Namibia Travel Guide

German influence is strong in Namibia, so it was not surprising to find a German restaurant there, but this one is exceptionally good. It occupies a large building with much indoor seating and a very popular partially enclosed outdoor area. The only drawback of the latter is that smoking is allowed. The two meals I ate were well prepared and...

I've always been ambivalent about township tours. After all, the people who live there are not zoo animals. Still, it is not easy for the tourist passing through for a short stay to see the "other side," and doing so is important, so I signed up. The service I chose was "Face to Face" tours, which appears to be African-run. The 3-hour tour included...

You have better reserve your place at the restaurant at Halali Camp Site where we had a braai, the Afrikaans word for barnecue, where they also served Kudu meat!To be continued...

Even if you are camping, you can have breakfast or a meal at the restaurant of the camp and here we had a rich breakfast buffet.To be continued,,,

When you come to Walvisbay on a cruise you will pass by this lighttower in some distance. The lighttower was built on a sandy Island some kilometres outside of the port and many times it will be hard to be seen, as there is a certain haze over the landscape like in my Pictures here as well.

There are a lot of other birds than the Flamingos to watch in Walvisbay. My favorite of These photos is the one here in my main Picture: a seagull had cought an eel and is flying home with it.

Want to have an outdoor adventure? This place is really a ‘One Stop Shop’ for outdoor activities in the area. I simply walked in and said I wanted to skydive. 2 hours later I was jumping out of a plane. These people are friendly and organised. Here is the large list of activities they can arrange: * Quad Bike Rides * Sandboarding * Skydiving...

I call it the War Memorial, but its actually called the Marine Memorial. It was erected and inaugurated in 1908 to honour the German Marines who were involved in the relief of Karibib and Otjimbingwe during the Herero uprising in 1904. The Schutztruppe (German Colonial Army) who were stationed in the territory at the time of the uprising were not...

The restaurant "Galinhas Flame Grilled in Africa" is in my opinion the best eating place for western food in Katima Mulilo. All meat are grilled. And the prices are not too expensive (1/4 grilled chicken with french fries and fresh bread was 45 N$).I had just arrived from Windhoek on a 15 hours trip and was hungry like a lion. This restaurant was...

If you travel from Katima Mulilo to Botswana, make sure to go all the way to Kasane and DON'T stop your journey at the border. It's nothing to do on the Namibian side except for staying at the Chobe bridge. (It's only a low bridge over some wetlands, and not a flowing river). The nearest inhabited place on the Namibian side is 5 km away, but it is...

The bus stop for the "CapiLine-bus" from/to Windhoek and Zambia in located at the Shell station in the main street of Katima Mulilo. It's easy to go off the bus here. Restaurants and shopping centres are not far away.

I really hope you read this before you leave to come here. There are no stores out here and there is no water. You will be lucky to even have this kind of privacy. I suggest those wet-wipe products. At the very least have some tissue.

Sossusvlei is a depression lined by some of the highest dunes in the world. Although a very rare occurrence, during periods of good rains the pan or "vlei" fills up with water from the Tsauchab River. This water wonder in the middle of the desert is a spectacular sight.

The desert is always very danger place, canyons, snakes, other animals and most of all, the heat, water are essential for surviving. Why else they call it Skeleton Coast? Go deep into the desert and you will find the remains of those who didn't survive.Please be aware that some remote areas are not even accessible and needed special permission and...

The Skeleton Coast Park is very unique place on earth with its own special climate, nature and ecological status. Unique animals that learn to survive on the harsh conditions of cold nights and hot days.

Like most of Namibia also here you can have very nice self drive in the park. But some remote areas are not accessible and flying safari will be needed to get to those places.

(work in progress)A few lonely Schutztruppe graves in a small and little-visited military cemetery are the only tangible evidence of what was probably the largest battle ever fought on Namibian soil.The Waterberg region is the heartland of the Herero people, who rose up against German colonial rule in 1904. The largest battle of this conflict took...

One of the nicest - and most underrated - ways of exploring the Waterberg is on foot. This allows you to appreciate both the beautiful landscape and the wildlife as well as the poignant history of the Schutztruppe graveyard.Walking is an ideal way of appreciating the smaller wildlife that often gets overlooked when you're in a vehicle. Highlights...

The Waterberg plateau is a splendid sight to behold, rising up in sheer 200m cliffs from the flat surrounding plain. The physical isolation from the surrounding plain and the relative abundance of water that seeps out from the sandstone along the flanks of the plateau make it a very protected environment for wildlife.The only way to access the top...

Get up early and get onto a boat!Would have been wefully romantic to go along the Okavango is a couple of mokoros but it was a ll a little last minute and spur of the minute and so we went on what can only really be described as a "contraption". It was a platform that had a couple of plastic chairs for us to sit on - I did not feel too safe sitting...

