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Suggested Travel Itinerary at present for Namibia in September

Suggested Travel Itinerary at present for Namibia in September

Old May 26th, 2008, 12:49 PM
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Suggested Travel Itinerary at present for Namibia in September



27 Sep – Arrive in Windhoek from Maun around 18.00
1 night stay at Olive Grove

28 Sep – Pick up the car and drive to Kulala Wilderness Camp and stay 2 nights

29 Sep- Kulala Wilderness Camp

30 Sep –Sawkopmund 2 nights

02 Oct – Doro Nawas 2 nights

04 Oct – Etosha, Okaukuejo Rest Camp 2 nights

06 Oct - Erongo Wilderness Camp 2 nights

08 Oct - Drive to Windhoek and fly out in the evening.
At present none of these places are reserved but the agent thinks that we should do it soon.

BUT
We have been thinking over the above itinerary and here are some of the things we have come up with:

The main interests in our trip are Wild life, Landscape, Desert and the Dunes.

1. 27 Sep: Assuming we arrive on time in WDH is it possible to pick up the car and drive away from WDH to somewhere else?
What time does is it get dark in Sep? If it’s not possible to drive on, then we will stay in WDH as suggested.

2. 28 Sep: (1or 2 nights??) Africat at Okonjima Main Lodge

3. 29 Sep: (1 night) Halali Rest Camp

4. 30 Sep: (2 nights) Okaukuejo Rest Camp

5. 02 Oct: (2 nights) Doro Nawas or Damaraland Camp
On leaving here we are thinking driving on C39 and C34 along the coast, as we would like to visit the Seal Colony at Cape Cross.
Is this feasible or should we take C35 and C34?

6. 04 Oct: (1 night) Swakopmund . Not really bothered about boat trips etc.

7. 05 Oct: (2or 3 nights??) Kalula Wilderness camp
8. Return to WDH and depart Cape Town in the evening

We would like any of your generous suggestions and input to get the best out this very short trip to Namibia and make it memorable.

So, please feel free to suggest anything to better the above itinerary.
Thank you very much for your time.

Rundu is offline  
Old May 26th, 2008, 01:24 PM
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Rundu,

We did a 2 week self-drive trip in Namibia in 2002. There will be people who've been there more recently, but here are my comments:

It is not likely that they will let you pick the car up and drive it at night. We were delayed, so had to stay in Windhoek and pick the car up the following morning. I learnt from this to make sure that I didn't book us into the most expensive place of the trip on the first night - we were supposed to have stayed at Okonjima!

We wouldn't stay at Halali restcamp if we return - we found the areas around Okaukuejo and Namutoni much more productive for game viewing. Okaukuejo also has the famous waterhole of course.

The seals at Cape Cross were one of the highlights of our trip, but we didn't go to Damaraland so can't advise on roads etc. Just don't miss them out!

We stayed at Okonjima Bush Camp. Very popular here, but not really our thing as you are very much organised into fitting in to their itinerary. Also, the cheetah are collared so not great for photography.

If you like seabirds, consider staying in Walvis Bay rather than Swakopmund.

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Old May 26th, 2008, 08:27 PM
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We did a self-drive somewhat similar to your second itinerary in 2005 except it was shorter. We only had 8 days and we did not go to Darmalaland. It sounds good.

You are arriving too late to drive. Sun will go down around 19:00. (I use the website timeanddate.com for finding sunset times). We arrived at 1pm (13:00) from Capetown and we were able to drive to Waterburg Reserve before sundown. Okonjima is just about the same distance (3 hour drive).

We stayed 2 nights at Halali. It was good for us because we were able to do half of the park one day and the other half the next day. The food not great - a buffet. I think they have remodeled the camps since our visit. Also there is a waterhole at Halali. Our first night, we didn't see much but our second night was outstanding. We saw a mother and baby black rhino, a group of mother elephants and their kids. We only had two nights in Etosha but we would have loved to stay longer.

I don't have any experience Damaraland or the Seal Colony so I can't advise on the roads. We drove from Etosha to Erongo for one night to break up the drive, Swakopmund for one night and then to Sossusvlei. It is a long drive from Kulala to WDH.

If you are interested, we have pictures on our website - martageorge.com.

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Old May 26th, 2008, 11:31 PM
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Hi Rundu -- my R0.02:

- The airport is about 35km east of Windhoek, so I recommend you collect your car on arrival and drive in to the city yourself (a simple drive to do) as opposed to paying a fortune for the transfer.

- you will arrive in Windhoek around 7pm or so, and I recommend you go to the amazing Hotel Heinitzburg (Relais & Chateaux) for dinner, a drink or coffee and enjoy gorgeous nighttime views over the city. Generally speaking, try to avoid driving at night as the roads are demanding enough during the day!

- I think you'll have a hard time getting a booking at the rest camps inside Etosha at this date. Be prepared to look at options outside the park.

