The Perfect Namibian Roadtrip
We planned a couple of months on the perfect Namibian Road trip, long a dream of ours. There are so many must-see places in Namibia that it is almost impossible to see all of it in a single trip. We, therefore, decided to focus on a section, entering at Ais-Ais going up only to Windhoek and returning to South Africa via Botswana.
Two weeks were set aside for our trip. We tried not to drive more than 500km a day once we reached Namibia as the dirt roads can always offer surprises. We also took another safety precaution by planning the trip with friends, driving their own vehicle. Two vehicles offer a safety net if something goes wrong and the daily responsibilities of cooking, cleaning and driving can be split up.
Before the trip, we spoke with a number of people who had done similar trips in the past and we managed to create quite a comprehensive packing list. This included everything from camping gear to non-obvious things like gloves for packing in the cool winter mornings. It’s always useful to chat with locals and fellow travellers at resorts to get more info on road conditions and unmissable scenic stops.
Remember to read up on food and beverages you can and cannot take to the relevant borders as close as possible to the date that you commence your trip. Don’t be caught unprepared as this can be a costly exercise or a very long picnic at the border post.
Our basic itinerary was as follow:
Drive from Gauteng to Augrabies National Park, spend two evenings at the park to enjoy the falls and do some of the shorter hiking routes. Kakamas, the closest town has good shops and fuel stations to stock up before continuing to Namibia.
From Augrabies we drove through the Richtersveld to Ais-Ais Hotsprings. We spent two nights at the resort in order to visit Fish River Canyon and the surrounding areas. The store at the resort is not well stocked so refuel and buy food at the last town you pass through.
Next, we visited Kolmanskuppe, an old mining town turned ghost town near the port of Luderitz. The Bahnhof Hotel in Aus offers excellent accommodation and the tar road to Luderitz is in great condition. The fuel station in Aus also has a tyre repair station and stocks plenty of vehicle parts if you had any automobile related trouble on the way. We spent a single evening in Luderitz, visiting Kolmanskuppe the following morning before travelling to our overnight stop at Duwisib Castle.
The natural wonders of Sossusvlei was our next destination. We stayed at Little Sossus campsite, about 70 kilometers from the Sesriem gate of the National park. The roads in this area are not as smooth as the roads we drove more to the South so we recommend you allow for extra time to drive a bit slower.
After a couple of days of camping, we stayed in a chalet in Walvisbay in order to clean our gear and stock up again. Lagoon Chalets in Walvisbay offers good value for money. The chalet was big enough for both vehicles to share it. Walvisbay is a major town in the region and has the various shops and services you need to prepare for the next leg of your journey. We spent two evenings in Walvisbay, allowing us to explore the surrounding hotspots such as Dune 7, Pelican Point and the saltworks.
From Walvisbay we followed the tarred national road to Spitzkoppe Rest Camp. We spent two evenings at the camp in order to attend a guided tour of the rocks formations and bushman paintings. The camp is very basic with running water and flush toilets only at the reception, so make sure you have enough containers for water before heading to the campsite.
Our route back to Gauteng followed the Trans Kalahari Highway, a tarred road crossing through Botswana. The road is unfenced for the largest part which means a number of animals try and cross it during the day and sleep on the hot tar at night. Take extra precaution when driving this road at night. We made a stop in the capital, Windhoek, to see the city and spent one evening at Ondekeramba, a clean and well-maintained resort and campsite. The town of Kang is halfway between Windhoek and Gauteng and serves as a rest stop for many travellers. We spent the evening at Kalahari Rest Stop. Kang Ultra Stop was mentioned by other travellers we spoke to, so feel free to consider it as well.
We had very little issues on our trip and would recommend our itinerary to anyone who feels overwhelmed by the sheer size of Namibia. We tried to keep driving to manageable distances while seeing as much as possible.
This post forms part of our 2019 Namibia Road Trip. We planned an epic road trip the months leading up to June and it was worth every bit of planning, research and expense. We visited Augrabies, Fish River Canyon, Luderitz, Aus and Spitzkoppe to name only a few. We recommend the trip to anyone who wants to get away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life. We will try to give as much up to date information as possible in this series of articles but recommend you check the local websites for the latest information before embarking on your journey.