An odd place. It has a couple of supermarkets but the most intriguing thing baout Divundu are the three whopping large petrol stations here (which sell Bic biros so if you have run out and still have a thousand children wanting them... this is your place!).The villages that branch off from Divundu are bursting with gorgeous children.One thing I...

Quite a large supermarket. I got water, bread, apples, some biscuits, crisps and other non perishable snacks. There was a tub of biros by the till.Guards on the door - you have to show them yourreceipt before you are allowed to leave with your goods.And the fat, white, presumed to be owner looking down from the gods at his little empire. A good...

Most people who have travelled through Usakos - since virtually nobody travels 'to' it - will have one vivid recollection of the town: the distinctive water tower with the witch's hat.In a climate as arid as Namibia's, where evaporation can easily exceed the rainfall by a factor of ten, conserving what little water is available is a major priority....

The Ned Geref Kerk ('People's Reformed Church') in Usakos is an endearing architectural mongrel that isn't quite sure whether it wants to be a church or a castle!The fact that there is an NGK in town is significant, as this is an Afrikaans Protestant church and indicates that at least some of the farming community around Usakos has South African -...

Many of Namibia's small towns - which is the vast majority, as there aren't many 'big' ones - have a distinctive timewarp feel about them.This is particularly true of Usakos. Part of the reason why the main street feels so forgotten is that it has been bypassed by the main road: at the sign shown in the photo, you bear right for Swakopmund. This...

For a road trip, if you are a point where you are starting to look at the petrol gauge and "hmmm" Ai-Ais HAS a petrol station, complete with small store selling cold drinks, crisps etc...It is a little out of the way, in as much as, you have to go there, get petrol and then come back the same route BUT... petrol is petrol is petrol... and when...

You need your own transport to get here. There is no methods of public transport to the area. Actually, there is not much public transport throughout namibia... period. You are about 500-600KM away from anything else, so be sure to fill up before you head out towards the town and when leaving. 4X4 would be a major asset as alot of the roads leading...

There are many trails to walk along the Canyon. It is the second largest Canyon in the world and is quite the site. However, if you have visited The Grand Canyon, this will not seem all that impressive. It's very hot during the day, so don't plan on doing any hikes in the middle of the day. Furthermore, you are not allowed down in the Canyon...

At Cape Cross, which is now a protected area, youc an find one of the largest colonies of Cape Fur Seals.To be continued...

The reason to come to Cape Cross is to see the seals - they are amazing and you will get as many great photos as your memory card allows!The smell is vile - but the seals are fabulous.Look not only on the beach, but also in the sea and you are sure to see many of them swimming.

At the time of year we were here (late Nov early Dec), there were a lot of pups.Not all of them were a pretty sight either. As there are so many seals living on this beach, sometimes as our guide told us, the mother will forget who her pup is, not so many of them survive. So, do expect to see a lot of dead pups - which is a sad sight.Some of them...

We visited Kolmanskop in the afternoon, when you have to purchase the photographer's license instead of the normal entry ticket. Due to the fact that this price is much higher, almost no one visits in the afternoon. In fact we were the only visitors which made it extra special. The grounds keeper played piano for us in the abandoned casino. Great...

The Felsenkirche Evangelical Lutheran Church was consecrated in 1912 and built by German architects. Ironically the church only saw another two years of German colonial times. The church looks especially striking in the late afternoon when the stained-glass windows are illuminated by the setting sun.

There are a few Tropic of Cancer signs about but this one has to be the most aesthetically pleasing... especially if you can get a bird to pose like I did ;-)

The Cafe Van Der Lee is just by the gas station, I did not know what really to make of it, everyone stop for gas here but no one take a break for a coffee or a drink, lost of potential if you ask me.

Walk through the general store and you will be surprised to find this wonderful little curio shop.The shop looks a little but dusty but it is interesting to have a look around. There are stuffed antelope heads adorning the walls and on the table in the middle of the room, what was a lion! Here you can buy a variety of gifts or souvenirs, post cards...

The history of Schloss Duwisib is an object lesson in What Not To Do to impress your new bride!The 'castle' was built by Captain Hans Heinrich von Wolf, a captain in the German Schutztruppe and veteran of the German-Nama war in what was then South West Africa. On marrying the daughter of the US Consul in Germany, Miss Jayta Humphreys, in 1907,...

The food at the hotel was absolutely stunning. Rustic huge portions. I ordered the homemade bread with ham, cheese and tomato. The bread was fantastic and I am still dreaming about it. My sister ordered the sausage & salads and got two huge weiss wurz with potato salad, carot & pineapple salad, mixed salad.