Namibia Warnings Or Dangers

  Road with a dry stream
by GrumpyDiver
 
  • Road with a dry stream
      Road with a dry stream
    by GrumpyDiver
  • Guage to tell you the depth of the water
      Guage to tell you the depth of the water
    by GrumpyDiver
  • You drive in sand this deep near Sossusvlei
      You drive in sand this deep near...
    by GrumpyDiver
  • Back road in Namibia - sandy and steep!
      Back road in Namibia - sandy and steep!
    by GrumpyDiver
  • Herd of goats blocking the road
      Herd of goats blocking the road
    by GrumpyDiver
 
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Reviews from VirtualTourist Members

ATM ROBBERY

by DAO

Namibia has few large cities and towns. They also have very little crime. What they do have, especially in Windhoek, is a thriving business in stealing from you when you go to an ATM. Think about it. You have your back to the world and they have all day to watch you. The most common fraud is for 2 guys to watch you go to the machine and turn your back. As you enter your card they come up behind and quickly tell you that there is a problem with the machine and you must enter your PIN and hit the reject or red button. They just saw your PIN and your card has just come out. They grab the card and run - your account is empty in 5 minutes. Picture 2 is a picture, I believe, of 2 guys who just robbed a guy I met 20 minutes before at my hotel. Sadly, the victim could have crossed the street and stood next to an armed guard and used the other bank's machine!Standard Bank has some good guidelines...

Tip Photo
DOUBLE YOUR WATER

by DAO

Too much water? Other than a flood, have you ever heard that as a problem? I was told that it might be unnecessary by a fellow traveller in Namibia. We had set off by car across the dune sea. We were leaving the car in a remote area with no facilities for an all day walk across the dunes. He suggested 2 litters of water per person in our group. That meant 8 litters in our band of 4 for the day in 4 backpacks. I suggested 16 litres. ‘Too heavy’ and ‘we will not need that much’ I heard in reply. We drank every drop in 3/4’s of the day and became very thirsty. Fortunately my car had another 20 litres inside (I plan well) and we still had a long drive to a place with water available. Had our car broken down on the way to the roadless dune sea or back, we would have been in real trouble.Also, have 10-20 litres of water in your car (additional) at all times. Namibia is a vast desert and they...

Tip Photo
Drive safely

by toonsarah

I know I’ve already mentioned this on my introductory page and in my Transportation tip, but you really can’t be too careful when driving in Namibia! Most of the roads, even major routes, are gravel, but because they’re wide, straight, very quiet and mostly pretty smooth, it’s easy to start to relax and let your speed creep up above the recommended 50 MPH. This happened to us one day while Chris was driving - not that I’m passing the blame ;) We were on the fairly good stretch of road heading towards the coast from Solitaire to Walvis Bay. Unnoticed by either of us our speed was increasing. Suddenly Chris spotted a larger-than-most stone in his path and swerved to avoid it – the one thing you should never do, but a natural reaction in the circumstances. Next thing we knew the car was spinning wildly and all we could see was flying gravel. Luckily (but not unusually in Namibia) there were...

Tip Photo
Car Guards

by GrumpyDiver

So you are in a Namibian town on city and are thrilled that you can park for free on the street. There are no parking meters!Not so fast, there are "car guards", and for $N3 - $N5 per hour they will watch your car. They do have a quasi-uniform (jacket or vest) that identifies them as an official car guard. While under their watchful eye, nothing ever happened to our car or it's contents, so I figure the system does work.

Veterinary Control Points

by GrumpyDiver

Namibia is in many ways two separate countries. The south that has commercial agriculture and industry and the north the supports traditional lifestyles, including traditional susistance agriculture and herding.In order reduce the rist of animal diseases being transferred to the farms in the south, there are animal control checkpoints along all the roads. There is no issue when travelling from south to north, but when travelling back to the south from the north, your vehicle will be inspected. No unprocessesed meat is allowed to cross this control line, even if you bought it in a supermarket.The other warning is that the veterinary inspectors at two of the control points tried to get bribes.

