2-Week Self-Drive Namibia Road-Trip

After spending a year in my home country, it was time to start exploring again. Whenever I want to go abroad, Africa seems to always call to me. This time it was Namibia tugging on my heart. I've been to Namibia before but when I last visited, I spent the duration of my trip working on a sanctuary and didn't really get to see much of the country. Even without exploring the country, my Namibia trip was one of the best experiences of my life.
This time I was setting myself my most ambitious adventure yet: a 2 week road-trip round Namibia to aim to see as much of the country as possible. In my planned route, I was going to hit the sanctuary again before entering unchartered territory with Etosha National Park, the renowned (and albeit slightly eerie) Skeleton Coast and the towering red dunes of Sossusvlei.
So follow me on my journey round Namibia as I delve into a truly life-changing adventure.
Below is a chronological list of all my blog posts from this trip.
Landing in a Thunderstorm in Namibia – The Time Our Car Brakes Failed
I sat with my face pressed against the glass of the aeroplane, my camera in hand. I could feel my heart pounding with excitement as my eyes soaked in the vast landscape below. The world underneath us was a very different world from that which I had come from. There wasn't a settlement in sight… Read More
Monday, 20 November 2017
The Realities of Travel: Our Disastrous First Night in Namibia
I wasn't going to write this blog post. I felt it was just a little too personal to share. However, the words just seemed to tumble out and I like being completely honest with my readers. After over 24 hours of travel in order to reach Namibia, I honestly expected to sleep like a baby… Read More
Tuesday, 21 November 2017
A Morning at N/a’an ku sê Wildlife Sanctuary
I was there. I was in Namibia. After a very taxing day of travel, I unfortunately had a fitful night's sleep. I'm not sure how many hours I slept that night but I know I was up for around 2 or 3 in the middle of the night. I woke up to the sun scorching… Read More
Wednesday, 22 November 2017
Driving through the Scorching Namibian Desert with No Air-Con
On our first full day in Namibia we drove our rental car to the mechanic and handed back the keys to the rental company. How did this all come to be? Well, let's rewind a couple of hours to our joyous visit to N/a'an ku sê wildlife sanctuary. We were ecstatic after experiencing an incredibly… Read More
Friday, 24 November 2017
Hand-Feeding Ostriches & Getting Hopelessly Lost in Namibia
My first few days in Namibia certainly yielded a rollercoaster of emotions for me. Whilst everything from the landscape to the animals to the food and the people were fantastic, it' safe to say that a couple of things simply didn't go to plan. Let's have a quick recap in case you are new to… Read More
Friday, 1 December 2017
Accidentally Setting a Gas Canister Alight & Having a Mental Breakdown in Luxurious Onguma
I know what you're thinking - what the heck could this article possibly be about? Explosive and luxurious are two adjectives that you wouldn't really put in the same sentence as they are so different. Well, we rocked up at the Tamboti Luxury campsite at Onguma Fort late on a Sunday evening. I can see… Read More
Monday, 4 December 2017
Acing a Self-Drive Safari in Etosha National Park
The sun rose over our campsite in Onguma for a second and final time. Today was the day that we were leaving Onguma, situated just outside the eastern border to Etosha. Fortunately, we had managed to shift our plans and instead of staying all the way in Damaraland that night, we were hopefully going to… Read More
Thursday, 7 December 2017
Falling in Love with Damaraland: An Adventurer’s Dream
I was still buzzing after coming face to face with a wild lioness in Etosha National Park. I honestly didn't know how my road-trip would get any better. Seeing a wild lion has been on my bucket-list since I was a small child. Oh, and it was everything as fantastic as I thought it would… Read More
Wednesday, 13 December 2017
I Felt Like I Was On Another Planet: The Drive to the Skeleton Coast
Dawn light filtered through our tent. I emerged from my sleeping bag, a crumpled heap squashed up to one side of the tent. What a night. I'm not sure what was more scary: the lions roaring outside or that god-damn mosquito that thought it was funny to fly around my head all night. Fortunately, my… Read More
Tuesday, 19 December 2017
Disappointment at the Skeleton Coast: The Frustrating Side of Namibia
I was in the Skeleton Coast, my excitement almost bubbling over. For so long I had wanted to visit this treacherous stretch of coastline where numerous ships had fallen to their sandy graves, becoming prisoner to the heartless desert. Sometimes known as 'the gates of hell', this eerie coastline of Namibia has always tugged at… Read More
Thursday, 4 January 2018
Exploring Canyons in the Namib Desert
After not seeing any shipwrecks at the Skeleton coast, I was determined to hit the rest of our road-trip at full speed and really embrace every moment of it. I knew the next part of the trip would take us somewhere really exciting - OK, I know I've said that about everywhere in Namibia but… Read More
Saturday, 13 January 2018
The Time our Car Broke Down in the Middle of the Namib Desert
I opened the door to the car, the midday sun scorching down on my back. I wiped the sweat from my brow as I clambered into the car, burning my legs on the hot, black leather seats. I fumbled around for the key, clicked it into the ignition and turned it. The car gave a… Read More
Monday, 15 January 2018
Introducing Solitaire, My Favourite Town in Namibia!