- The C34 north of Mile 108 takes you into the Skeleton Coast Park for which you'll need a permit. I don't know how those are allocated these days, and whether you can get a 'through' permit or just what the requirements are. The C34 road is decent, but can be slippery if there's fog. If you were to take the C35 instead through Uis, that's a good stretch, but Uis to Khorixas was horribly punishing when I last drove it about a year ago. Regardless, your drive from Swakopmund to Doro Nawas will be a long day on the road.

- If you can swing 3 nights at Kulala WC, you should and fit in the hot air balloon ride.

- Walvis Bay is lacking in character, particularly compared with Swakopmund. The drive between the two is 20-30 minutes, so it's easy to see sea birds either way. I recommend 2 nights in Swakopmund, otherwise it will simply be a place to sleep for you (as you have long drives before and after...). Consider doing a birding excursion to Sandwich Bay.

HTH

Kurt
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Old May 27th, 2008, 12:47 AM
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duh, I didn't see that this was your continuation of the previous thread, Rundu, until after I had written my comments. Sorry for the bit of redundancy.
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Old May 27th, 2008, 12:47 AM
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Hi Rundu,

I would recommend a visit to Africat - I stayed there for 2 nights in 2005 and really enjoyed it, my photos are at http://picasaweb.google.com/Treepol/OkonjimaAfricat2005

It would be good to manage 1-2 nights in Etosha hopefully at Okaukeujo which has the best waterhole for game viewing.

If you have to stay outside the park, you could try Hobatere Lodge http://resafrica.net/hobatere-lodge/ in Damaraland to the west of Etosha. Steve Brain and his family run the Lodge and sizeable concession. Steve is a well known ornithologist and has an interest in reptiles. I believe he has a small reptile house at Hobatere so that visitors can see reptiles that are difficult to find in the wild. Not sure about driving distance from Hobatere to Cape Cross.

Swakopmund is a great r 'n' r spot as previously posted. I would think that 2 nights in the dunes were plenty depending on your interest in this habitat of course. There is a lodge near the airport called Etango http://www.etangoranch.com/ which you might prefer to being in Windhoek, and also another Lodge called Eningu Clayhouse http://www.eningulodge.com/index7.htmabout 60Km from the airport that offers game walks and looks like a good option for a final night in Namibia.

Happy planning,

Pol.
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Old May 27th, 2008, 12:59 AM
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Hi Rundu,

In Aug 2007 we did a 13-night trip combining self-drive (9 days) and small airplane, with an itinerary similar to yours: Windhoek- kulala- swakopmund- terrace bay- twyfelfontein- Etosha (stayed at Epacha and Mokuti as everything else was full)- Mt Etjo- Windhoek.

Like everyone else said, definitely do NOT drive at night, so the first night you have to spend in Windhoek. A good place for dinner is Joe Beer’s House, quite touristy but with a great atmosphere, good food and interesting decoration.

In Kulala we stayed at the Desert Lodge, which is near the Kulala Wilderness Camp. It is a great place to stay, it has a private direct access into the Sossusvlei park, although I doubt they’ll let you self-drive through it (this was the part of the trip where we flew, so I don’t know for sure), so you may have to either go with a guide from the camp to see the dunes or drive all the way around to the front gate of the park. When we were there, they mentioned that the authorities wanted to close down their private access to the park, so double check with them before booking.

If you are not interested in adrenaline activities (sandboarding, quads, scenic flights etc) I wouldn’t stay more than 1 night in Swakopmund, unless you do the excursion to Sandwich Harbor (which everyone says is great). IMO, you can see all Swakopmund has to offer in a 2 hour stroll around town, it’s a very small city. For dinner, I strongly recommend the Grapevine (great wine, mix of locals & tourists) or the more touristy Tug (good seafood).

Driving between the Twyfelfontein area and Swakopmund in one day can be done, but it will surely take you a full day without much time to stop (and I’m sure you’ll want to spend some time at Cape Cross, so start very early). C39 is a gravel road, it was in a very acceptable condition when we drove on it, you can average almost 80km/hr on it driving safely. If I remember correctly, C34 is also gravel inside the SC park, and from it to Swakopmund it is a harder surface (not tar, though it feels like it, it’s more like a hardened mix of mud and salt) and a very straight road, so you can even go a little faster. But I wouldn’t go over 100km/hr as roads in Namibia are unpredictable with frequent bumps and unexpected turns, so watch out.

It’s true you need a permit to got through the SC park. We got it at the south gate without a problem because we had a reservation in Terrace Bay, but according to the Footprint guide you can just as easily get a “drive through” permit to enter through one gate and exit through the other, as long as you enter the park before 3pm.

We loved the drive through the SC park, although it was a bit spooky: we didn’t see any sign of civilization, cars nor people for like 150km, so my wife was getting a bit worried. Going to Terrace Bay feels like going to the end of the world, we were the only guests there along with a german couple. The highlights of our drive were: the Uniab delta (near terrace bay); a field of weltwitschias off C39 (not far from the junction with C34); seeing the dunes in the distance (great photos); a jackal carrying a dead cormoran as we entered TB; and a small wreck near the south entrance of the park.

