December 20, 2017

Generation Wanderlust goes to Waterberg

“You said you and me was gonna get outta town and, for once, just really let our hair down. Well, darlin’, look out, ’cause my hair is comin’ down!” – Thelma and Louise Two girls, one car and one chance to get out of town and have an adventure. Sound familiar? Wheels on the road, the sky a wide arc above us and only the black line of the road stretched out in front of us. Our destination? The Waterberg Plateau National Park. Just two hours from Namibia’s capital, the Waterberg is easy to get to, fun to explore and great for families. For two chicks though? Well, we’re not unfamiliar with “roughing it” and, in fact, that’s our usual setting. Turning off the B1 that runs like a bloodline through Namibia from its southern border to the north-eastern tip, we waved at traffic officers on duty, who smiled cheerfully and waved us through, after curiously glancing into our car looking for the men that they guessed must be hidden somewhere. Nope, no guys, just us two girls.
January 24, 2018

Luxury on the Open Road: Camper-living for the ultimate Namibian self-drive adventure!

Endless stretches of both asphalt and gravel dissect and are scattered across, over and through the vast plains, hills and valleys of this beautiful country. So often the greatest Namibian adventures lie just around the next bend or just beyond the next turn-of. For the avid traveller, the adventurer at heart, nothing quite beats the freedom and wonder of a self-drive safari through this spectacular corner of Africa. But what if staying in lodges isn’t quite your thing? Do you prefer the rugged appeal of camping, minus the hassle? Well, what if we told you that there’s a middle ground? The term is ‘glamping’. A combination of the luxuries and style of lodge-living and the freedom and often unparalleled immersion in nature by camping.
January 30, 2018

How to make the most out of your experience at NWR Naukluft Camp

There’s no question about it: Namibia is filled to the brim with fantastic destinations. Namibia Wildlife Resorts’ Naukluft Campsite to the south is one of them. It’s easy to get to from Windhoek and is a fun getaway for those precious Namibian long-weekends. Take a few tips from us and make sure your stay at the Naukluft is one to remember:
January 30, 2018

Tracking Tracks through Africa

In the middle of Kigali, on the car park of a hotel, we had to replace the clutch of our camper. It took longer than anticipated, because replacing the clutch meant the engine had to be removed, which is slightly more time consuming when the contraption with which to lift the engine out, arrives in the back of a taxi. Up to that point, there had been some other mechanical challenges along our 14,000 km road trip, which – I want to add for the record – did not involve our Land Rover only. Just before we entered Burundi one of the Cruisers needed to get a gearbox fixed and we spent 24 hours playing cards in the yard of the mechanic shop while waiting for parts to be bussed in from Dar es Salaam. Then came the big problem, which actually brings me to the beginning of my story. The alternator packed up. With my limited knowledge of what goes on under the hood, to me, this only meant no air-conditioning in the truck, in mid-summer on the equator. What happened then seemed like magic to me. In the sprawling capital of Uganda, we typed in “Landrover Dealer Kampala” on the iPad app and there it was – a pinpoint in a maze on the screen. We were certainly not the first travellers looking for this place because if we were it would not have been on this amazing app. As the left-seat passenger, I never bothered to find out why we always arrived at our precise destination.
April 24, 2018

The Camping Files: Chrisna Greeff

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] Text: Nina van Schalkwyk [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_single_image image=”50861″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes”][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_single_image image=”50860″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] In this, our first instalment, we have a chat with businesswoman and […]
April 24, 2018

Senior Safari – Not an Oxymoron

If your vision of vacationers in Africa is confined to young, fit, twenty-year-olds with state-of-the-art rucksacks, think again. Namibia is the land for all ages, even prehistoric creatures like me and my friends.
April 25, 2018

5 Reasons Why the Okavango River is a Must-Visit Destination

Okay, so it’s true that the north-eastern Kavango and Zambezi regions aren’t the quintessential desert landscapes one may associate with Namibia. They are as lush and green as a southern African region can get, but they are still part of the country and often offer a welcome reprieve from the arid beauty that is a trademark of this special corner of Africa. That said, the first glimpse you catch of the mighty Okavango River as it meanders along the north-eastern edge of Namibia, creating a natural border with our neighbour Angola, will be a sight for dry eyes.
July 4, 2018

Kamanjab – Place of Stone

During a drive down to Windhoek, Nina van Schalkwyk stopped in the dusty little town of Kamanjab, where she was charmed by its surprising creativity, cheerful inhabitants and a sheep that can’t keep its pants on.
July 4, 2018

The Camping Files

The camping bug bites the most respectable members of our community. Deputy Judge President Hosea Angula started exploring Namibia with fellow supreme court judge Dave Smuts and the late photographer Tony Figueira in the early 80’s. And even though work seems to be getting in the way of his hobby, we do believe that once a camper, always a camper. Here Judge Angula shares his thoughts on the best camping cars, scaling the Brandberg and why you should never leave your shoes outside the tent.
July 4, 2018

Botswana’s Nxai Pans

We’ve just returned to South Camp and it’s almost dark. Stretching our stiff limbs, the place is silent tonight since we are the only campers. And then we hear it, a soft swishing sound in the grass. Moving cautiously to the edge of the tree line in the deep twilight, we can just make out a solid mass of elephants mere metres away from us.
September 15, 2018

The Camping Files – Emsie Erastus

Camping isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but for those who enjoy it, it can develop into somewhat of a passion. This issue’s Camping Files profile features Emsie Erastus, a passionate young Namibian who fell for camping - hard.
November 8, 2018

Camping at Namibgrens

The best thing about camping at Namibgrens is that you do not need to be a seasoned camper. Their team can easily pitch a tent for you kitted out with stretchers and bedding. Each campsite offers a large shaded area, with its own wash-up and braai area, as well as its own bathroom set among the boulders. And if camping is not your thing, there are plenty of other accommodation options.
March 28, 2019

How to Take a Long-Weekend Road Trip to Etosha

Road-trips are the best, aren’t they? Perhaps it’s because of film culture, where we’ve been fed with the romance of road trips, of getting out, hitting the road, with the wide-open skies overhead and just a vague destination in our minds. In Namibia, the first half of the year has two great opportunities for road trips, the first being the Independence holiday and the second the Easter long weekend. All you have to do is put in one or two days leave and take a trip. But where to, you ask? The most famous park in Namibia, of course. Take a road trip to Etosha and make it a trip to remember. Here’s how:
April 8, 2019

Camping 101

There are clearly two types of people in the world: those who like to camp and those who don’t. And yet, it does seem as if we need to add a third category – the group of people who have never camped before and don’t know if they like camping in the first place. Don’t know? There’s only one way to find out, really... Go camping.
August 6, 2019

10 Coolest Places to Go Camping in Namibia

Why do some people love to camp and others don’t? To be honest, who cares? Luckily Namibia offers everyone the chance to travel the country and stay in the type of accommodation they prefer. Okay, with that settled, for those who DO love camping, here is a list of the ten coolest places to pitch your tent in Namibia.