And so the saga with the bees continued. I opened my sleepy eyes, safe within my roof-top tent. Outside I could hear insistent buzzing as bee after bee flew past our tent, some bashing into it. The Rostock Ritz campsite may be beautiful but damn, they have an awful bee problem! There are bees absolutely… Read More
Monday, 22 January 2018
Off-Roading Through the Dunes of Sossusvlei: A Namibia Highlight
Morning in the Namib desert. We made a speedy exit from the Gondwana Desert Camp in order to be at our next destination early. Today was a very exciting day. We were heading to the Sesriem campsite which is located within Sossusvlei National Park. If you haven't heard of Sossusvlei before, Sossusvlei is home to… Read More
Wednesday, 24 January 2018
Is The Namib-Naukluft Mountain Zebra Park Worth Visiting?
The Namib Naukluft Mountain Zebra Park - The Perfect Stop-Over Between Sossusvlei & Windhoek Read More
Friday, 26 January 2018
Losing my Wallet: Are Namibian Towns Safe?
I woke up to a cool breeze wafting through my tent. Brr. I clasped my sleeping bag harder, wondering if I'd woken up in Antarctica or something. It was certainly different from any other morning I'd experienced in Namibia so far. Normally the scorching heat would wake me and I'd frantically clamber out of my… Read More
Thursday, 1 February 2018
Lake Lake Oanob Resort: A Campsite Overrun with Cats
After an incredibly stressful morning, we finally arrived at the gates to our campsite. I was thrilled to discover the campsite was far enough away from the local town to be safe from anyone wandering around and that it was enclosed behind a large fence, a guard beside the entrance. I normally love immersing myself… Read More
Wednesday, 7 February 2018
We Were Nearly Robbed on Our Last Day in Namibia
The moment had arrived. It was time to embark on the last leg of our journey which involved a mere 1 hour drive from the Lake Onab campsite located just outside the town of 'Rehoboth', up through the capital city of Windhoek to our campsite. Tonight we were staying at the Trans Kalahari Inn campsite,… Read More
Thursday, 8 February 2018
Planning My Namibia Road-Trip
I was so excited in the run-up to my road trip that I actually wrote about my booking experience and the lessons learnt from it. These guides are actually super helpful. I go into everything from how to plan your itinerary, how to fight the bets flight details and everything you need to know about hiring a car in Namibia - it's harder than you think!
How to Plan a 14 Day Road Trip Around Namibia
Yep, you heard right - I am going back to Namibia. OK, I haven't actually booked my flights yet but I'm around 99% sure that I will be flying to Namibia before the end of this year and I couldn't be more excited. I have had several sleepless nights tossing and turning, my mind buzzing… Read More
Friday, 8 September 2017
How to Avoid Getting Ripped Off Buying Flights
I have just bought my flights to Namibia for this winter (hallelujah!) I wish I could say that it was a pleasant experience, after all, why shouldn't it be? When booking flights, we are booking tickets to visit a foreign country, an exciting and liberating experience. Therefore booking it should be filled with pleasure and… Read More
Friday, 15 September 2017
Guide to Choosing the Perfect Car for a Namibian Road-Trip
After booking my flights to Namibia (a horrible, stressful experience which you can read about here), it's now time to consider what car to rent for my 2-week road-trip round this fantastic African country. If you are road-tripping around any country, your vehicle is arguably more important than your accommodation as it will be taking… Read More
Sunday, 24 September 2017
A Tough Lesson: Why You Should Always Book in Advance
I considered amending my previous blog post on choosing the perfect car for a Namibian road-trip with the new information that I've learnt. However, after much deliberation I decided that what I've learnt today requires a post to itself and doesn't directly affect the content of my last post. You must read this post if… Read More
Monday, 25 September 2017