Table of contents for 2018 in go! Namibia

Wide open spaces are not for everyone. Some people prefer to spend their holidays in a city, where they can shop in malls and eat at fancy restaurants. Others – like us and probably like you – long for something more simple, more quiet, a place where you can hear your own heartbeat, where a view of a pan and a lone zebra can stave off thoughts of the rat race back home. South Africa has many such places: the Tankwa Karoo, Bushmanland, the Knersvlakte… But somehow, these places just can’t compare to the vastness of Namibia. It doesn’t matter where you are: Spitzkoppe (pictured), the C43 between Opuwo and Warmquelle, even the B1 to Keetmanshoop. Pull over and get out of your car and you’ll be surrounded by silence…

How to get there? Coming from Windhoek, turn off the B1 onto the C24 near Rehoboth and drive 140 km until the T-junction with the C14 (the C24 eventually becomes the M47). Turn right here and drive 16 km, then turn left onto the D854. The park gate is 21 km further. You can also turn off at Rehoboth coming from the south, or take the C19 and the C14 from Mariental. From Sesriem, you can get there via the C19 and the D854. GPS: S24.22635 E16.33783 (gate) Cost: R100 per person to do the hike, plus a daily permit of R30 per person. It costs R10 per day to leave your vehicle at the start point, and NWR charges R1 045 per group to transport supplies to the Tsams…

The Kalahari doesn’t come to a halt at the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park. Nope. The red dunes stretch over the landscape like a sheet of rusty iron all the way to Stampriet near the Hardap Dam. The C15 gravel road follows the course of the Auob River. Next to this road there are several guest farms and lodges just a stone’s throw from the Mata-Mata gate into the park. If the park accommodation is fully booked, you can stay here and do day outings into the Kgalagadi. Or, if you’re planning a tour of Namibia via the Kgalagadi, you can extend your time in the Kalahari. I drove all the way from Cape Town to explore the area and I collected an impressive amount of dust before my flip-flops even hit…

DUNE BELT, SKELETON COAST The northern section of Namibia’s coastline is named after a book by John Henry Marsh called Skeleton Coast (1944). In the book, Marsh tells the story of a complex land, sea and air operation that had taken place two years previously, to rescue the passengers and crew of the Dunedin Star cargo liner that ran aground. A visit to the Skeleton Coast National Park might not be as dangerous as it was in the past, but it’s still an adventure. The Ministry of Environment and Tourism only grants a handful of concessions to tour operators to enter the coastal area between Möwe Bay and the mouth of the Kunene River. This photo was taken about 25 km south of the Kunene River mouth on a week-long…

Cellphone reception? Cellphone reception between towns and cities is poor to non-existent. It’s a good idea to take a satellite phone in case of emergencies. Maps. These are essential: Angola InfoMap road map (R138 at infomap.co.za); Tracks4Africa map and Garmap SA Streetmaps for your GPS. Places to stay? We only made bookings at Kwanza Lodge and Flamingo Lodge. We made a list of the accommodation options in every town and then had a look around when we arrived. Lodges and hotels are scarce in the rural areas and not always up to standard. Be prepared to camp next to the road. We never felt unsafe or threatened. What if I get pulled over? There are police checkpoints on both sides of the provincial borders. The officers are polite and never…

Kaokoveld & Kunene River • Opuwo • Oshakati & Ongwediva • Rundu & Okavango River • Puros • Sesfontein & Warmquelle • Skeleton Coast National Park • Palmwag • Kamanjab • Etosha • Tsumeb • Otavi • Grootfontein • Tsumkwe • Twyfelfontein • Khorixas & Vingerklip • Otjiwarongo & Waterberg • Brandberg & Uis • Caprivi: Okavango River • Caprivi: Kwando River • Caprivi: Chobe River • Caprivi: Zambezi River BORDER POST TIMES NAMIBIA – BOTSWANA 1 Tsumkwe – Dobe 7.30 am – 4.30 pm 2 Mohembo – Shakawe 6 am – 6 pm; 00 264 66 259 913 3 Ngoma – Kasane 7 am – 6 pm; 00 264 67 620 0050 4 Kazungula pont (Botswana – Zambia) 6 am – 8 pm; 00 264 67 625 0320 NAMIBIA…

