BG
Email Mariana | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing desert colours, the night sky heavy with stars
Mighty nature that grabs you and make you feel as small as any grain of the desert sand.
Amazing desert colours and velvet vibe of the sunset touching not only the eyes, but the soul too. The night sky was heavy with stars that seemed to pour down on the Earth.
Gloomy, stormy ocean, cute giraffes and baboons...
Delicious meal, cossy desert camps, attractive people friendly and positive.
Art, crafts and souvenirs you buy from everywhere will keep your memories more live and colourful.
Namibia is in my heart.
US
Email Mark | 65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Brilliant Contrasts
Our recent journey to Namibia ranked as one of our best international trips. It is a country of great contrasts and scenic beauty, especially for those who appreciate stark features of nature. Namibia is an outstanding destination for those who enjoy nature photography and adventure as opposed to those who prefer city tours and shopping. We loved hiking up Big Daddy, one of the largest desert sand dunes. The petrified forest in Deadvlei set against the dunes is unique in the world. Shipwrecks could be seen along the Skeleton coast. Obviously one of the favorite places was Etosha NP and especially capturing photos and silhouettes of African animals at sunset at the waterholes. I was pleased to see the emphasis on protection of wildlife in Etosha and rehabilitation and caring for cheetah at Cheetah Conservation Fund. Unfortunately, in contrast, I became aware of the Namibian government's plans for slaughtering, or as they euphemistically call culling, over 80K adorable seals at Cape Cross including routinely clubbing thousands of seal pups. I'll end on a brighter note. Our private guide Leonard with People's Tours was exemplary. He showed flexibility and consistent sensitivity to our needs, thorough knowledge of the country and animals, and even an appreciation of my twisted sense of humor. I highly recommend a private tour with him.
Email Andrew Reynolds | 65+ years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
We experienced a raw, scenic beauty driving through the deserts and wildlife rich regions of Namibia
From entering Namibia at the Orange River, to The Fish River Canyon, Sossusvlei, Grootberg, Etosha and Kalahari, we enjoyed unique landscape and wildlife experiences. I can highly recommend Namibia as an incredible country and destination.
Email Maxie Oosthuysen | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Beauty untold
My trip to Namibia was absolutely a fantastic experience from the word go. The tour was well planned and we had an excellent, informative guide. We stayed at really wonderful guestfarms and lodges and the food was really great. Namibia is truly beautiful with a lot of contrasts and history. Etosha was a highlight as well as the dunes at Sossusvlei. I will do it again in a heartbeat.
PT
Email Tania | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
A beautiful, safe and interesting country with a variety of places to visit and friendly people.
Namibia is a safe and interesting country with great highlights. The sand dunes, Soussusvlei and the desert offer an unforgetable experience. The people are very friendly and prond to share their culture with turists.
Namibia is beautiful and you will fall in love with the people!
Best experience was walking with the San people. Explaining their culture and how they live in the bush was incredible! Also visiting the Namib Desert and Sandwhich Harbor was absolutely beautiful.
Email Jackie | 65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Such a diverse range of experiences - from scenery to coast, wildlife, culture and hiking.
Namibia is a very large country - we only got a taste of everything in our 8 day visit. But there's a wide range of activities and opportunities - towns, national parks and coast. Sossusvlei was an amazing place - we climbed both Dune 45 and Big Daddy. Note, if you're planning to do this, you need to take extra water with you - Big Daddy is an epic climb, but so worth it, for the views and for the enormously fun descent straight down the side into Deadvlei! This dead valley is stunningly beautiful, although that sounds like a contradiction when you consider it's just dead trees in a mudbaked plain - but, truly, you have to see it to understand what an impact it makes. We stayed at the Namib Desert Lodge - one highlight was the sunset safari, culminating in a cliff top bar being set up for us, complete with wide range of alcohol and big platters of beautifully presented nibbles!
We visited Swakopmund, but didn't have time for any of the sea activities - however, the town itself is well worth a walk around. The architecture is interesting, with the German heritage, and we found a terrific bar - Bar Zonder Naam (the Bar Without a Name) - and also ate at the Blue Grass Restaurant, where the food and atmosphere were equally good. It was just a shame it was foggy and raining, so we didn't get the sea views! We did visit the Crystal Centre - again, well worth it, some stunning displays of a huge range of crystals, all mined in Namibia.
Our final destination was Etosha National Park, where we stayed at the Namutoni Lodge. Such a nice place - a good restaurant, swimming pool, clever design of the accommodation, with palisades around the front and back of each room, so you feel as though you're in a native compound or village. There's also a viewing platform overlooking a watering hole - great for a sunset visit to see the wildlife, while drinking a beer. We went on several safari drives - one memorable moment was when nearly 30 elephants slowly made their way past us, at a watering hole, and lined up in one long row to drink. Lots of zebra, impala, springbok, oryx, wildebeest, kudu, warthogs, some glimpses of leopard and rhino. But, most memorably - lions. Or rather, one lion and his mate, relaxing under a bush.
One small thing to note - most of the public toilets en route require a payment of just 2 or 3 rand. Also at the supermarket and restaurant carparks and petrol stations, it's customary to give 3-5 rand to the parking and fuel attendants. This means you need to change a larger note down to small notes or coins, so you have a kitty.
Obviously, if you have longer to visit, you could see more, or stay longer in one place - we did cover a lot of miles in a short space of time. But it's perfectly do-able to get a really good taste of Namibia in a week, with a night either end to allow for flying in and out of Windhoek.
Overall, we had a really lovely time - Namibia is certainly a great country to visit.
Email Juliet Blackburn | 65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Very interesting and varied
Learnt a lot about deserts. Liked the Skeleton coast (but it was cold!). The safari in Etosha was a highlight. Most of the lodges were good and the food good also.
IT
Email David | 65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
A Kaledoscope of Scenery, Wildlife and People
Namibia has so much to it. We travelled about 4.000 kms in 18 days in our Toyota Fortuner. Highlights: a giraffe standing next to our roundel in the Kalahari; the incredible sight of the Fish River Canyon which doesn't get the same publicity as The Grand Canyon but is every bit as spectacular; our cottage perched between the boulders in Aus; the austere beauty of the dunes at Sossuvlei; apple pie at Solitaire(!); the dramatic ocean at Swakopmund; spotting our first (desert) elephants in Twyfelfontein with a local villager as our guide; the drama and the privilege of watching wildlife at the waterholes in Etosha including giraffe and lions drinking from the same waterhole while keeping an eye on each other; our last view of the savannah watching the sun set and sipping our sundowners.
But not only this, the country is so much more than the usual tourist routes. It was great to top up with diesel fuel and stock up on supplies in towns such as Keetmanshoop, Aus, Outjo, Tsumeb, Otjiwaarongo and Okahandja, have a bite to eat and soak up the atmosphere of these, I think, typical African towns.
One or two things to note: arriving in Windhoek after long flights you may well feel a little weary and even sluggish and the effect can be exacerbated by the capital being at 1,600m altitude; the accommodation inside Etosha may not be at the same level as even immediately outside the Park; the quality of the C and D roads can be bad due to the 'washboard' surface but even so driving up the D707 on our way to Sesriem was a marvellous experience.
We hope to be back soon because, as with all the best destinations, we feel we've only scratched the surface - there's so much more to discover.
JP
Email Akira Kanamori | 65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Totally quiet holidays
Windhoek is nice city with somewhat Europeanized buildings. So sunny and dry. We spent 3 nights at the desert lodge watching quiet desert and strange looking trees. This is probably a bit different destination in Africa for tourists with distinct tastes.
