort to hike there. I’m not sure how many people know about it. This is picture perfect to what you would expect from a small pan in the middle of sand dunes complete with dead trees and some salty residue. Definitely my favorite part of the Sossusvlei experience! The trail starts in the Sossusvlei 4x4 car park and takes about 25 minutes.

Top Tip: The afternoon light is similar, but better than the morning light and lasts longer. Rather than staying in a overcrowded, overprized camp site, you can choose one of the 38 (I counted them) accommodation places within 25km from Sesriem, cruise into the area after lunch, explore Sesriem Canyon, drive to the car park, walk to Dead vlei in the late afternoon, see the light change over the dunes and make the summit of dune 45 for sunset. From the 2 x 4 car park Dead Vlei is 7km (Hour and a half if you take it easy) walk or 2.3km from the 4x4 car park. Every time I have done this I have been the only person in the dunes. I expect that the overlanders have either moved on by then or are stoned and asleep.

Solitaire (85km)

In the times I have visited Namibia, Solitaire has changed a hell of a lot! The first time I was there, it consisted of a two room building of which one room was a shop/coffee shop and the other a kitchen/store room. The last time I visited it had a shop, a restaurant, a fuel station, chalets and a camp ground. One think has never changed though. It has the best Apple tart I have ever tasted in my life and it is always freshly baked by the owner. Just because of this I will never pass by Solitaire without stopping for a drink and a piece of tart. (I told you Namibians are clever. This guy turned baking goods into a tourist attraction)

Sandwich Harbor (280km from Solitaire)

If you drive from Solitaire to Walvis Bay, you can follow the coast south to Sandwich Harbor. This can not be done without a 4x4. On the way you’ll pass the Tropic Of Capricorn Sign and you’ll just have to stop for a photo.

Walvis Bay is a city with everything you’d expect from a city. You need a permit to drive on the beach, but you can get this from a number of garages in Walvis Bay. From there you drive on the beach and you have to watch the tides. It’s about 40km and should take you an hour and a half to two. There are many well worn tracks on the beach, so you can’t really get lost. Sandwich Harbor has a nice big lagoon with lots of bird life and you can camp wild there if you are self sufficient. Beware that in summer months it can be very hot during the day and you and your car may need more water than what you are used to. On some maps you’ll see a track leading south from Sandwich Harbor. This is the track that the overprized tour operators from Luderitz use. I’m not sure what the permission is you need to drive it.

Swakopmund (About 85km from Sandwich Harbor)

Swakopmund is the “Margate” of Namibia. This is where people go on holiday to and where there are masses of activities to do. I say this carefully, but this is also where German people who grew up in Namibia believe they are more German than someone living in Munich. The name is actually derived from the river mouth that looks like the outlet of a sewerage farm… But the locals will never tell you this!

You will find all the shops and accommodation types you’d expect in a holiday town. Things to do includes: quad biking in the dunes, dune surfing on dune 7 (7th largest dune in the world), hot air balloon rides, boat rides and even skydiving. They are all really expensive to do and design to make you part with your money. The most famous building in Swakopmund is the old prison, which is the picture you will see in all the brochures and in all the guide books.

Budget accommodation is Mile 4 municipal camp site. It’s right on the coast and has adequate ablutions and is not pricey. There are no trees, so you need to create your own shade. It does have good security. Alte Bruecke Swakopmund Rest Camp is on the Southern side of town and also good, but a little pricier.

If you have car problems, there is a HERO mechanic by the name of Harry. His business is aptly names Harry’s Garage and is in an industrial area on the way to the airport off Nelson Mandela drive. Harry helped me replace a universal joint on New Years Eve at a ridiculously low rate!

From Swakop you can do the “Welwitschia drive” You need to get a permit in town. This drive takes you past some spectacular desert scapes, past dry river beds and ends at the world’s largest Welwitschia plant. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Welwitschia . It is very worth wile to do and it is a self guided trail with information points en route.

Windhoek

If you were entering the country at Buitepos, Windhoek would be unavoidable. Windhoek is the capital of Namibia and has everything you’d expect from a capital city in Africa. Accommodation is plentiful and varied.

The one thing not to miss in Windhoek is Joe’s Beer House. It is a restaurant with similar fame and significance as the Carnivore in Nairobi. The food is excellent! The beer is never scares and the atmosphere is truly amazing!

From Windhoek to Swakopmund is about 3 hours on tar. You can also drive a shorter dirt road (C28) which is very scenic and should take around 5.5 hours. Windhoek to Sesriem is about 4.5 hours.

Spitzkoppe (152km from Swakopmund, 270km from Windhoek)

The Spitzkoppe (also referred to as Spitzkop, Groot Spitzkop, or the "Matterhorn of Namibia"), is a group of bald granite peaks located between Usakos and Swakopmund in the Namib desert. The granite is more than 700 million years old and the highest outcrop rises about 1784 meters (5857 feet) above sea level. The peaks stand out dramatically from the flat surrounding plains. The highest peak is about 700m above the floor of the desert below. A minor peak- the Little Spitzkoppe - lies nearby at an elevation of 1584 meters above sea level.