DAY 1 Erindi Private Game Reserve Plan your day so you won’t leave Windhoek later than 2 pm. If you need padkos, stock up on biltong at Piet’s Biltong Shop (now owned by Johan Kotze) – it’s on the left just before you leave Okahandja. Camp Elephant in Erindi is one of the best campsites around. It’s expensive but worth every penny. You’ll get your own patch of grass, an awning, a bathroom, a fridge and power points. The camp is fenced and the pathway will take you to a viewpoint overlooking a waterhole. The waterhole is illuminated at night so you can see who joins the black-backed jackals for a midnight snack. FAST FACTS Piet’s Biltong Shop: Open Monday to Friday from 8 am to 5 pm; Saturday from…

The smell of petrol fills my nostrils. I lick dust from my lips. The whine of a rev limiter hums in my ears. I see more helmets than hats in the crowd and several people are wearing a navy T-shirt with the slogan: “Where the #@*%! is Koës?” It’s a familiar question and one I’ve answered many times when people have asked about this trip. “The rally can best be described as organised chaos,” says Rickus Vermeulen, organiser of the Koës Pan Rally, which has been held on a clay pan near this small Kalahari village (population: ±5 000) in the south-east of Namibia for the past 30 years. The rally was born in 1985 when a few guys from Koës couldn’t agree on whose bakkie was the best –…

Be prepared. You need to know how to use every piece of equipment, including a highlift jack, hydraulic jack, winch, compressor, wheel-nut spanner, and everything you need to repair a flat tyre. Test everything at home and service all your gear. Get to know your vehicle. The only way to do this is to get practical experience in similar conditions. You won’t find a Van Zyl’s Pass close to home so try to simulate the conditions and look on the Internet for videos and photos of other people driving the pass. Leave your trailer or off-road caravan at home – there are lots of wrecks on the pass. Safety first. Everyone in the vehicle should be aware of the dangers and obstacles. When the road is in a poor condition,…

DAWID DE WET Occupation: Tour operator Home town: Coligny When we told the owner of a Kaokoveld tour company about our hiking plans, he was unconvinced. “That’s what bakkies are for,” he said. Gerard Strachan, Danie Kotzé and I wanted to hike along the course of the Hoanib River from the border of the Skeleton Coast National Park all the way to Etosha National Park. We were gathered in Caesar Zandberg’s office in Swakopmund. Caesar is the owner of Kunene Tours and Safaris and the owner of Khowarib Lodge near Kamanjab. We were looking for someone to drop us off at Amspoort Gorge, the starting point of our hike. Caesar was as blunt as only a Namibian can be, and just as helpful. He made arrangements with Ben and Anita…

When I walked into Marina Kruger’s garage earlier this morning, I knew I had found the right person – there were fishing rods everywhere. Marina retrieved a box of bait from one of her chest freezers, scanned her selection of fishing rods with an experienced eye and selected a few to strap to the roof of her Colt bakkie outside. All the while she talked to me about tides, wind direction and where we’d be casting first. It’s mid-June and cold fronts are driving fish away to deeper, warmer water, but Marina sounded confident that we would catch something today. Now we’re driving along the beach near the Jakkalsputz campsite south of Henties and Marina is quiet. She brakes for the umpteenth time, folds her hands on the steering wheel…

