"As you predicted, we had a great time in Namibia and Botswana. South African Airways was excellent--comfortable seats, long legroom, good food, free drinks and good service. The effect was a bit spoiled by the fact that Nancy's suitcase was lost at Heathrow and chewed up in the conveyor system.
It was returned to us in Windhoek, unfortunately after we had left, so we were without it for two weeks. Also we cannot understand why we had to wait
5 hours in Johannesburg when there were 2 flights direct to Windhoek between our arrival in the airport and our departure from it. However we did arrive on time in Windhoek and spent an enjoyable day and a half with our friends.
Budget Rent a Car did not have the car we ordered but gave us a Nissan double cab as a free upgrade. We would honestly advise future travellers to take a double cab. We kept all our luggage, picnics, drinks, cameras, binoculars etc on the back seat. It would have been very inconvenient to have had to get out and open the back compartment everytime we wanted one of these items. We are very glad we took the 4WD feature. Although we only needed it twice, it got us out of serious holes/sand. Also renters should be advised to lower their tyre pressure if driving on sand as even 4WD alone won't dig you out. In general the roads were pretty good but beware of being lulled into any sense of security as occasionally a rock will appear protruding from the middle of the road. We passed people with punctures but we were lucky and had no problems. A family we met who were travelling with a VW Golf had lots of difficulties.
The drive up to Okonjima was fast as it was on tarmac. We heartily recommend a stop at Okahandja to bargain in the craft market--by far the best prices and widest selection in Namibia. The coffee shop across the road did excellent lunches. Also all petrol stations marked on the official road maps had petrol and diesel at about two-thirds UK prices. Other petrol stations, mainly in small villages, were often out of supplies.
Okonjima Bush Camp was great. Our guide and driver, Albert, got us very close to leopards and cheetahs on foot and really got us started on our bird list. You might tell future travellers that all the camps take only two to six people in their open vehicles so everyone gets an outside view. We never travelled with more than one other couple and were able to plan our own itinerary and stop whenever we wanted to take a photo or see a bird.
We did this by meeting people at dinner and going out with people of like interests. Also all the camps except Sossusvlei had free laundry returned within the day. Had we known this, we'd have been able to travel lighter.With reference to currency for tips, snacks and fuel, everyone wanted Namib dollars in Namibia and pula in Botswana. Taking pounds, euros or dollars was unnecessary. The ATMs in Windhoek and Swakupmund worked well.
On the way to Mushara, we stopped at Tsumeb which has an excellent small museum for both history and geological specimens. The town had a good German cake shop also serving lunches.
Mushara was also very comfortable and had its own waterhold a little way from the camp where you could watch birds and animals come down to drink in the evening.The day trip through Etosha was helped immeasurably by our friends' giving us a map marking the waterholes that actually had water at that time of year. That's where the animals and birds were. The rest of the salt pan was dry and arid. We actually saw 100 elephants at one waterhole (Goas) which was amazing.
Ongava Tented Camp was also very comfortable with good food. They were breeding black and white rhino and selling them on to other national parks to widen their own range of animals. Ther best views were on a night drive when we saw family parties of both black and white rhinos and eland as well as spotted thick knees and nightjars. The day drives also gave more distant views of these and many other animals and birds.
Desert Rhino Camp was also excellent but visitors should be aware that you have to leave your car in Palmwag and it was a further 2 hour drive from there to the camp in their vehicle. Again the accommodation and the food were excellent. The camp was run by a well educated lady, Helen, from the local village who was a joy to work with. They took us out rhino tracking in vehicles and on foot, and apart from the incredibly bumpy roads, we enjoyed our time there. They gave Ricky a great birthday party with a huge chocolate cake which he shared with all the guests and staff. The staff not only sang Happy Birthday but also put on a show of local singing and dancing--great stuff! The only difficulty while we were there was the intense cold. After many days in the 30's it was a shock to have the sun shing out of a clear sky with no wind and temperatures of 3-5 C. The guides were wearing 2 fleeces, jackets, gloves and beanie hats. We put on everything we had! Visitors need to know that a thick fleece and a windproof jacket are essential as well as the hat and gloves.
From there we had planned to drive to Torra Bay and then down the coast to Swakupmund, but people coming up from that direction warned us that there was thick fog and mizzle all the way and that the salt roads were as slippery as ice. We reverted to our original plan and visited Twyfelfontein. There is an excellent NEW Damaraland village museum on the road to the petroglyphs which should not be missed. People live in the twig huts and wear traditional clothing and show you how they make a fire, use traditional medicines, make metal tools and tan hides. They also dance and sing for you. At the petroglyphs you have a choice of 3 routes. It is very hot there in the middle of the day so we chose the 1 hour easier route and saw plenty of rock engravings. It was very rocky underfoot. We wished we'd had our walking boots!
Swakupmund is a pretty small town. Cornerstone Guesthouse was great with an element of return to civilisation. There were some good restaurants in the area and we walked around town by ourselves both day and night with no problems. The birding trip at Walvis Bay was excellent--incredible numbers and variety. By request we were also driven out to Pelican Point to see the fur seals which meant there was no need to drive 100 km north to Cross Bay(?) to see the more famous colony. On the second day we opted for the Mola Mola boat trip to see the dolphins, pelicans and more seals. This was great fun but a bit of a show with trained animals.
