First of all, let me say I loved Africa. It was the second visit I paid in this continent, post my visit to Egypt twenty-two years ago... And I want to re-visit! I strongly believe that African people are good people. This is why despite the attacks and conquers by several – western mostly – countries, they still smile, while are welcoming and kind. During my stay I was very much captured by the smiles.
We were a group of five and decided to do a road trip by renting a car. Of course it is not easy to rent a car for five people. We had ordered a van, but there was no availability, then we found a 7-seat car which was not unfortunately a full 7-seat car but rather a regular 4-5 seat car with an extra seat in the trunk. After a lot of effort and negotiations, we managed to get a minivan. Let me just say: if you are travelling as a group and the kilometers are a lot and the road is difficult (unmade in our case as there was no asphalt in most of the highways we travelled on) you need a comfortable car! Don’t make a mistake and settle for something small. It is preferable to rent two cars if a big one is not available.
We divided the trip to these main destinations: the capital Windhoek then Sossusvlei which is a known desert, then Swakopmund – Walvis Bay – Skeleton coast by the sea, Damaraland and Omaruru, Etosha park and Outzo and back to the capital via Otjiwarongo. We could have also visited a Canyon in the South, some traditional villages in the North where Hiba tribe people live and Kalahari desert in the East. But then we would need another two weeks for sure. The duration of our journey was 14 days inside the country and 2 days travelling. We reached our destination via Istanbul and Johannesburg totaling about 24 hours on the road for each destination – Windhoek and Athens.
We visited Namibia in early August which is winter in this country. This means that temperatures vary 25-35C during day and 0-10C during night. You have to be well prepared for this!
Our first stay was in Windhoek, the capital of Namibia. As I said in my previous post, this country was occupied in the past by Germans and then British until 1990 when they were freed. The country doesn’t have much infrastructure as most of its wealth is being exploited by other countries, funds and big companies. Namibia itself is rich, with natural resources such as oil, uranium, diamonds’ mining and other. But the people are poor.
The capital is the only city we saw with some big buildings and rather big in surface. Most of the rest of places we visited were villages that are considered towns. The surface of the country is large, 1.5 times the size of France, but is inhabited by 2.5mn people only. In the past, most tribal people were massacred by Germans...
At arrival we stayed for two nights at an Airbnb in the capital, Windhoek, and the last night back in Windhoek at a hotel. Most of places here don’t have air conditioning or heating means, although it is mandatory during winter. When you ask them why, they say it is not so cold! But it is! Make sure to find out before you make a reservation! Also, most of hotels or lodges offer breakfast and dinner. The reason being: you are in the middle of nowhere most of the times, with no access to a store or a restaurant. Therefore, the accommodation residence must offer some basics. Also, accommodation in the wild is not cheap. We paid from 40 up to 100 Euros per person per night – mostly because of lack of choices. What’s more, it is kind of “mandatory” to visit certain places such as Damaraland, Sossulsvei and Etosha park where there are very few accommodation choices therefore the prices escalate a lot, in association with the services offered. But you forgive all this as they do their best, you are literally in the middle of the desert and they make a true effort for you to have hot water, food, a clean bed to sleep.
The capital is rather uninteresting. We visited a few landmark buildings such as this church – Christuskirche - and for dinner we ate at this place Joe’s beerhouse which was recommended and good.
For the second night we visited a highly ranked restaurant Bucher Block Steakhouse that was far from good and rather expensive. The place was really nice but the meat dishes although looking good, were not good at all.
You can visit the rooftop of Hotel Avani for a drink and to enjoy the view. Fabulous!
If you have some time try and visit these people in the open flee market in the Gibeon Meteorites spot – they are really genuine and the prices are good. Don’t hesitate to shop as prices are low although you are in the city center.
More details to follow. Enjoy!