The local community runs a camp site there and it is an idyllic place to stay over. Because of its location, I often stay there rather than in Swakopmund itself. There is water at the entrance gate and a shower and toilet. The camp sites themselves have no facilities, although in 2008 it looked like they were digging pit latrines for the camp sites. Although they offer guided tours, you are free to explore by yourself. At the gate they give you a little brochure with information about the area.

The two places of interest for me are Bushman’s Paradise and the Rock Bridge. Bushman’s Paradise is a little oasis on top of a huge granite peak complete with a little waterhole, a cave with much bushman art and shady trees. You can understand why Bushman would stay there! The Rock Bridge is pretty much exactly what the name says.

The best camp sites are the ones a little away from the Spitzkoppe massive as your view is then really nice. My favorite camp site there is no 6.

Cape Cross (161km from Spitzkoppe, 126km from Swakopmund)

Cape Cross is knows because of one of the largest Cape Fur Seal colonies in the world that lives there. For a small fee you can enter the park and walk within spitting distance of the seals. Beware that they smell really bad and it takes a good half an hour to get used to the smell. There is also a stone cross that was reportedly erected by Portuguese settlers in the 16th century.

The Tame Centre

Some may disagree with this, but I call it The Tame Centre because you can get to most places without the use of a 4x4. There are still main tar toads and food, fuel and water is plentiful. Most of it is still very touristy, but significantly quieter than the hustle and bustle of the touristy Soft South. You can get lost in the dry riverbeds of Damarand with your 4x4 if that is what you choose though and it will be a worthwhile experience!

Torra Bay (192km from Cape Cross)

Torra bay looks like a village, or settlement on a map. It is not. It is a seasonal fishing spot and camp site. Fuel is available in Summer Holidays there only and I’m not even sure that the camp site is open out of season. If you are a fisherman, this is the place for you! If you’re looking for a convenient stopover, it will also do. You are supposed to get a permit to drive in the Skeleton Coast National park, but I’ve never had one. Apparently motorbikes are not allowed. The road in the park seems really smooth and easy, but it has many sharp, tire eating rocks and this is the only place in Namibia I ever had a puncture.

Terrace Bay (48km from Torra Bay)

Terrace Bay is the end of the road north. You can get further north along the coast, but only with very special permits. It has a holiday resort, fuel and a restaurant. Some maps indicate that there is camping. There is none, and the manager is not allowed to be accommodating. So unless you are desperate for fuel, or staying at the holiday resort there, there is not much point inbeing there. It is typical of the West Coast in as much as strong wind, sea mist and freezing temperatures even in the middle of summer.

Rhino Ugab Camp and conservancy (109km from Cape Cross 4x4 requires)

When leaving the tar road from Cape Cross the corrugation is quite bad! It lasts for about 15 km or so and after you have re-attached your car panels and false teeth, you reach a neat little oasis in the heart of Damaraland. First you pass though a checkpoint gate, which is free, and then you reach a campsite. Last time I was there we were greeted by a lady in a sarong with the sole mission in life of looking after black rhino and giving you information about the area. It is very much a worth wile stop over as the ablutions are basic but clean, the water pure and the prices are a little cheaper than in the Soft South.

Within 200 meters of leaving camp you’ll need to engage Low Range to get through a dry river bed and up a slippery rocky slope. It’s not that difficult, and the only part of this trip you need 4x4 for, but you won’t make it without. There are many tracks going in all sorts of directions around the area, so it’s best to have a good map, a GPS and make notes of the distances you have driven. It is advisable to have 2 spare tires here, or one spare and a tire repair kit.

The road becomes flat and rocky very soon and stays arid for a long time. This is black Rhino country, so if you are lucky, you may spot them eating on the little vegetation there is.

Close to the turn off to Dorros Crater you will see a very prominent sand stone rock in the middle of nowhere. We camped wild there. You can hide from the wind, make a fire and be mesmerized by the quietness of the desert. From there you can not see any other lights, so for the start gazers, this would be heaven!

Dorros Crater (60km from Ugab Camp)

It is marked on maps and a lot of people head for it, but it is so big that you do not really see it as anything else but a feature of the land. The track from the sand stone wild camp winds around the rim of the crates, down into it, and out the other side at a cement farm dam. Again, there are many little tracks around, so it’s quite nice to find the cement dam and know that you’re on the right track. From there the road goes over the rim of the crater again and at the Burnt Mountain it turns into a made dirt road.

There is another road leading to a viewpoint on the southern side of the crater, but I have not driven that one.

White Lady of the Brandberg (107km from Ugab Camp)

The Brandberg is the highest point in Namibia. It contains the most bushman art in a small area ever found and is home to the famous “White Lady of the Brandberg” painting. They actually found later that it was a white man…. Anyway, the significance is that this painting was done many 100’s of years before it was believed that white people first came to the area.

If you are brave, and it is the dry season, you can follow the Ugab River all the way from the camp site to the Brandberg. Beware that flash floods are common in Namibia and NEVER camp in a dry riverbed. The 107km is a road around the South of the Brandberg.

There is a White Lady Lodge and camp site which is reasonably priced and neat and clean. It has fresh water and hot showers with flush loos.

