Namibian safari

[Jeffrey Masters]

I have a safari booked with Khomas Highland safaris for May of this year. Philip with Khomas has been excellent to work with in getting everything set up. Part of the trip will be 9 days of touring around Namibia to give my wife a look at what Africa really is. We will be renting a truck, and self driving for the touring portion. Any advice about anything Namibia, ie what I should expect for weather, the topography in the highlands, quality of animals to expect? Has anyone done a tour of Namibia by themselves? What can we expect from the people? Are they friendly and welcoming, or are they just out for the tourist dollar? Is crime an issue? Finally, we are looking into medical insurance as well. Any thoughts on which provider I should consider, and why I should consider them? Does anyone know about how much emergency medical and medical transportation is adequate for Namibia? Please feel free to offer advice on anything about Namibia whether I have mentioned it or not. I have been to South Africa, but this will be a first for my wife. Also, the wife is a non hunter. Thanks to all who take the time to reply.

 

[Red Leg]

Namibia is one of the least populated countries in Africa. For Africa, the road system is excellent, even the gravel roads. However, be careful on the gravel. Roll a vehicle between towns and help can be a long time arriving due to sheer distance.

Include three days or so in and around Swakopmund. It is a lovely coastal town with good restaurants and shopping. Have your outfitter set up a day on 4-Wheelers in the Skeleton Coast Dunes outside of town. It is great exhilarating fun. If you enjoy surfcasting , also arrange a morning fishing.

The Himba almost certainly will be in town selling their hand made jewelry (most made from PVC). It is a rare spouse that won't enjoy that cultural interaction. The lovely Mrs. Red Leg negotiating. They coat themselves with red ochre. The white sweater was a write off.

No trip to Namibia is complete without a couple of days at Etosha National Park. Think of Kruger with a lot fewer people. Your outfitter may want to guide you and set up accommodations, which I would highly recommend.

There are several first class lodges in the Caprivi that cater to tourists rather than hunters. Again, your outfitter will know which to recommend, and they will almost certainly have the ability to take you on a day cruise on the river.

You both will have a grand time.

 

[Luminous Ham]

I was there in 2022 with my two daughters (20 and 25). We rented a truck with two tents on the roof, sleeping mostly in campsites that are dotted everywhere. Weather when we were there was pleasant (October), but you can look it up for May, depends also a lot on location, coast is chilly, fish river canyon is hot. Friendly people, some crime as to be expected when some are dirt poor and other are very rich in comarison, but one of the safest if not the safest of the perhaps 20 countries in the continent I have visited. We didnt go to Ethosha, had a bit of hunting and have been to a lot of NPs in East Africa. Great roads as mentioned above, but always, as in always, refuel when you can, we had a bit of a problem....

EDIT: Forgot to say: The most beautiful country I have been to, but I like deserts and plains, so....

 

[everett]

May not be an issue with you, but I’ve lived my whole life at basically sea level. I have found as I get older (55), I have a harder and harder time with breathing issues at altitudes. If you’ve never experienced it, it’s like you can’t take a full breath. The camp I stayed at in the southern highland was around 5000’, and we hunted up from there.

Again, may not be a problem for you, and I haven’t yet found a way to prepare for it in advance other than being mentally prepared to not be able to walk up and down mountains as much as I’d like for the first few days.

I was there in late May two years ago, and it was heavy coat, gloves, neck gaiter, knit cap, long johns cold in the morning for a Mississippi boy. It warmed up fairly quickly in the day though.

 

[Jeffrey Masters]

May not be an issue with you, but I’ve lived my whole life at basically sea level. I have found as I get older (55), I have a harder and harder time with breathing issues at altitudes. If you’ve never experienced it, it’s like you can’t take a full breath. The camp I stayed at in the southern highland was around 5000’, and we hunted up from there.

Again, may not be a problem for you, and I haven’t yet found a way to prepare for it in advance other than being mentally prepared to not be able to walk up and down mountains as much as I’d like for the first few days.

I was there in late May two years ago, and it was heavy coat, gloves, neck gaiter, knit cap, long johns cold in the morning for a Mississippi boy. It warmed up fairly quickly in the day though.

I live at about 1000 feet give or take. I'm sure it will be an issue. I've got 6 weeks to do a lot more walking. Thanks for the heads up, though you would think the name would have tipped me off.

 

[cmk]

Did pretty much the same thing around the same time last year, however only 7 days of touring on our own.

We had very good dealings with Acacia Travel (on recommendation from Philip), to whom we communicated our want-to-see's. Through them we got an itinerary worked out, with rental car, hotels, activities etc. Can really recommend them.

Etosha was initially on 'the list' but 7 days weren't really enough to get there (and back) and also see other stuff. In the end, we ended up with a smaller round trip of central Namibia; Windhoek-Soussusvlei-Swakopmund-Spitzkoppe-Windhoek with stops in towns and a few lodges at reasonable distances apart.

It is a large country, and while the roads are maintained, they are in many places made of rather coarse gravel. A few hours of driving can be a bit tiring, and many times you can't really go faster than 80 km/h, and at times less than that.

I would personally recommend not planning for more than 3-4 hours driving time per day.

 

[ArmyAV8tor]

Wife and I have done tours in Caprivi, Swakopmund(Red Leg is spot on), Etosha, and West Central Namibia all skillfully arranged by Ritter Safari Adventures. Will do Sossuvlei and Fish River Canyon in late 2024. Give Elgin Ritter a yell. I don't get a commission. She will tell you what's reasonable within your nine day limit.

 

[Philip Glass]

I have a safari booked with Khomas Highland safaris for May of this year. Philip with Khomas has been excellent to work with in getting everything set up. Part of the trip will be 9 days of touring around Namibia to give my wife a look at what Africa really is. We will be renting a truck, and self driving for the touring portion. Any advice about anything Namibia, ie what I should expect for weather, the topography in the highlands, quality of animals to expect? Has anyone done a tour of Namibia by themselves? What can we expect from the people? Are they friendly and welcoming, or are they just out for the tourist dollar? Is crime an issue? Finally, we are looking into medical insurance as well. Any thoughts on which provider I should consider, and why I should consider them? Does anyone know about how much emergency medical and medical transportation is adequate for Namibia? Please feel free to offer advice on anything about Namibia whether I have mentioned it or not. I have been to South Africa, but this will be a first for my wife. Also, the wife is a non hunter. Thanks to all who take the time to reply.

Namibia is likely the best and only place I would drive myself in Africa. I have taken some driving trips by myself and loved it. The people are nice but you always have to watch out for petty crime. Have plenty of fuel and water. Global Rescue or Ripcord will have a travel policy with medical evacuation. Either is fine but there are few hospitals, if any, outside of Windhoek.
There are some luxury lodges in Namibia that would be worth checking out. The Luxury Travel Expert covered a few of them on his YouTube channel.
I have hunted and visited people all over Namibia but my only side trip was Sossusvlei. Now that is something to see!

 

[jnotzon]

I got to do a guided tour of Windhoek at the end of my safari before departing back to the US. I was exhausted after being in Africa for over three weeks at this point but was glad I did it. I was able to see all of the major historical buildings and got to grab lunch at a local restaurant. In all the major cities I've visited I have always found it nice to do a guided tour with locals and learn about the history of a given city. The tour was only about 2.5 hours and covered the whole city. I would highly recommend it if you are interested in learning the history of Windhoek and Namibia as a whole.