Ethiopia and Namibia
 

HI
My husband and I ( in 60's ) want to do a 10 day trip in Ethiopia visiting tribes people and then about 10 days in Namibia visiting the sand dunes .
We do not want to travel by light planes as get claustrophobic so wonder if anyone has done driving trips and what itinerary and distances are involved,
We have travelled through Botwana , Rwanda Kenya so have done quite a few safari's and are looking for something different to experience. Also which would be the best time of year to go to avoid too hot or wet weather times.
Any advice appreciated
Mooky

The Omo valley is a very long days drive from Addis. I flew both ways but the guides drove to bring camping supplies. Hotels are pretty rudimentary but seeing all the cultures was one of my best trips. Be sure and have a guide to negotiate the photography or it gets very complicated. I went in November so perfect weather. I can recommend a very good guide if you need one

I was in the dunes in Nanibia in their winter. Cool nights and moderately warm days. Personally, I would do 2 separate trips. Very different parts of the world and very different experiences. One is for people, other for environment. I did 2 weeks in Namibia, two in Ethiopia.

Hi Kim
Thanks for that---what sort of plane did you take----was it a small plane?
Is the Omo valley the main area to visit. I love photography of people so would be fantastic.
In namibia could you drive to the destinations or do you need to fly
Thanks John

You can definitely drive in Namibia. We did a 2 week all drive trip in 2007. My trip report has drive times http://www.fodors.com/community/afri...uth-africa.cfm

Hi. We took a quick one week vacation to Namibia two summers ago. Though I would have loved to have stayed longer, we had previously been in South Africa. Even so we covered a lot of ground, staying 1 night in Swakopmund to sand board, 3 nights in Sousselvlei for the dunes and 3 nights in Damaraland for the desert elephants. We drove (or were driven) the entire way except for our return from Damaraland back to Swak, where we flew because of timing. The true pleasure of Namibia is driving. The country is so vast and beautiful. We had every intention of doing a self-drive except for the very small thing of not knowing how to drive a stick (smile). If I did it again, I would stay 2 weeks adding in Etosha, more time on the coast and more time in Damaraland and/or Kaokoland for the rhinos. Check out Cardboard Box for great info and possibly to help plan though many people do it themselves. I used Gemma Dry who I would recommend. She's an expert on TA for Namibia. Enjoy.

We flew to Abu Minsch on a "normal" Ethiopia airlines plane (737?) from Addis. No big deal. Then we drove around seeing the markets and tribes including the Hamer bull jumping ceremony that I still think about!! We camped luxuriously in the Western area because our guides thought the hotels there were not appropriate. We flew a 10 seater back to Addis as no scheduled flights from that area. We flew with the flamingos on the way back over the lakes

You need to understand that smaller planes are not more dangerous than large planes or driving on the freeway. Take a Xanax and enjoy it!!

Oh to answer other question, Omo Valley better photography for more typical African ethnicity. Rest of Ethiopia a different ethnic group but very beautiful if you can find them in rural areas and not in jeans. The most beautiful Ethiopian lady I saw was in a hotel elevator dressed in evening clothes for her brothers wedding. The Sheraton on a Saturday night is a great place to people watch at the lavish weddings that go on there. Don't miss the grooms family dancing around the go away limo

We drove from Addis to the Omo Valley. It was a long way and very, very slow driving. But that was in 2011. And roads were being built/worked on while we were there so I'm sure they are better now.

Are you doing self drive? However long it takes, it is worth it!

Here are some pics from my trip. We camped when there weren't any hotels and stayed in hotels when there were. I posted a trip report http://safaritalk.net/topic/7566-ethiopia/