From the camp site to the White Lady Car park is about 20km with no 4x4 required. Once at the car park you’ll be told that you have to take a guide. The guidebooks will tell you that this is not necessary, but they changed the rules since the guide books were published. There is a fee per person, a fee for the car and a fee for the guide. The walk to the famous White Lady painting is about 40 minutes and will be grueling in the heat of the day! My top tip is to relax in the shade of the massive trees at the White Lady Lodge until 16:00, then take the walk in the shade and take some water with you. It is worth the effort and the guides are very informative! I speak under correction, but I seem to remember a cost of about R120 per couple.

Burnt Mountain (67km from Ugab Camp)

After leaving the Dorros Crater you may notice something resembling a coal mine heap on the southern side of the road. It has a sign up explaining it, but this is the Burnt Mountain. Remember how I mentioned that Namibians will turn everything and anything into a tourist attraction? Well this one falls in that category. It is small and unimpressive and I would not make the effort to specifically go there for a look. If you are driving past, glance out the window, perhaps read the sign and say… Cool, I’ve been there… And move swiftly on to Twyfelfontein. About a kilometer further, on the same side of the road there will be a sign saying: Organ Pipes. Same thing… Have a look, say “wow” and move on… Not even Wikipedia knows about these two places.

Twyfelfontein (9km from Burnt Mountain)

A bit of translation: “Twyfel” means doubt… “Fontein” means fountain… So the name Twyfelfontein comes from a very sporadic and unreliable fountain in the mountains.

If you are into bushman art, this place will astonish you! The bushman in the area did not paint, they engraved the rocks and the quality of the art after all the centuries weathering is amazing! You do have to pay an entrance, and pay a guide, but it is very much worth it! The guides are informative and professional and most of them grew up in the area. Again, I’d recommend doing this in either early morning or late afternoon as you are still in the desert and it does get HOT.

Aba-Huab camp (6km from Twyfelfontein)

In this area this is definitely my accommodation place of choice. As a general rule camping in this part of the country is a little less expensive than the south of the country and this place is no different. They have some campsites on the banks of the dry riverbed with plenty of shade. If you’re really lucky you might even see elephants of a black rhino stroll past. They have a bar with cold beer, good ablution facilities and friendly staff.

Petrified Forest (27km from Aba-Huab camp)

A petrified forest is a forest in which tree trunks have fossilized. That is, the wood in the trunks have turned into petrified wood, where organic cells have decomposed and are replaced by minerals, while preserving the structure of the wood. What makes this one impressive is that it is in a desert, and the size of these tree trunks is enormous! I seem to remember one of more than 100 meters long. It is believed that a flood deposited them there a few million years ago…

They charge a fee per person and you have to take a guide… Surprise surprise… I’m not convinced it is worth the effort or the money, but if you happen to drive past, and have the time, why not?

Rock Finger (147km from Petrified Forest)

Often confused with the “Finger of God” which fell over in 1988, the rock finger is east of Khorixas. Some maps indicate a community campsite by it, but this has long gone. The only accommodation there is a very expensive Rock Finger Lodge with no camping. The area has many game farms and they are all fenced. So apart from the fact that it is not advisable to drive in the dark in this area at all, there is also no possibility of camping wild. The closest convenient campsite is the municipal campsite in Khorixas some 100km away. That campsite is cheap convenient and has good ablutions.

The rock finger itself is very impressive. It towers high above the plains and makes for great photographs in the late afternoon. The best thing about it is that it is free! No guides, no entrance fee. It is a bit out of the way, but if you have the time, it’s worth a visit. Who knows how long it will be before this one falls over as well.

Etosha National Park (295km from rock finger)

As National parks go, Etosha is quite tame, but very impressive. Game viewing around the pan is very easy as you can see very far and apart from the plentiful plains game, there also a lot of lion and rhino. The road network is fairly small, but there is enough to drive around for a few days without getting bored. I have to be honest and say that if you Etosha does not strike me as one of the great wildlife destinations on earth, but if you’re driving past, why not pop in for a visit. Because of the increase in park fees and accommodation, a lot of people have taken to staying at privately owned places just outside the reserve and only popping in for day visits. Last I heard camping was a ridiculous R200 per person per night and I’m not sure what the entrance fee is.

There are 3 camps.

Okaukuejo is the main camp and park HQ. It has a nice campsite, a swimming pool and restaurant and a fuel station. If you stay in a chalet there you have to pay on a Bed and Breakfast basis and that is quite expensive. The real gem in Okaukuejo is a flood lit waterhole. This is arguably the best waterhole in Africa as it is the only permanent source of water in a massive area. You can expect to see much and very interesting things there during the day and night. We once saw elephant, lion, black rhino and leopard there within an hour.

Halali campsite is pretty much half way to Namutoni. It also has a swimming pool and big shady trees in the campsite. It also has a water hole. It’s a little removed from the pan itself. You can see the rare Black Faced Impala in the area.

Namutoni camp is inside an old Fort. The campsite itself has big shady trees, a nice lawn and good, clean ablutions. Its picture pretty and has a circular road around a smaller pan just outside of camp.