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Driving in Namibia - Back roads

by GrumpyDiver

This is a warning to those peope that do not have any experience in driving on gravel and sand roads. SLOW DOWN!I saw too many people driving these as if they were the Autobahn or some other western superhighway. They are not and even though the speed limit is normally 80 km/hr and in some cases higher, you can't do it. Sand and gravel do not give you the same grip as asphalt or gravel and stopping and turning distances are far greater than you are used to. Roll overs are frequent and a lot of people get flats and in some cases the tires are so badly damaged that they have to be replaced.Try to drive towards the centre of the road, that way you won't damage your tires (sidewall damage that can't be repaired) and move over to the left when approaching blind hills or curves you can't see around.Animals, can dart out unexpectedly and your first reaction is to swerve to avoid them. If it...

Tip Photo
Driving in Namibia - Wet Gravel / Sand Roads

by GrumpyDiver

As they say, when it rains, it pours. The sand and gravel roads turn from acceptable driving surfaces to soft mud very quickly and you will have very limited control of your vehicles. If you are an experienced ice and snow driver things will feel very familiar to you! Most people will probably visit in the dry season, but if you are there during the little rains or rainly season, please take note!SLOW DOWN! Deep ruts can develop very quickly and your car will follow these rather than where you want to be. Take it easy of the gas (spinning your tires will throw mud around and you won;t have any control) and don't try to brake too hard as you will just slide like on an icy surface.If you are driving a 4x4, consider switching into 4x4 mode; low or high, depending on the conditions.

Driving in Namibia - Choosing a vehicle

by GrumpyDiver

The paved B roads can be driven with normal vehicles, but the C and D roads may be problematic.If you are planning to drive on any unpaved roads, consider getting a 4x4 with high clearance. This applies to Etosha National Park as well. The main roads are fine, but the side ones, especially during rainy season can be problematic if you have a slow slung vehicle and front or rear wheel drive only.

Driving in Namibia - Deep Sand on Roads

by GrumpyDiver

There are some areas on main roads (C and D roads) where you might frun into deep sand. The last part of the drive to the sand dunes near Sessriem and the road up to Nhoma are two places we ran into this.If you are not an experience deep sand driver (or if you are used to driving in very snowy areas, many of the same skills apply). You can get stuck. If in deep sand, try to drive through it slowly and try to not stop! Don't drive too quickly and you can easily loose control and get stuck. If in a 4x4, switch into 4x4 mode (low) before driving through the deep sand.Watch where other vehicles have gone and follow the tracks that have gone through the shallowest sand, don't get into the deep stuff if you can avoid it!If you do get stuck:1. Try to rock your way out by switching between 1st gear and reverese.2. If you get really stuck and rocking does not work prepare to dig your way out....

Tip Photo
Credit Cards, ATMs and cash

by GrumpyDiver

The telecommnications infrastructure in Namibia is not terribly robust, especially in more remote parts of the country. In bad weather, this problem extends to places like Windheok as well.Bottom line is that your credit cards may not work, ATMs may not give you cash, so make sure you have sufficient cash to cover off your costs if you run into these issues. While we did not have any. I wouild assume that traveller's cheques are not going to be accepted anywhere other than banks, so don't count on these!

Safety Tips in Namibia

Top 3 Hotels in Namibia

Hotel Heinitzburg  Windhoek

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Rostock Ritz  Namib-Naukluft Park

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Hansa Hotel  Swakopmund

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87 Hotels in Namibia
 
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Warnings Or Dangers: Cities in Namibia
  1. Windhoek Warnings Or Dangers
  2. Swakopmund Warnings Or Dangers
  3. Etosha National Park Warnings Or Dangers
  4. Katima Mulilo Warnings Or Dangers
  5. Walvisbaai Warnings Or Dangers
  6. Namib-Naukluft Park Warnings Or Dangers
  7. Daan Viljoen Game Park Warnings Or Dangers
  8. Skeleton Coast Park Warnings Or Dangers
  9. Spitzkop Warnings Or Dangers
  10. Henties Bay Warnings Or Dangers

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Questions and Answers

JaredRSydney profile photo

Q:  It seems that this area is... 

CatherineReichardt profile photo

A: Hi Jared Your wording is ambiguous, so to clarify: are you querying whether you should give it a miss because of the seal culling? If it's the seals that are of... 

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Sep 30, 2012 
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