Any information about accomodation around this area...?
we intended to drive from wke to the boerder...and choose between Epupa Falls Camp (or other) and Kunene River Lodge?
Any help?

Kunene River Lodge is 100 kms East of Epupa Falls. Between Epupa Falls and Kunene Lodge is a rugged 4x4 track along the river. If not patient, experienced 4x4 driver and a single vehicle, go the back to Opuwa and then to the Lodge. At the Kuenene lodge there is a considerable amount of birds. Good location. Directly at Epupa Falls, on the river is the Himba campsite-one of the $5 approx variety-bush showers/abulutions. It was quite nice the last couple times I was there, but things change and it is popular now. One campsite is at the lip of the falls on a pool of quiet water. There are crocs, but if water low, nice and cool place to hang out. Above the Falls within walking distance and close the the Himba village is Epupa Camp. I didn't stay there, but had dinner with the managers several years ago. It was quite nice.

This is one time, if the campsite is still well maintained I recommend staying at the Himba Camp, next to the river and the roar of the falls. The place is magic.

I flew an ultra lite over the falls in the 90's. The falls are far bigger then what you see from most vantage points and worth it to see from the air.

Remember, there are no services of any type till back at Opuwa or Ruacana. Fuel is a problem currently in Namibia and even Botswana. So top off any opportunity you have-no B.S.

I may skip Kunene Lodge, and drive from Opuwa to Epupa Falls...
Did you know anythingh about Omarunga Lodge?
I will check Himba Camp.
What about Ruacana? it´s a place to visit?
Tks

I have zero knowledge to offer about Omarunga Lodge. Good idea to miss the Kunene River Lodge and Ruacana can be a miss too. Can't say there is anything memorable about the place. Looked at the campsite and a couple 'guide book must sees' and decided to move on in short order.

I will reinterate that you should look into the current fuel situation in Namibia. There have been reports of fuel stations running out. SA is getting priority over neighboring countries in their current situation from what I understand. I'm not there, but it has been a frequent topic on an SA overlander email list. If Opuwa runs out, will you have fuel to carry on to the next station?

luangwablondes,

Just wondering if you know how severe this fuel shortage is in Namibia? We will be doing a self-drive trip for the better part of 3 weeks in June '06 and then a fly in portion afterwards to a couple of the more remote camps.

Is this situation country wide and do you happen to know what areas seem to have the most problems acquiring fuel? I'm hoping this won't be a serious concern during our upcoming trip. Thanks.

It seems to be related to the mandated switching by refinerys from leaded to unleaded by the 1st of the year. So, the situation should be resolved by the middle of next year. Unless the refinerys were at capacity before the switch. The process in production of unleaded fuel is lower on a barrel of oil then the yield on leaded fuel or so I am told. It has also effected diesel production.

In otherwords, wait a month and see what the New Year brings. I wouldn't worry at this time.

On the vehicle you are renting, check to see the engine it has. You want diesel. Better mileage. Fuel stations can be far apart depending on where you are going. In Northern part of Namibia and Botswana it is especially apparent.
Check also the size of the fuel tanks and if they offer jerry cans. If you are not going North and West of Etosha or Botswana, you should be alright. But, with the cost of fuel, I would still want a diesel. An additional plus is the extra torque at low speeds. Great for deep sand.

luangwablondes,

Thank you for the additional info and explanation of the fuel situation. Fortunately we have been able to secure a diesel Land Rover for the trip which should have a fairly large tank capacity and will be good for most road conditions we might encounter. I will be hopeful that the fuel problems will be resolved by the time we leave for Africa.

We will be driving to Etosha and from there we head into Damaraland before heading to the coast and down to Swakopmund and the Sossusvlei region. Our fly in portions take us to the Skeleton Coast Camp and then to the far north to Serra Cafema on the Kunene River. We are very much looking forward to this trip. It will be our second time visiting Africa. Our first trip was spent mainly in Botswana with a short time in Namibia and S.A.

DJE-

Please report back on your Namibia adventures. My husband and I would love to do the trip you are describing. May I ask if you arranged this on your own or what agency you used?

Safe travels,
Cruisinred

DJE

Get a garmin map capable gps with mapsource-check memory to handle the map. Check out www.tracks4africa.com and then purchase the t4a pro map download for Namibia. Extremely cheap, but these are absolutely the best maps available. It has current, read current information on just about anything you would need to know when navigating Nam, and is updated constantly and reviewed for accuracy by its contributors. You will not believe it. Need to know fuel stations, parks, roads, points of interest, campsites, all the twists and turns, paved, sandy, graded roads, city detailed streets and the list goes on.

There is an email forum list if you have questions or they have people to contact with those questions on maps/gps.

To bad you are not making the drive to Hartmanns Valley. But it isn't a place to go on your own. Have you looked at the possibility of going to Epupa Falls. You will be so close. There is an airstrip about 7 kms from the falls and a couple bush lodges/campsites on the river. If the planned hydroelectric project becomes a reality, it maybe your last opportunity to see the falls.

cruisinred,

For this trip we planned out an itinerary and the places we were interested in staying etc. and had an agent do the booking. I did a lot of research on the net and used various Africa sites for information. A couple that I found to be quite helpful for Namibia are called The Cardboard Box Travel Shop and Africa Travel Resource.

luangwablondes.

Thank you again for the info on maps and navigation. I will look into this as I'm sure it will be very helpful. I will do some research on Epupa Falls as well.