On the long drive to Sossusvlei and on to Mountain Homestead we stopped at Solitaire for lunch at the famous bakery found in our Lonely Planet guide--truly the best savoury and sweet pies in Africa and maybe in the world, really cheap and to the right of the petrol station. Avoid the lodge restaurant!Mountain Homestead was also a long drive off the road, this time in our car. The concessionaire had recently changed and it's now run by a local man called Alex who really worked hard to give us a great visit. The previous managers had taken away the laundry equipment, the advertised telescope for stargazing, and various other things like coathangers. However it was easy to do our own washing and everything dried in half an hour in the warm wind. The chalets were very spacious and the food excellent.
Namibia Tracks and Trails had only booked one excursion for us--the trip to Sossusvlei, Dead Vlei and Sesriem Canyon as most people only stay 2 nights there. Once we'd explained our predicament to Alex, he generously added a sundowner drive and the next day a full day walking trip with a guide to Namib Naukluft National Park, the Waterkloof Walk. This park is the largest national park in the world and is well worth a visit, especially the walk up the freshwater running stream through the rocks to the mountains. Although it is vaguely marked by yellow and white flashes, we would not recommend this walk to anyone unused to mountain walking and navigating where there are no paths. Our guide had only been a short way up the trail before and we found ourselves showing him the way! Still, having an extra person was very useful and he picked out the animals and birds and scared away the baboons for us. For those wanting a less arduous walk there is the Olive tree walk starting from the same point. The day was fascinating and exciting and gave us a feeling for being out in the wilderness without a backup vehicle. Again we wanted our hiking boots.
On returning to Windhoek, we phoned in to return our car, only to find the downtown office closed (it was Sunday) and we had to return the car to the airport or pay an extra day. All this despite the fact that we were promised on renting the car that we could return anytime before 4 pm downtown. Luckily our friends kindly drove with us the 40 minutes out to the airport to drop the car where we read the riot act to the office manager who was horrified and agreed to pay our extra petrol. We found Nancy's baggage back at our friends' house. It was damaged but complete.
The next day flying to Botswana took all day with four flights and having to go through customs twice, once in Gabarone and once in Maun. Why could we not have taken one of the many direct flights from Windhoek to Maun? We ended up on an old turbo prop anyway with Botswana Airways. They failed to make it to Maun in time for our small plane flight to Shinde. Ker and Downey put us up in Maun Lodge for the night. We flew to Shinde the next morning on the regular small plane and they took all of our luggage including the bags we had packed to store at Maun. So your warning to restrict our luggage to 18kg total was unnecessary. Had we not had the excitement immediately on arrival of a quick dash to get close up views of a leopard we would have counted ourselves as having lost half a day, but as it was things worked out well.
The welcome at Shinde and the wonderful hospitality got us over our initial irritation. Aubrey became our personal guide and took us on water and land trips. Our bird and animal list expanded hugely for such a short visit. A genet even came to join us for dinner--a beautiful sight.
We then flew to Okuti run by a young Englishman called Murray. He really tried his best but that camp needed a woman's touch particularly in the kitchen as the food was very English boarding school. Our guide, Nawa, was superb. Again we travelled by land and water and our bird list reached 250 and our animal list over 50. We even saw honey badgers during the day--a very rare occurrence. On our last day we unintentionally broke park rules by staying out after dark, first because we slowly followed a leopard walking down our track in front of us and when he'd moved on, the road was blocked by a large bull elephant for about half an hour. Wonderful sightings and no regrets.
The flight home involved 3 hops in the small plane, then the Foker Friendship went all the way from Maun to Gabarone to Johannesburg. The half hour change was no problem in Gabarone this time as we stayed in the same plane despite different flight numbers. South African Airways were again very comfortable back to Heathrow where unfortunately we missed our slot and had to circle for an hour before landing. We then missed our connection to Manchester and had to wait another 3 hours at Heathrow. What a pity that such a wondrful airline only flies to Africa from such a lousy airport as Heathrow! This time they lost both our suitcases but we got them back 24 hours later at home. They have already replaced our damaged cases and we are now claiming for the few clothes, toiletries and prescription medicines Nancy had to buy in Windhoek.
Thank you so much for organising a great holiday for us. We hope these notes will be of some help to future customers with you." Nancy and Richard D. Namibia
Tailor-made safaris in Namibia and
Wildlife Holidays in Botswana
Having arrived the previous evening after a flight through Helsinki and Kajanni and a dusk (about 10:00pm) drive through the serene forest and lake environment of eastern Finland we had woken that morning to the sound of birdsong, and the pet Reindeer Martin at our window at the Martinselkonen Erakeskus. Here as an unexpected consequence of the Cold War, this former guard house, has been comfortably converted and is a true family affair with the family providing food and help over the day before the trip to the hides in the evening. After a morning walk, accompanied dog-like by Martin, we spend a happy hour before hot drinks at 12:00 by the bird feeders spotting squirrels, woodpecker, Siberian Jays, gloriously coloured finches and a host of other small birds.However, this is just the warm up act; and after a sumptuous feast of salmon (very much like the bears we will soon be seeing) at 15:00 we depart promptly towards the hide at 16:00. As there is still snow on the ground, we travel part way to the hide on a skidoo and sleigh construction, but due to the weather just starting to warm the male members of the party have to de-camp half way to the hide after a couple of groundings in the mix between frozen and de-frosting ground.
It is after we have all met up again that we have our first bear encounter as we approach the hide. On the first night our party of three had the whole 10 person hide to ourselves with the guide, and after our spectacular arrival we quickly moved into the safety of the hide and were securely locked in for the evening. Within half an hour of setting up in the well-organised hide, another bear arrived, walking in the area in front of the hide, which soon discovered and starting eating the salmon and "Bear" snacks (dog biscuits) cleverly hidden around the small clearing.