Is it worth it? Well, in my mind you have to go once at least, but I wouldn’t really stay longer than 3 or 4 days…

Lake Otjikoto  (120km from Namutoni)

It is one of three ancient sinkhole lakes near the town of Tsumeb. One of the lakes is so old that it has its own fish species. When we went there there was no entrance fee and nothing formal around the lake. We parked the car and walked to the edge of the lake. It is a bizarre looking place that is hard to think it is natural. Another interesting thing is that the Germans threw all their munitions and arms into one of these lakes while fleeing the South Africans in the First World War. For more info you can have a look at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsumeb#Sinkhole_lakes_and_the_world.27s_biggest_meteorite

About 100km away is the biggest meteorite in the world. It’s estimated to be more that 60 tons in weight and is called Hoba. Because of its size and weight it is still where it fell as no one can move it…

Tsumeb has a municipal campsite, which is cheap and adequate. It also has supermarkets, banks and garages. I would recommend stocking up here if you were on your way north. There is a veterinary control gate between Tsumeb and Oshakati. You can take meat north, but not from north to south. It’s a smallish town and not as hectic and busy as Oshakati.

The Hard Core North

I call this the Hard Core North because you most definitely need a decent 4x4, lots of fuel capacity, decent tires and some driving skill to venture here. This is where the fact that a road appears on a map does not necessarily mean that you could call it a road. It is also recommended that you do not travel in these part on your own and a GPS with decent maps is very much recommended.

Ruacana

Ruacana is pretty much the last town to get anything at. It has fuel and a small supermarket but is 5km off the main road. There is a cam site in town and a lodge with aircon rooms. However, the recommended camping in the area is at the community run Hippo Pools Campsite. It’s 20km out of town to the west. It is awesomely beautiful and peaceful. The cost is very little, the ablutions impressive and the campsites huge. Whenever we have stayed there we were the only people in camp. The one possible annoyance is that people can get into the camp from the river. I have never had a problem there, but I have always locked everything away inside the vehicle at night.

When driving to Ruacana from the south you have to budget more time than what you may think. The speed limit changes constantly between 120km/h, 80km/h and 60km/h all the way from Oshakati. There are many animals on the road and people don’t seem to be in a rush to get anywhere.

Cunene River Lodge (46km from Hippo Pools)

If you follow the Cunene river west from Hippo Pools, the road pretty much ends at Swarbooisdrift. Just before you get there you will find the Cunene River Lodge. This is pretty much your last point of civilization for a few days. Even if you are not staying there it is almost compulsory to pop in for a drink on their deck and a chat about the road conditions. They run rafting trips from there and know the river road well. They also sell ice, which could be handy.

If you are heading for Epupa falls, and you have time constraints, this is the recommended place to stay as you can make the falls from here in one day. I wouldn’t recommend trying to make the Hippo Pools to Epupa Falls in one day. On a map it looks like about 135km, but trust me, it takes 2 days!

Cunene River Road

If you stayed over at Hippo Pools the night before, I don’t think it is that wise to try and make Epupa Falls in one day. The reason for this is that you really need to take it careful and slow on this road to avoid tire and vehicle damage. I would estimate your travel time from Hippo Pools to Epupa Falls to be around 14 hours. So possible to do in one day, but then you’ll need a few days to recover from that.

My preference is to either stay at Cunene River Lodge and drive to Epupa Falls, which I think is still about a 9-hour day, or you can comfortably camp wild about half way between Hippo Pools and Epupa Falls. The place is called Enyandi Camp Ground on some older maps, but it doesn’t actually exist any more. What is there is a massive wide-open space of beach with some big camel thorn trees around. It is a very obvious place to camp when you see it. Roughly S17.14425 E13.52640

A few notes on off-road driving: I won’t pretend to be a 4x4 instructor, but this is what works for me: I deflated my tires to about 75% of normal road pressures. This gives you more grip on the rocks, and less chance of punctures. When driving steep down hills you have to rely on the engine to slow you down. Don’t be afraid to use 1st gear low range to “idle” down the hill. If you use the clutch or breaks, neither will last the trip. It may be a good idea to drive your vehicle as slow as you can in Low Range 1st gear with your feet far away from the clutch and break to see how slow you can go. You’ll be surprised! If 1st gear low range down the hill is not slow enough for you (Laugh now, but hear my voice say: I told you so when it happens) use the breaks as well as the gears, but leave the clutch alone. Stalling is OK, riding the breaks and the clutch is not. If you do stall on an uphill or downhill, selecting low range 1st of reverse and then letting go of the breaks to “jump start” the engine is quite an effective way to keep control.

The road from Swarbooisdrift is actually a 2-track road the South African Defense Force used when patrolling the border with their vehicles. Now days it does not get patrolled any more and is only used by tourists. The locals are Himba and do not have cars. Whenever the road leaves the river, it is slow and rough with loads of rocks up and down until it gets back to the river. Most of the track next to the river is easy to drive, but sometimes the side angle can get a little hair-raising. You generally also have a lot of weight on the roof on this part, as your Jerry cans should be full to the brim as your next fuel stop may likely be 5 or 6 days away. If you are not in a rush to make a certain place by dark, and you are well equipped with a decent vehicle and decent tires, it is a pleasant experience and a lot of fun. However, we met someone on that road who was busy fixing his 12th puncture for the morning and had run out of puncture repair goodies. We gave him some of ours.