In December 2017, I accompanied a group of tourists on a photography tour of Etosha National Park. It had rained in the eastern parts of the park; we generally drove west to the waterholes in the drier areas. I took this photo at Ozonjuitji M’Bari, about 40 km west of Okaukuejo and one of the most remote waterholes in the park. We spent the whole day there and we were lucky enough to see lion, rhino, elephant and hundreds of springbok. At one point, a big lion suddenly materialised out of the bushes. Most of the game around the waterhole fled, but a herd of springbok continued drinking water. They watched the lion nervously and kept moving to keep the waterhole between them and the predator. The interaction gave me…

I climb over a jagged rock ledge, and then scramble over the big white boulders of Hartbreek Pass. Above my head, orange cliffs reach for the sky. Dolomite and limestone formations tower on my right and behind them awaits a landscape of deep canyons and high peaks, where underground rivers have carved their way through the Naukluft Mountains over millennia. It seems impenetrable. Again, I question why I’m here. I’m not a hiker. Just look at the rest of the group: Arno and Lianna are way ahead; I haven’t seen them since this morning. Matthew and his fiancée Louise and their friends Wayne and Michael are volunteer firefighters, who are used to running up burning mountain slopes in the Western Cape, carrying heavy gear. And Dené has just returned from…

DuneSong Breathers, 124 km from Mata-Mata One of the best places to stay in the area – your chalet overlooks the first red dune of the Kalahari. The chalets are stylishly furnished and well equipped if you want to cook for yourself. From R500 per person for two people sharing. Camping in the bush camp (minimum two nights) R150 per person per night if you bring your own tent. You can also hire twin-sleeper safari tents – R250 per person per night. You book the whole camp for your group. GPS: S25.69084 E19.17559 Contact: 00 264 81 122 0175; 00 264 81 777 6333 (Marianne/Pieter); dunesong.net…

Annamaré, her husband Jaco and their friends drove a circular route through Angola, from Lephalale via Namibia and Botswana. This story starts when they’re at the Oshikango border post in Namibia. DAY 1 After a tiring three hours at the Oshikango border post between Namibia and Angola, we were finally on our way. We stopped for lunch near the village of Ondjiva and made jaffles under a baobab tree. After lunch we continued on our journey, stopping twice to photograph old Russian tanks next to the road. In the village of Chibemba we came across the first of many roadblocks. The police officers asked for our passports and vehicle TIPs before letting us through. The road was very scenic and we eventually pulled over to camp for the night in…

Like the diamonds that are occasionally unearthed along the barren expanse of the Skeleton Coast, Ietsiemeer Beach House in Henties Bay is also a rare, sparkling find. Designed by architect Conrad Schaefer, together with the house shareholders, it’s a magnificent villa right on the seashore. The courtyard provides shelter from the sometimes unpredictable weather, with a fire pit for braaing and socialising around an even manicured lawn. Look west and you have an unparalleled view of the Atlantic Ocean. Sharing this view is the galley kitchen, with its top-of-the-range equipment, and the entertainment area where you put your feet up and enjoy the calming beach-scape through a wall of glass. With 10 en suite bedrooms, and top quality linen, the lulling of the waves may make waking up in one…

Henties Bay & Skeleton Coast • Spitzkoppe • Omaruru • Karibib • Okahandja • Swakopmund • Walvis Bay • Namib-Naukluft National Park • Windhoek • Dordabis • Gobabis • Khomas Hochland • Rehoboth • Uhlenhorst • Solitaire • Sesriem, Sossusvlei & Naukluft Mountains • Maltahöhe • Mariental • Stampriet • Gochas • Aranos & Kalahari • Beta & Duwisib BORDER POST TIMES NAMIBIA – BOTSWANA 1 Trans-Kalahari/Buitepos – Mamuno 7 am – midnight 00 264 62 560 404 HENTIES BAY & SKELETON COAST 1 St Nowhere Spa and Campsite This place is 110 km north of Henties and 7 km north of Mile 108. It’s a popular fishing destination. Camping R350 – R550 per night for five people, plus R70 – R110 per extra person. Seafront stands with electricity and…