South Africa and Namibia, where to start?
 

It's dear husband's turn to plan a trip. We sat next to a couple from France in a restaurant in El Calafate, Argentina last Nov, that spoke about Namibia in glowing terms. Now my husband dreams of a trip there.

I guess first consideration would be what's the best time of year. We're retired, and usually travel in the off months to stay longer and have a less expensive trip. We would probably stay a month, since it's a long way from Seattle and almost anywhere else.

What places wouldn't you miss? We don't need luxury, just clean and safe. We'd like to see some animals and probably take some short tours. Husband seems to want to drive part of the time. Do they have an age limit for car rentals? Which parks or lodges, etc. are special? I would like to visit an island/ islands that have good beaches. Can you swim there the whole year?

Don't know where to start on this trip so any help would be appreciated.

Won't you have an interesting answer when you are asked at some point (or several points) during your monthlong stay in Nambia, "What made you decide on Namibia?"

The French and Argentinians will be to blame.

I've only investigated Namibia and not traveled there yet, but have found
Cardboard Box to be very helpful, responsive, prompt, professional.
http://www.namibian.org/

Others on the forum have used them too. The name is odd.

If you type Namibia in the search box you can find some trip reports that describe various destinations in detail.

This report is just Namibia but it is self drive. A family with children.
http://fodors.com/forums/threadselec...p;tid=34839668

Many of these combine Namibia with Botswana. If you have a month you may wish to add Botswana, but you also may need a generous budget.
http://fodors.com/forums/threadselec...mp;tid=1305130
http://fodors.com/forums/threadselec...p;tid=34919434
http //fodors.com/forums/threadselect.jsp?fid=4&tid=34905132
http://fodors.com/forums/threadselec...p;tid=34867045

granny:

Here's a link to another Namibia trip report, half of which was self-drive. Arrangements were also made through Cardboard Box.

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34632364

CW

Thanks so much you two. I'll check out those websites.

Well here is our trip so far. We have reservations except for the Vingerklip area. Most popular places seem to be reserved. If anyone has a suggestion for a smaller place, where we could tour around this area, I'd appreciate hearing from you.

Sept 28 Klein Windhoek B & B
" 29 Sylvanette Guest House, Okahandja

Sept 30 Bernabe de la bat - Waterberg
Oct 1 "

Oct 2 Okaukuejo - Etosha
3 Halai
4 "
5 Namutoni
6 "

Oct 7 Mushara
8 "

Oct 9 Hobatere
10 "

Oct 11 somewhere in the Vingerklip
12 area

Oct 13 Cape Cross

Oct 14 Sea Breeze Inn
15 "

Oct 16 Betesday Rest Camp - we were lucky to even get in here, everything is booked for miles
17 "

Oct 18 Bagatelle
19 "

Oct 20 Klein Windhoek B & B
21 " thought we'd just rest up for the last 8 nights in Cape Town.

How does this look? Is there any area we shouldn't miss? My dh wanted to see Fish Canyon, but it's a long drive there and back.

Now I can start the Cape Town portion? I think that will be a lot easier.

Granny,

May I make a small suggestion? It looks like you have only one night at Okaukejo in Etosha. In my opinion, I would spend 2 nights there rather than 2 nights at either Halali or Namutoni. I think that the water hole outside Okaukejo is the best in the park by far in terms of wildlife viewing. Just my 2 cents.

Gritty,
We were so lucky to get any nights in Etosha and those were the only ones available! We based our whole trip around those accommodations because Etosha was the place we most wanted to visit. So we took what we could get! Thanks for your comment though.

When were you there? Does the rest of the itinerary seem drivable?

It sounds as if you're already booked, but we stayed at a lovely guest farm outside of Windhoek, Ondakaremba--it's a lovely lodge very close to the international airport--but from what I saw, there's not much to do in Windhoek. The grounds are beautiful, the cottages very pleasant, and the food excellent. It caters mainly to Germans, but the owners have been in Namibia since the turn of the century, and have a lot of history to share.

Granny,

Sorry--I missed the part where you said you were booked. I'm sure you'll have an excellent time. I really enjoyed Etosha. I was there for a really short trip in early Sept. 2005--I just visited Etosha, so I can't really comment about the rest of your itinerary. However, as you may have noticed from some of the other posts in this thread, Namibia is easy to self-drive. Just watch your speed on those gravel roads--I've read too many stories of people taking turns too fast on them and rolling their cars!