In the summer months this place get very hot and you will be tempted to have swim in the river. Two things to keep in mind here is that there are crocodiles around and that the current can be very strong. We found some pools in river bends we deemed safe and had a lot of swims during the heat of the day. We found the water safe to drink and cook in. Using it or not I think it depends on how sensitive you are to water…

You will come across some local Himba people which is easily identified by the red color of their skins, or the stuff they put on their skins, which is a mixture of cow dung, Vaseline and red powder they make from grinding rocks. They are simple and nomadic people who have very little possessions and unfortunately have realized that tourists may be a soft target. The woman make wonderful photographs, but charge a fee for it these days and all the little kids will come running and begging for sweets. I’ve done my ranting earlier in this document, so all I’ll say here is that I find it sad and the only way to stop this is for everyone to work together and not give anything to these people. The exception to this rule is if you want to photograph a family and then you should negotiate and agree a fee before pointing your camera at them. I am a professional photographer and when I was there I fully intended to use photos of Himba for my own financial gain. If someone wanted to photograph my family for their financial gain, I would also charge a fee. I paid a mother with baby and toddler N$10 for a 15-minute shoot by the river at Epupa Falls. They did not ask for payment, and were not begging. I had a chat through a translator and all of us left happy.

Epupa Falls (98km from Cunene River Lodge)

What a spectacular place! If you have the time, stay more than one night! I prefer the community campsite. It is the closest to the falls themselves, has good ablutions, hot showers and decent security. I seem to remember a fee of R40 per person per night, which is really cheap! It has massive palm trees for shade, running water and basin in every campsite and a fire pit where the ashes mysteriously disappear every morning. Some of the local ladies walk though camp in the morning and afternoon and offer to wash your dishes for a fee. If you politely decline, they leave you alone.

You can leave your vehicle in the campsite and walk to the top of the falls, about 100 meters away, or take a longer walk up the opposite hillside to get a panoramic view of the hole waterfall area. This is not to be missed! It is very hot there in summer, so when walking, take some water and do it in the late afternoon.

From Epupa Falls there is a good gravel road south, the C43, that runs all the way down to Sesfontein and no 4x4 is required outside of the flooding season in January/February.

However!!!! For the more adventurous, you can follow the C43 south to Okangwati and turn west towards Van Zyl’s pass. Some maps indicate fuel at Okangwati… Don’t bet on it! If it is available, it comes from fuel drums at twice the normal price of fuel in Namibia. For this adventure you need to be 100% sure you have enough fuel, food and water to see you to the other side, which is Sesfontein and about 4 to 6 days away. You can water en route, but no food or fuel.

The road to and from Van Zyl’s Pass (Epupa to Okangwati 71km)

From Okangwati you leave the road. Maps may tell you that you are still on a made road, but they are just playing with your sense of humor…  There is a track towards some hot springs, which are noticeably greener than the rest of the landscape. From there you will pass some insane chassis twisting dongas before entering the rocky slopes of the mountains in the area.  There is no real way to explain what this is like to drive and it changes every season. What I can say is that need a lot of patience, a sense of adventure and all the decent toys mentioned in the paragraph about the Cunene road. Your roof should be lighter by now as you will have not seen a fuel station for at least 3 days and some 240km.

Some of the bits of this road towards the start on Van Zyl’s pass is a lot harder than the pass itself and parts of it is a sandy track that meanders though some Mopani trees. So you simply need to be patient, take everything as it comes and have fun.

The last 15km or so to the start of the pass from Otjitanda is plain sailing in just such a sandy track. Otjitanda seems to be a cattle trading post. There is water available, but you may need to bargain with the locals to get some. Better to have your own from Epupa Falls.

There is a place at the start of the pass where a lot of people have camped wild. About half way through the pass is another, much nicer place, and right at the end of the pass is another, even nicer place. Depending on what time you get to the top of the pass, you may choose to stay in either one of these 3 places.

Van Zyl’s Pass itself is described on maps as” Slow and rough” and “not recommended”. I would describe it as slow, rough and patient and definitely recommended! If you’re in a hired vehicle, the fine print in your contract may say that you are not allowed to take this road. I believe that the reason for this is that the pass is only passable from east to west and if you break down, or run out of spare tires or need medical attention, a rescuer will take no less than 3 days to get to you and you’ll have to walk at least one day to find someone to call the rescuer.

Is it that bad? I don’t think so. The pass itself is 10.5km long and took us about 2 hours to complete. We were 2 vehicles. I think the more vehicles there are, the longer it will take. The first part of the pass is steep up and down bits with sheer drops on the side. Once you get to the “view over the Marienfluss” you think the worst is over… But no… By far the worst part of the pass is a 50-meter stretch of rock just passed that viewpoint. Every vehicle needs to be navigated for from the outside and it is perfectly usual to have to do some road building here. In my mind this is the part of the pass that makes it impossible to drive from west to east. If you spent your previous night in the middle of the pass, you will be fresh and energetic here and will enjoy the challenge. If you spent your previous night at Epupa Falls, you might be a little tired here and appreciate the adrenalin boost it gives you to complete the rest of the pass. Once this little bit is over, it’s pretty much plain sailing to the end of the pass and the Jan Joubert memorial where it is customary to write your name on a rock and ad to the pile. Don’t feel silly if you have a huge sense of achievement when completing this pass. It is an achievement!

