Real
Namibia |
The route
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Guidelines for the route Try to plan a route along which you don’t double back, unless you want to include Luderitz. Allow a minimum of about seven days from arrival to departure, unless you have a small, private jet, in which case you can get away with two. Ask a tour operator for suggestions. They have experience at working out routes. Don’t expect to see everything, and especially not anything that is described as ‘elusive’ in marketing material. It may look like a short distance on the map, but the roads are a lot longer than they seem, especially in the last hour of the drive. |
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Planning
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Offroad vehicles
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“The benefit of the standard route is that you see the best of Namibia but don’t travel the same road twice, unless you forget something at the hotel or lodge and have to double back to get it.”
Traveling can be a bit like going shopping with an elderly aunt. If you don’t have a route worked out according to a sensible shopping list, you will find yourself visiting the cheese counter at least twice, possibly even fifteen times if you live in France. The same applies to travel. See everything that one place has to offer so that you don’t have to go back and see the stuff you missed. It saves time and it is a lot cheaper.
Most people come to Namibia for two main reasons: to see the animals and to visit one of the very few deserts where people aren’t fighting over religious differences, political ideologies and oil.
If you are one of these people it means you will most likely land in Windhoek, Namibia’s capital. Next you travel to a place in the Namib Desert called Sossusvlei where you can climb the dunes, admire the scenery and try to get your heart rate under control from all the exertion. You then travel on to a small coastal town called Swakopmund which is well known for more dunes, beer and good food. After this you move onwards to a place called Twyfelfontein, which means ‘the doubtful fountain’ to see a lot of rock etchings. You then travel to Etosha where you can see animals. Finally you head back to Windhoek.
You can travel this standard route the other way around, as long as you obey the laws of reality and make sure that you always land in Windhoek first, and take off last.
The benefit of the standard route is that you see the best of Namibia but don’t travel the same road twice, unless you forget something at the hotel or lodge and have to double back to get it.
It is also quite a short route at seven days (two days in Windhoek, two days in Etosha and one day everywhere else). This is useful if you don’t have long holidays or if you want to impress everyone with your ‘vital role in the scheme of things and insane dedication to attaining the vision of the company’ by cutting your leave short and going back to work early.
The standard route can be shortened even more if you can afford to charter a plane. With a small, very fast private jet and a lot of money, you can reduce the whole thing to just two days: for instance, land in Windhoek, sleep, do Sossusvlei in the morning, Etosha in the afternoon and fly out in the evening.
If you have more time the first thing you should do is spend an extra day in Etosha. After that, consider adding places to the route. Instead of heading directly to Sossusvlei you can drive south into the Kalahari Desert first which is actually quite beautiful but makes you wonder why they call it a desert when all you can see are trees and bushes.
From here on, you can drive further south to the Fish River Canyon, the second largest canyon on earth, admire more scenery and wonder nervously what your survival chances would be if you tripped and fell in.
On the way back from the Canyon, you could visit the small coastal town of Luderitz to take a look at the area where De Beers got most of its diamonds and money, not Amsterdam or London as most people believe. The problem with visiting Luderitz is that it only has one way in and out, and the road is long, either way, so be prepared to double back and add three days.
There is quite a bit on the route between Windhoek and Etosha. The normal stop is the Waterberg Plateau Park. This is a place where a number of very rare and endangered species have been relocated. The problem is that they are so rare and endangered that they have become adept at not being seen, so you might not actually see them, just the place where they are.
All that being said, there is a lot to see. If you don’t see it all, if you want to come back and see more or if you want to spend more time in one place, the country will still be here when you are ready and / or can afford to return.