In Etosha, we stopped to check out the three camps inside the Park. Okaukuejo and Halali had just been refurbished and looked great, especially Okaukuejo (the waterhole is incredible). Namutoni seemed much older and run down, looked like they were about to start refurbishing it.

Enjoy the trip!
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Old May 27th, 2008, 01:26 AM
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For the curious, photos from 2007 from Okonjima, Etosha, Swakopmund, Sandwich Bay, Brandberg, Twyfelfontein, Kulala WC can be seen at

http://picasaweb.google.com/stonesou...ey=skaX3N1hXJ8

Kurt
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Old May 27th, 2008, 04:54 PM
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"We stayed at Okonjima Bush Camp. Very popular here, but not really our thing as you are very much organised into fitting in to their itinerary. Also, the cheetah are collared so not great for photography."

I personally don't agree with this comment from Wingi, we loved our trip to Okonjima - so much so we returned for a second unscheduled stay at the end of our trip and returned again the next year. You can see what they call the 'welfare' cheetahs (can't be released for various reasons)without radio collars and the photo opportunities are fantastic. You can go on a bush walk on your own if you prefer not to do an organised activity, but we found all the activities worthwhile. We were so impressed with Africat's work we have adopted one of their leopards, and will be back to see her again this year (making a special detour on the way to Botswana!)
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Old May 28th, 2008, 12:44 AM
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tockoloshe,

What you say confirms what I said - that Okonjima is 'very popular here'.

However, as Rundu seems to be deciding whether or not to include it in his/her itinerary - it isn't in the first one - I don't think it's unreasonable to tell him/her our view.

We felt over-organised there and did not have good opportunities for photographing the cheetahs - we did get some very good raptor shots tho'.

But... they do very good work there, and the accommodation and food are excellent. I fully understand why it is popular.

We are all different, and it's up to Rundu to decide where s/he goes.
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Old May 28th, 2008, 12:59 AM
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Sorry Wingi, didn't mean to seem confrontational, but as you said, presenting a different view - you said you hadn't got good cheetah shots so I wanted to say that we had the opportunity, that's all! Of course Rundu can decide.
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Old May 28th, 2008, 01:36 AM
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It's okay, tocko, I had a similar experience when my favourite place to stay was criticised on another thread.

I nearly fired back in defence of it - then decided, what the heck! If a few people are deterred because of a negative post, that leaves more room for the people who really want to go there! (It has a big fan base like Okonjima, so won't suffer).

Vive la difference!!!
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Old May 28th, 2008, 01:53 AM
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I agree that it's important to highlight the differences. (and I also get pissed off and have to restrain myself - not always successful - when someone doesn't agree with my opinions about a particular place...I suspect we all do.)

Okonjima is a conservation facility, not a game reserve or national park. They work with leopards, cheetah, wild dogs and other animals, and touring their facilities is at least as much a part of the experience as seeing the cats - collared or not.

If this is not your thing, or doesn't appeal, then you shouldn't go, but you should definitely be aware that it is a different kind of game experience.

I should also add that the birding at Okonjima was exceptional, particularly at the mini feeders near the private rondavels (seed/feed provided gratis and stocked in each room), but also on the walking paths. It's also where I saw elephant shrews, several species of owls, porcupines, honey badgers and other animals.

HTH

Kurt
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Old May 28th, 2008, 01:55 AM
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...and the only aardvark I've ever seen during daylight. Two, in fact.
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Old May 28th, 2008, 02:03 AM
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Very envious of your aardvarks! Would love to see one!
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Old Jun 2nd, 2008, 10:55 AM
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Hello, Thank you very much to you all for replying to my post and to the links to your photos. They are all very good.

Wingi: Thank you for that valuable tip and we will look for a cheaper place to stay the night in WDH. Sorry, to have started a "cat fight" ,so to speak, amongst you all! I think it raised a good point as Kurt points out too, stating a different point of view of a place. Anyway, wife wants to adopt a Cheetah and I want to see that Aardvark!!

Travelforflowers: Thank you for the timeanddate info. Do you know what? I have the sun clock as a widget on my desktop but I simply forgot its there!

Kurt: Thank you for the very informative post. Whichever way we do the trip, we will only go as far as the Seal Colony, but no further on the SC and we think that Brandburg route would be more interesting. Thanks for promoting Swakop but we only want to stay one night there! I really hope that Aardvark will turn up when we get to Okonjima!!

Pol: I heard good things about Hobatere Lodge and half tempted to cut a night out at KWC but not quite decided on that yet.
Torrem: Thats all I want to do in Swakop, have a rest and just a quick stroll and drive on, shh! but don't tell that to Kurt!! We will check the KWC access situation: a very good point.

Tocko: Wife has seen it on the Discovery Channel: so Okonjima it is!

Thanks again for taking time to reply.
Regards
Rundu


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Old Jun 2nd, 2008, 11:45 AM
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if i were in your shoes i definately would pick up the car on arrival and drive to a guest house n ear windhoek in order to safe the taxi, it's not difficult to drive and the car rental company most definately would not oppose to that.
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