I hope you read my driving tips in the Cunene River Road section

Marienfluss

The Marienfluss is 2 valleys removed from the ocean. It is a spectacular valley of grass with dramatic backdrops of the mountains you have just crossed. They also have these bizarre “fairy circles” in the grass, which no has been able to really explain. Must be aliens. Already mentioned was the wild camp at the end of van Zyl’s Pass. There is no real place to camp in the Marienfluss, and it is frowned upon by the locals. They have a few religious and tradition holy places around, so it’s really best to stick to the roads of which there are only two. One runs from the end of Van Zyl’s pass west and the other runs north/south from Otjenhungwa to Red Drum.

I have not been to Otjenhungwa, but it is on the Cunene River and by all accounts a place worth visiting.

When driving in the Marienfluss grass can collect around the exhaust of your vehicle and eventually catch fire from the heat. Although this always seems to happen to Land Rovers and no other vehicles, it is handy to know about it and check under your vehicle every day.

Red Drum and the road to Purros

Red drum is marked on every map. You may even think this is a little village or settlement… It is nothing. It is a cross road marked by a red oil drum and that is it. People have painted it, put some rocks around it and put an old phone box next to it, but there really is nothing.  On maps you will see Blue Drum and Green Drum, and I assume they are all the same.  At Red Drum you will however see some signs for community campsites and if you are looking for a place to stay, they might be handy.

The road south from Red Drum has one more surprise where 1st gear low range is needed and the rocks remind you of the previous days fun. Don’t be alarmed; it doesn’t last for too long. The road then link up with the D3707 and lead to Orupembe a bit south, or Opuwo some way to the west. (I can’t spoon feed you all the distances, but Opuwo is a full days drive away) Once again, Orupembe on a map looks like a place… There is a radio mast, a windmill and a building with the signs of a shop which does not exist, so don’t expect too much.

South of Orupembe the D3707 is arguably the worst road known to man. The corrugation is so bad that I lost one of my spotlights from the vibrations. This road should really be avoided if you can. My recommendation is to follow the Khumib River to Purros. The turn off is 4km east of the Windmill. If you have time constraints, then the D3707n to Purros is the fastest way. Deflate those tires and drive at 80km/h and you will probably survive, but not enjoy the journey. Fortunately it only lasts about 2 hours.

Purros and the river routes.

Purros seems like a big place on maps… This is almost getting too repetitive now… Purros is a town. It has no fuel, but fresh water, an amazing community campsite and a few fancy lodges. It also has an airstrip and I would assume that if you needed to communicate with the outside world in an emergency, you’d be able to do it from here. The community Campsite is highly recommended and site no 6 has it’s own ablutions and tap with basin inside the site. Trees engulf it and you can pass it within 10 meters and not realize it is there. It’s worth asking the manager if you can have that site. The numbers may change all the time, but if you explain it to him, he’ll know exactly what you’re talking about.

The claim to fame of Purros has to do with the abundance of desert elephants in the area. If you have followed the rivers down from Orupembe you will most probably have already seen some wildlife. If you followed the road, and have managed to re- attach everything that shook loose, you can start looking forward to seeing some wildlife. Please note that these elephants are not as used to people as most other elephants in game parks are. Treat them with great caution and do not approach them. If you want to get close, try and park ahead of them and wait for them to come closer to you. This way they will stop when they get uncomfortable and you have an escape route. This is no joke as there is at least one elephant attack in this area every 2 years.

From Purros you have 2 options, you can either follow the main road to Sesfontein, which is about 100km away, usually has fuel and some shops, or if you have time, and enough fuel, food and water, there is another option.

The Hoarusib River towards the coast from Purros for some 25km towards the Purros canyon. The riverbed is mostly dry with some small water crossings. This oasis in the desert attracts a lot of wild life and you see springbok, gemsbok and some elephants all the time. The valley floor is lush with green grass and may have some muddy patches. Driving in it is not the end of the world and a welcome change to the rocks and sand of the previous few days.

The Purros Canyon is a very narrow place where the river passes though some high rocky cliffs. There is usually quite deep water there, but because the soil underneath is sandy, it’s quite easy to drive through. It is good practice to wade though any water obstacle before driving it. If however you see other cars do it, you can obviously gauge what it is like from them. Travelers in these parts are keen to share knowledge, so asking a passer by about the conditions is always a good idea. Don’t get a fright if the water is as much as a meter deep. The secret to crossing water is to make a bow wave with the front of the car at a fast walking pace and then following the same speed as the wave. Never stop in the middle of a crossing and never reverse.

Shortly after the canyon the track leads out of the riverbed and into the rocky plains of the desert. There is another new fancy lodge at this point. The track crossing a great big mass of nothingness for about 85km to a place called Amspoort where you join the Hoanib River. In this 85km of nothing, you will however find some ditches you have to cross and some loose sandy bits that can be terribly corrugated. The point is that you need to keep concentration and still be careful. An accident here would be very serious because help is very far away! The driving is not difficult and strictly speaking you wouldn’t need a 4x4. Only you won’t be able to get here without a 4x4.  If it starts getting dark, you can pretty much camp anywhere as there is no one around, but Amspoort is always a nice place to aim for. It’s around 110km from Purros and should take about 4 hours or so to reach.

