IT
35-50 years of age
Diverse, absolutely incredible, and a very differnet safari destination
Having already enjoyed safaris in Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, and South Africa, we were looking forward to a different experience in Namibia, and we certainly weren’t disappointed.
Just like South Africa, it’s easy to do a self-drive trip in Namibia. The roads are good, there isn’t a lot of traffic, and the parks are relatively quiet in comparison to some of the other countries we had visited. We travelled in January, the ‘rainy season’, which meant even fewer visitors, quiet campsites, and some fantastic experiences. In hindsight, perhaps a bushcamper would have provided a little more comfort during some of the storms, rather than our Toyota Hi-Lux with rooftop tent, but did we regret it ? Not one bit !
We had some incredible experiences in Etosha National Park, coming close to cheetah, lion, and the most spectacular sight, a Leopard stalking a Kudu within a few feet of us. It was just us, there was no one else around, and there she was right at the side of the road, we sat with her for over half an hour, but in the end, she knew that the terrain wasn’t right and walked right past us.
But it wasn’t just big game, out on the Skeleton Coast at Cape Cross we saw thousands upon thousands of eared seals, some just born, huddled at the waters edge, and basking in the sunshine. The smell was overpowering, but after a while, we didn’t seem to notice. We left the seals and drove along the coast passing shipwrecks along the way to the famous dunes of Swakopmund.
From here it was another journey further south to the even bigger dunes of Sosssusvlei. Our trusty 4x4 was a significant advantage here, there was no need to take a shuttle to the furthest dunes, we could drive ourselves and enjoy a picnic under the ancient trees.
Namibia is a diverse and beautiful country, the oldest sand dunes in the world, the Atlantic Ocean, national parks, and the Big 5 game, all combine to make this a great place to do a self-drive safari.
NL
35-50 years of age
Review about Tanzania by Ron van de Leijgraaf
Everything you ever want from a safari can be found in Tanzania. The scenery really gives you the true African feel and you can find wildlife almost everywhere.
US
20-35 years of age
Review about Botswana by lfostvedt
My impression is the delta is hit or miss. It will either be the most amazing safari in africa or a real disappointment. It all depends on the wildlife that is on the islands you visit for your nature walks.
Adventurous Self Traveller? Get off the beaten track in Zim.
Zimbabwe? Are you mad?! You'll get killed!
That was pretty much the standard answer when we told people that we were spending our summer holiday in Zim. We being me, my wife, my Father in Law and two children, 8 and 10. My wife had been born there "back in the day" and so we were making a trip down memory lane as well as spending some time in South Africa and Botswana.
Our first exposure to Zim was the border crossing at Beitbridge. We had been warned it would be difficult and would take a while to get through. Three and a half torturous hours later (including the time and cash it took to temporarily import our hire car and write down the serial numbers of the money we paid our visa fees with) and we were in country.
We spent some time visiting old haunts and so it was a few days before our first trip to a national park proper, Matopas (also known as Matobo). As always with national parks in Zim we were met at a guarded gate by a pair of uniformed officials. And as always they were friendly, polite and honest - one enthused about how wonderful it was that we had come all the way from Ireland to his country and the other listing all the Irish soccer players he knew! Once we had found out that we supported the same team we were friends for life!
We made the well worn trek up to the heights to visit Rhodes grave and were rewarded with some of the most spectacular views across raw bush that looked like it hadn't changed in thousands of years and from there we followed the route through the park recommended by my new best buddies at the gate. The viewing was partly restricted by the time of day but we saw the usual small game - impala in particular are very common in the area. Other than that we had some close encounters with giraffe and several large herds of elephants, including at least two nursing mothers. The scenery in the park itself was also outstanding - the trip down around the dam is a must. One warning though - many of the roads are tar but we branched off onto the "Scenic Route" which was a dirt track and it quickly deteriorated to the point where our standard jeep couldn't go on and we had to turn in the bush - a larger 4x4 such as a Land Cruiser could have coped but do be wary if you are in anything smaller (we were in an X-Trail). I have been told by several people that the largest concentration of wild leopard in the world are in the park but we didn't see any.
We then carried on to Antelope Park, a lion rehabilitation centre near Gweru. It's not a safari experience in the truest sense but it is well worth a detour for the experience.
Our next proper camp experience was at Miombo Lodge on the edge of Hwange National Park. This is a Lodge that has recently changed hands and the treehouses were undergoing renovation during our trip. That said I have rarely had a friendlier welcome and I would recommend this camp without hesitation - great food and atmosphere. One of it's best features is the waterhole just on the edge of the property and early in the morning we had a knock on the door from the owner to tell us that water buffalo were on their way to drink barely 200 yards from our room door - a very nice way to start the day!
Hwange itself we barely scratched the surface of as we were on a pretty tight schedule to see friends but it was much the same as Matopas - zebra, giraffe, lots of small game and herds of elephants. I should point out that we were self driving and self guiding and someone who knew the area better may well have seen more.
We rounded off the Zim leg with a short stay at the superb Elephant Camp in Victoria Falls - probably the highlight of the entire trip. It's an astoundingly high quality camp with fantastic lodging and world class food. Best of all was using the "bush shower" on our private veranda (complete with plunge pool) as the sun rose over the Zambezi and with the spray of the falls in the distance while a herd of wild Water Buffalo wandered through the bush just a few hundred meters away. And we did have a close encounter with a cheetah that most of our friends refuse to believe...!
We chose to set our own itinerary and travel independently through Zim and it was a pleasure and surprisingly easy. We paid in advance using Paypal and Bank Transfers to minimise costs and cash/bank risks in country. Travel throughout the country was on fairly well maintained and clearly signposted roads and we had very few issues with navigation although I wouldn't recommend driving at night. Fuel was reasonable and plentiful and everyone we met, from petrol station attendants to street vendors and lodge or park staff were friendly and polite. The food was of a high standard and fresh.
We didn't do a standard tour at any point in Zim so I can't comment on how organised trips and tourists are treated or what they are like but I would highly rate and recommend it for an independent safari traveller who is looking for a destination that isn't overrun and where you have more chance of seeing animals than other peoples backs!
CA
20-35 years of age
Review about Hwange National Park by thepaperchef
Leon Varley Walking Safari--great, knowledgeable, friendly guide with decent accommodation and food. A treat to walk in the bush be on the same eye level with the animals.
CA
20-35 years of age
Review about Zambezi National Park by thepaperchef
Great wildlife, stunning scenery, fantastic guides--was in the park as part of our canoe safari tour down the Zambezi River.
CA
20-35 years of age
Review about Mana Pools National Park by thepaperchef
Highlight of the country, without a doubt. Stunning river scenery and unparalleled wildlife, with the best canoe safari guides in the world at Natureways. Hands-on safari, with tent set-up and paddling, but plenty of time to relax and take photos. Food was too good--we gained weight!! Would recommended above all else.
IT
35-50 years of age
Review about Damaraland by AlmostPerfect
Damaraland is rather barren and dusty, the wildlife are the illusive Desert Elephant (which we did not see) however, we were the only people staying at our campsite so had all the facilities to ourselves.
IT
35-50 years of age
Review about Namib-Naukluft National Park by AlmostPerfect
The Namib Naukluft is more about scenery than animals, dunes, mountains and some very beautiful flowers after the rain.
IT
35-50 years of age
Review about Etosha National Park by AlmostPerfect
This is the most visited park for wildlife in Namibia and therefore more tourists (less in the rainy season) the sites within the park have good facilities and filling stations.