Namibia Itinerary Self Drive

Our flight arrived quite late and we needed a place to stay for one night. Windhoek itself isn't a particularly interesting place to visit. If your flight arrives early enough, I'd recommend skipping it. 

OMG we are back in Africa! Let the vacations in Namibia started! We arrived in the late afternoon as we drove here straight from Windhoek, around 530km in total.  Etosha National Park is one of the most popular places among travellers visiting Namibia and self-drive safaris are so easy here. The park is massive and we had enough time, so we decided to stay in two different lodges while in this location. There's plenty of good accommodation outside the park (and it's nicer) but it means that you won't be able to see the part for sunset of sunrise.  

Next morning we were at the entrance to the park at 6AM sharp. While driving in Etosha you notice a lot of waterholes on the edge of a big salt pan. It's so easy to spot animals there, as they visit the waterholes all the time. That day was filled with jaw dropping moments for me as we saw cheetahs, lions, jackals, zebras, giraffes, impalas, springboks, oryxes, blue wildebeest, elephants, kudus and many more. I was in awe and so happy that yet again I was able to get so close to wild animals. When doing self-drive safaris always stick to the marked roads. I mean seriously, always. No matter how great your car is. Don't be that genius that we stumbled upon one day, driven off the marked road to get closer to a herd of elephants, got stuck in the sand and sat petrified in his car as the spinning wheels sparked an interest in the herd...We managed to pull their car out once the elephants left but I'm pretty sure they'll remember that 20 minutes of their lives for a long time ;)

Next day we moved to Halali Camp for one night. The Camp itself was a bit of a disappointment.  The main reason we moved there was to observe animals at the waterhole. Which was a fantastic experience as the waterholes are lit up at night and you could spend hours watching various animals hanging around. It's like watching "Planet Earth" but the live version, happening literally in front of your eyes. I only missed David Attenborough's narration ;) Fascinating experience and imho worth staying at a 'not so great' camp. 

Etosha to Spitzkoppe was another long drive, it took us almost 6 hours to get there. By the time we reached Spitzkoppe Camp, we had to start setting up, making dinner etc. It gets dark very quickly and setting up a camp in the dark is more difficult than it sounds. We spend an evening gazing at the starry sky. Spitzkoppe is in the middle of nowhere, there are literally almost no sources of light, that means you can see the sky so clearly. OMG I don't think I have ever seen that many stars in my life. 

Next day we spend hiking and bouldering around the Matterhorn of Namibia. And yet another evening staring at the sky. I swear I could do that every single night and never get bored of it. 

Ps. There are no big animals in this area and the camps are closed so you can enjoy yourself without the fear of being eaten by a peckish cat.

We drove for about 2 hours from Spitzkoppe to Cape Cross Seal Reserve. Supposedly it's the world's largest breeding colony of Cape fur seals! And I have to admit it's a pretty mad place. Seals are super cute and it's interesting to observe them but I wished I had a clip on my nose. I still remember the smell of that place. 

After that we continued driving for another 2 hours towards Swakopmund. It's a pleasant coastal city established by German colonists in 1892. The city itself feels a tad funny as you can still see some street names in German, there's very unique architecture and plenty of restaurants serving German food. Thankfully, as it's a coastal town, you are not limited to eating German food as there are so many good seafood restaurants around ;) 

A few important things to remember about this location. First of all, even if you're not a morning person you will want to get up at crazy o'clock to climb a dune and watch a sunrise from it's top. Trust me. I hate waking up very early and would usually skip such an "adventure" but thankfully I didn't do it this time. Though you have to remember to stay somewhere close to the park entrance (or inside the park), because there's going to be a queue of cars waiting for the gates to open. And you don't want to be at the end of that queue because you'll not make it on time. Which would be a shame, especially if you get up at 3AM that day ;) Another reason why you have to stay close it that you shouldn't really be driving at night in Africa. And if you do, you better do it very carefully and slow. It's very easy to hit an animal on the road and a lot of them jump in front of car lights. They literally appear out of nowhere. Needless to say, it could be dangerous for you and the animals. 

So once you do make it to the front of the queue the fun begins. I did not know it's soooooo hard to climb a dune. First of you, when you start it's going to be dark. I mean very dark. So you can't see much. Second of all, it's going to be cold (if you do it at night) and windy. You'll have sand everywhere. And your feet are going to sink into the sand with every step. I know, sounds like a nightmare and it kinda was haha but it was so worth it. So brace yourself, swear all the way to the top but once you get there and look around...oh man. I had tears in my eyes. Maybe they were tears of joy that the climb was over but trust me, sunrise at the top of Sossusvlei Dune, is just one of those sights that you'll never forget. 

Oh and once you're done crying over the beautiful view, you can feel like a kid again, spread your arms and just run like a maniac all the way down to the bottom of the dune. Or roll down. I did both. It was a lot of fun and totally worth the nightmare of climbing. 

And don't forget to go for a walk among 900 year old fossilised Acacia trees in the white clay pan of Deadvlei. It's not as physically challenging but equally as special.  A truly incredible and a very surreal place. Cherry on top and such a perfect way to finish our Namibian adventure. 

Once again, Windhoek is nothing special but if you have an early flight, you'll probably have to stay there for a night.