To the west of the river and up on a hill you will find a place where a lot of people camp wild. It is usually out of the wind and climbing the rocky hill behind the camping place gives you incredible views over the desert. Once the wind has dies down it is quieter than you can possibly imagine and we’ve had elephants, giraffe and even some cape foxes coming by when camping there. For obvious reasons you should never camp in the riverbed.

If you have time, food or water constraints, you can head to Sesfontein some 90km away. Beware that this will take at least another 3 hours if not 4. If you are running out of fuel… Well, I did warn you…

The riverbed has a good solid track where most people drive and the going is easy. There is plenty of wildlife in this river and that includes desert elephants. At a place marked as “Die Poort” you have a choice to either continue in the Hoanib River or take the Ganamub River a little to the west. In the wet season the Hoanib may be marshy around the fountains. You will laugh about this statement up to the point where you front wheels sink into the mud and your rear wheels are on bone dry land…. There is usually a way around on dry land and there is only one river crossing, which is not too difficult.

After this river crossing you will get to a place with what is known as “extreme dust”. There is no way to explain how intense this stuff is. It is finer than chalk dust and seems to resemble almost the characteristics of quick sand, or a layer of smoke above the ground. It is no more difficult to drive in than loose sand, but you have to keep a constant speed or the dust will overtake you, engulf you and blind you until it settle. It’s good fun and makes for great photographs! No need to avoid it. The maze of tracks all lead to Sesfontein and comes out pretty much by the fuel pumps… Your first fuel since Ruacana.

The Ganamub River joins the Purros/Sesfontein main road about 20km west of town and offers some more seriously ridiculous corrugation to get to Sesfontein.

Some maps indicate a toll gate ion the riverbed. These gates are illegal and there is no toll. I have never been asked for money there, but have heard of some people who has been asked for donations for the Sesfontein Football team. It’s a scam. Pure and simple and a friendly, jokingly “No thanks, I’m trying to quit” should solve any misunderstanding.

Fuel and water Amounts:

The route described is just over 700km from Ruacana to Sesfontein and when working out fuel amounts, you should ad about 35% onto your normal consumption to be safe. This is because of the time you spend in low range climbing over rocks and playing in deep sand.  So budget for a range of 950 to 1000km and you’ll be fine. It took us 6 days, but I would seriously recommend 8 or 9 days. There are many places along the route you can get water. We carried 60l and never needed more than 40l including having a bush shower every day.

Something no on ever talks about is Motor Oil. Motor Oil is not freely available in Kaokoland and you need to make sure you have enough to see you back to relative civilization. My old Hilux used about 2 pints per 1000km when working this hard, but I always made sure I started the journey with 6 pints.

Sesfontein

As said, from the north, Sesfontein is the first fuel stop. There are some shops in town that sell very basic goods. There is one supermarket that sells a bit more, but don’t expect your local supermarket quality or stock. People have said that the fuel supply is not guaranteed, but I have always managed to get fuel there. To be safe, you can work in another 100km onto your range to get to Palmwag where there is always fuel.

Sesfontein has many accommodation possibilities. The Fort Sesfontein hotel is very popular and that is also where the fuel station is. By this time, if you are anything like me, you’ll be a little people shy from not seeing anyone for a few days and would rather stay alone in the bush than in a hotel. That is where Ongongo comes in.

Ongongo (28km from Sesfontein)

Around Sesfontein and towards Palmwag you will see many sign for many community camp sites next to the road. They all offer more or less the same facilities at the same prices.

Ongongo is a natural hot spring with a community run campsite around it. The campsites are neat and tidy ad the ablutions are good. The prices are cheap and the staff friendly. The hot spring itself is… Well, HOT and forms a natural pool below a small waterfall. The water is crystal clear and really soothing. You can have a swim, day or night, chill out in the shade and there are plenty of places to hide from that pesky wind. It is truly a phenomenal place and an absolute must for a last night in the desert.

Another nice camp site in the area is at the Hoanib Waterfall. Some maps indicate a “shortcut” from there to Kamanjab, avoiding Palmwag. We once took this and took 4 hours to complete 8 km’s. We ran out of daylight, slept in the bush and had a load more extreme dust to deal with the next day. If you have loads of time, and still feel like conquering Africa but this time, sleep over at Hoanib Waterfall Campsite and take the next day to make Kamanjab. If you have time constraints, the Palmwag Route is the fastest by far.

Palmwag (92km from Ongongo)

Palmwag has fuel, water and a lodge. If you have had enough adventure by now, this lodge comes highly recommended. It is not a rip off and the conservancy has an area to explore and wildlife to see. For most people this is only a fuel stop though.

There is a Veterinary control point here. I have been through quite a few times and I have never been asked about animal products. I suspect that if you were coming down from Epupa Falls direction, your last stop for meat would have been Tsumeb and more than a week before. So perhaps these guys realize that no one has any meat left by this time.

