Fabio

Our 15 nights plans are now fixed as follows:

1. Windhoek
2. Kalahari Desert
3. Kalahari Desert
4. Sossuvslei
5. Sossuvslei
6. Swakopmund
7. Swakopmund
8. Swakopmund
9. Khorixas
10. Khorixas
11. Etosha Okaukuejo
12. Etosha Okaukuejo
13. Etosha Namutoni
14. Waterberg Plateau
15. Windhoek

From our original plans we have decided to save Vic Falls for the next trip. Then we were considering to add Fish River Canyon instead but considering the driving time to the extreme south with 2 children aged 11 and 4 we opted to save also Fish River Canyon for another trip and to spend more relaxing nights in central/north.

The lodge at Waterberg Plateau offers 2 daily game drives to the top of the plateau. Although the game drive is not excellent they say it is still worth while. Does anybody know whether or not we can do that game drive with our own sedan vehicle rather than with their organized tour ?

andybiggs

i recently arrived back home from a wonderful safari in Namibia, and perhaps my 2 cents of information is helpful for you from a photographic point of view.

My trip consisted of 4 main photographic locations:

1) Luderitz and Kolmanskop
2) Wolwedans and the Namib Rand
3) Sosussvlei
4) Serra Cafema

I led a group of 12 photographers on a photo workshop, and I have to say that all 4 locations are some of the best landscape photography in all of Africa. This is a fly in/fly out safari, so not exactly what your trip is going to look like, but the destinations are what matter.

Try to take some time and drive along the coast where the large dunes meet the sea. Some stunning scenery!

Take at least 2 days to do Sosussvlei.

I am not a huge fan of cities, as I prefer the more remote locations, so I would tend to discount some of cities for more than 1 night.

To get you excited about your trip, here is a link to some sample photographs from my safari:

http://www.andybiggs.com/namibia06/

I hope this helps!

Andy

divewop

Andy-
Absolutely stunning photos.

Where were the photos of house with the sand taken? I love the contrast of color of the walls against the sand in those shots.

Did you use your large format camera for most of the landscapes or the digital slr's?

And will you be doing another photo safari to Namibia?

johan_belgium

Andy,

Absolutely stunning photos. I was at Serra Cafema in June 2005 and tend to regard it as one of the top locations in Namibia.

Did you ever visit Palmwag Rhino camp?
It's my favorite destination in Namibia due to the combination of its roughed scenery and its amazing wildlife (black rhino/desert elephant and lions).

But like you know Namibia has so many things to offer and that's why I keep visiting it over and over again.

Greetings,

Johan

Fabio

Andy

your pictures are simply great and help me a lot to be even more convinced that I picked the right destinastion for my trip ! I can't wait to leave on June 12th !
By the other side this is a family trip with 2 kids and this limits the chances to have more freedom for a more rural vacation in remote areas !
This is also my first trip to Namibia but I am sure the first of many others.

Thank you again

fabio

Fabio

..... however town locations as Swakopmund and Khorixas are just hotel based locations for day trips. We are also not very much interested in towns

andybiggs

The location of the sand in the houses is a place called Kolmanskop, which is just outside of Luderitz. It is an amazing place to visit, and one of the richest few hours of photography in all of Namibia.

I am not planning on running any safaris to Namibia in 2006 or 2007, but the place absolutely blows me away. Most of my safaris are based in Tanzania, which is where my heart mostly lies, due to the rich wildlife of the Serengeti, Ngorongo, Selous and Ruaha.

Have an awesome time on your trip, Fabio!!

-Andy

Fabio

Andy

my favourite picture is the aerial view of the sand dunes along the coast !! Thank you !!

cybor

Andy,
I had to go back, yet again to view your extrordinary Nambian works of art. After seeing Johan's and your pics. I feel I must go to Nambia at some point with camera or my paints in hand. Would it too windy/hot etc. to paint there? Painting on location is the best.

Question:
What's the story (history) behind those house's? Why were these home's empty? Such mystery. Also, what can you tell me about your encounter with the tribeswoman?
Your photos are some of the most well done and incredibly beautiful photos I've seen.
Thanks for sharing!
Sherry

andybiggs

Sherry-

you are way too kind. Seriously.

Kolmanskop is a ghost town that was deserted many years ago when the diamonds dried up. There is a great book by Helga Kohl entitled "Kolmanskop, Past and Present". I purchased a copy in Luderitz, but I have also seen the book in Cape Town bookstores.

As far as the best time to go for painting, I would have to vote for April and May, which is my only experience. This isn't a great time for Etosha, however, so pick what you want to see and then determine the best time of the year to visit. Since I led a safari of hard core landscape photographers, it made more sense for me to drop Etosha from the itinerary and focus (haha) on the gorgeous scenery. My favorite landscape locations, in order:

Serra Cafema
Namib Rand
Sosussvlei

Since Kolmanskop is not a landscape destination, per se, I left it off of the short list. But it is an extremely unique location for photography, so I will always find a way to include it on a photographers' itinerary of Namibia.

My encounter with the Himba was quite fun, actually. Since many of the tribes througout Africa that are photographed live near lodges, roads or cities, one cannot avoid taking a photograph that hasn't already been done before. You should always focus on the cultural experience and have fun doing so. Good photography will come as a result of having fun on both sides. So I took a Polaroid camera with me, and took photographs of us and of the Himba women. I gave them the photos, and we had a good half hour of laughs and genuine smiles.

I hope this helps.

-Andy

cybor

Thanks Andy,
The ghost town is facinating - it did remind me of a post gold rush ghost town - more exotic though - looks like they left fast.

It did seem as though the tribesmen in your photos were relaxed - it looked like you were friends with them.
I'm real happy with a few shots of Maisai and Hadzbe that I recently took in my wanderings off the beaten path. I totally agree that these photos came out ok b/c we were telling jokes and being silly. I was so delighted that these total strangers could just be themselves and just go with the flow. We should all be so lucky to live like them.
Humor really does take the edge off doesn't it?
I look forward to seeing more of your work. Do keep us posted if/when you go back to Nambia.
Best;
Sherry

robertsmyth

Andy,
Wanted to add our thanks for sharing your remarkable photos! The room of sand and the dead trees are singular and haunting.

We make our first trip to Africa in three weeks - mainly SA and Zambia.

But your photos (and Johan's) have convinced us we must return to spend time in Namibia and Bostwana.

Fabio,
Looking forward to hearing about your trip. Have a terrific time!

Fabio

Hi Robert

I can't wait to leave... June 12th until 28th
For sure I will post my trip report, also thanks to the support I received from all of you on this forum !