From Palmwag you can head towards Etosha (300km), Khorixas (160km with a mountain pass) or towards the Skeleton Coast National park and South to Swakopmund (427km and doable in one day).

The Caprivi

The Caprivi is usually only a transit between Zambia or eastern Botswana and the rest of Namibia. It’s quite long, so you may need to stay over at some point. The possibilities are endless. I have stayed at a few places and describe them, but they are by no means the only places to explore. The transit road is very good tar, but VERY STRAIGHT and boring. It is sometimes hard to keep your concentration. Except for Nambwa Community Camp, I have not been to places requiring a 4x4 in the Caprivi.

I’d like to use Rundu as the entrance to the Caprivi. If you are coming from the Caprivi and into the rest of Namibia you will most likely stop for fuel in Rundu. It is worth mentioning that there is a veterinary control gate between Rundu and Grootfontein. You are not allowed to take meat through the gate when traveling south. Traveling north is no issue.

From Rundu there seems to be a short cut towards Oshakati. If you drive Rundu, Grootfontein, Tsumeb Oshakati, it is 592km of really good tar road and you can comfortably cruise at the 120km/h speed limit. The C45 along the Angolan border is about 100km shorter. However, when we were there we were advised that the C45 is terribly corrugated and potholed and still has some landmines around from the war between Angola and South Africa… For the sake of 100km, we opted to drive the long way around as we also had serious time constraints on that trip.

I am not recommending this, but I think if I had to do it again, and I had the time, I would consider taking the C45. Keeping in mind that there was no camping accommodation I could find between Rundu and Ruacana. So if you don’t make it in one day, I’m not sure what you can do. I have only read of one person who took that road recently and his report was sketchy.

There is fuel in Rundu and a few places along the Caprivi.

Popa Rapids (205km east of Rundu)

Some books and maps refer to this place as Popa Falls. I think this is optimistic as the water never falls for more than a meter or so. So Popa Rapids would be a much more accurate description.

We stayed at the Goabaca community run campsite on the northern side of the river. The entrance road is a little strangely located next to a prison. I have to say that this prison seemed to have all the facilities of a school, so it must be for minimum security prisoners. The campsite itself is about 3.5km away from the main road and the prison.

Every campsite has its own ablutions, running water and “kitchen area” It is nice and neat and very cheap and I will highly recommend it! You can walk along the river and have a look at the rapids. We had a swim there before being told that crocodiles also like swimming there. What can possibly go wrong?

This is an ideal stopover if your previous night was Livingstone, Kasane, Katima Mulilo or the Horseshoe in the east. It also works from Etosha if you are heading west.

The Horse Show or Susewe Triangle(209km from Popa Rapids)

The Horse Shoe is a wildlife area in the middle of the Caprivi and offers a great relaxing few days to get the dust of you, or a nice convenient stopover if you are on your way somewhere else. Some maps call it the Susewe Triangle nature reserve. We stayed at Nambwa community camp and I will find it hard to believe that it can get better than that!

You are supposed to pop in at the Susewe office to pay your park fees, and then pay you camping fees at the campsite. The community that runs the campsite gets into trouble if they allow people to stay without paying the park entry fees, but they are not allowed to take it. Strange!

The Nambwa campsite is on a little island within the river and delta system. Although it is only 13km from the main road, this can take about 45 minutes to drive. It is not difficult, just slow. Most of the year you will get there without crossing nay water. It has massive shady trees and big camp sites with lots of vegetation between them. Every campsite has a tap and a fire place and a bin. The ablutions are central, clean, neat and very efficient with running hot water. This place is so peaceful that we didn’t even bother going for an afternoon game drive. We simply relaxed in camp and loved every second of it.

Katima Mulilo (130km from Nambwa)

Katima Mulilo is kind of the capitol city of the Caprivi. It has everything you’d expect from a city and a massive new Supermarket complex with everything you can think you need.

If you entering the country on this side, this is also where you need to pay your “cross border charges” and you’ll find the office at the Total Garage on the main junction between the Caprivi road and the Zambia/Botswana road. Beware that they love setting up speed traps in this town, so do not break the speed limit.

Katima boasts one of very few Baobab trees with a toilet inside it. It sound very impressive, but it’s simply in the middle of a dusty suburb and on the sidewalk. Bizarre to see, and if you have the time, why not? S17.48880 E24.27822

If traveling from the west, you have 2 options from Katima. The one is to enter Zambia at Shasheke. It’s a fairly quiet border post and shouldn’t take more than an hour to complete all formalities. There is no restriction on entering Zambia with animal products, and I would suggest stocking up on fuel and meat in Katima as Zambia will be more expensive. Katima to Livingstone is a shade over 200km, so very make able in half a day. For info in Zambia, have a look at http://www.freewebs.com/luangwablondes/index.htm/

The other option is to head south towards Botswana at Ngoma. This is a modern border post on both sides and I found it super efficient. You can not take meat from Namibia into Botswana and the fuel in Botswana is cheaper anyway. So when taking this route, make sure to plan a night in Kasane to stock up on food and fuel. For more into on Botswana, see my Guide to Botswana.

Please feel free to send me comments, corrections and suggestions. Although we work on Africa time, things still change in Africa and I’d like to keep this up to date.