Table of contents for go! Namibia 2024 in go!

GET IT DELIVERED Can't find this guide or other Media24 magazines in your local shop? The latest issues are available at media24shop.com – order online and your magazines will be delivered to your door. This year, I was lucky enough to visit two remote corners of Namibia, both of which offered equally beguiling but totally contrasting landscapes. In December and January, I travelled with my family through the Kavango East and Zambezi regions (the former Caprivi Strip) to the Chobe River. It was summer, and everything was lush and green. Namibia is generally known for its silent deserts, but this was the opposite: The rivers sang a celebration of life. Migratory birds chorused in bush and afternoon rain showers brought booming thunder and flashes of lightning. Then, in April, I…

It's January and very hot when I turn off the D1042 and follow a farm road into the dunes. Green shoots grow from the red sand, proof of recent rains, and the threethorn trees are covered in white flowers. But it's still dry for this time of the year. 21 Dunes Campsite is on the crest of one of the Kalahari's famous red dunes. There are only two stands and the other one is empty. I'm alone in a rust-red sea. I light a fire at dusk. Rain clouds have been threatening to burst all afternoon; now a few soft drops begin to fall. I take off my shoes and wiggle my toes into the sand where the heat of the day still lingers. It's so quiet I can hear…

I ask Phil van Wyk, our tour leader, how far away it is. “About 2km,” he says. The wheels of the Toyota Land Cruiser roll smoothly over the sand. To the left, the south-westerly wind works the Atlantic Ocean into a froth. I get my cellphone ready to video the big moment. At first, all I can see is a muddy stain in the dark-blue sea. Then a wide, orange-brown strip emerges from the landscape as the Kunene River carves its way to the sea. The river originates in the highlands of Angola, a thousand kilometres away, and empties into the ocean here on the Skeleton Coast of Namibia. Six pelicans nervously sidle up to a group of white-breasted cormorants. The wind makes furrows in the sand in front of…

“Ihear that immigration at Kazungula is a nightmare!” a woman says to her husband at the table across from ours at Chobe River Camp in Namibia. I prick up my ears. “They had to dip all their shoes in disinfectant.” Until now, I haven't given much thought to the quick trip our family has planned to Livingstone in Zambia tomorrow, aside from booking accommodation. The children's passports and birth certificates are in a folder, along with the registration papers for our vehicle. Surely that's all we need? We walk over to find out more. The woman's name is Megan Zondagh and she's from Windhoek. She tells us how her friends struggled with the vehicle-related paperwork at the Kazungula border post. So much so that they only reached their accommodation at…

Kalahari Farmhouse, Stampriet The C15 dirt road offers a great alternative to the B1 tar road – it runs roughly parallel to it from about Rehoboth. It's a major Kalahari artery that follows the course of the dry Auob River, and eventually leads you further south-east to the Mata-Mata border post. Unsurprising, since the riverbed and its banks offer the best place to build farmhouses and villages. As soon as you travel west or east of the Auob, you're kneedeep in red dunes. Of all the villages along the C15, Stampriet is the busiest – maybe because the C20 tar road from Mariental (about 62 km to the west) cuts through here to Aranos (81 km to the east). The well-known Elnatan private school in Stampriet attracts Afrikaans-speaking children from…

CENTRAL PLACES TO STAY AFFORDABLE OPTION (See page 13.) SKELETON COAST AND HENTIES BAY 1 St Nowhere Spa and Campsite A popular fishing spot 110 km north of Henties Bay. Camping from R525 p.n. for five people. Sea view camping from R600 p.n. for five people. Private stands with own bathroom and a wind shelter R750 for five people. All camping stands have a power point. Communal ablutions with hot showers and flush toilets. Self-catering bungalow from R1 100 p.n. for the first four people and R275 per extra person (sleeps 5 – 9). Groups of up to 13 can book the big house – from R2200 p.n. for eight people plus R275 per extra person. These are the rates if you stay for two nights. Rate excludes 2% tourism levy…

They say your life flashes in front of your eyes before you die. Like a fast-forward flip through a photo book, you get a glimpse of all the moments that meant something. Yet stuck in my camping chair, staring at the trunk of a five-tonne elephant so close I can feel her breath, I'm not treated to any mental snapshots of my 10th birthday party. All I can think of is that I really need the bathroom… Nyae Nyae, also known as Bushmanland, is a fiercely wild place. It was the first communal conservancy to be proclaimed in Namibia – in 1998 – and at 8 992 km² in size, it's the second largest. (The nearby N#a-Jaqna Conservancy is the largest at just over 9 000 km².) Most of the…

NO MEAT CROSSES THE RED LINE! The Red Line, which runs across the breadth of Namibia, dates from the 1960s when buffalo in the northern parts of the country were infected with foot-and-mouth disease and it spread to other livestock. This veterinary cordon fence is still in place and prevents meat and other animal products from travelling from north to south and also west to east in places. There are checkpoints where the Red Line crosses main routes; should you go through one of these roadblocks you'll be required to open your Coleman. You may also have to drive your vehicle through a dip trough filled with disinfectant, and dip the soles of your shoes in a shallow bath. It's the law so don't try to convince the officials to…

It was drizzling when my daughter Bella and I arrived for our mokoro ride. But it was summertime and Namibia's northern rain showers are usually short-lived, so we didn't think too much of it. Our guide Evans Sikabongo had brought two umbrellas along. We'd hardly pushed off from the bank when the thunderstorm hit. The wind blew Bella's umbrella from her hand. After 20 minutes, Evans turned to shore and motioned for us to get out. This is romantic, I thought. Sundowners in the rain. “No!” Evans said. We had to bail water out of the mokoro! We were back at our departure point near the lodge soon after. The manager's shift had started just as we left, and apparently, he'd run after us to try and stop the trip.…

COMPULSORY STUFF PASSPORT. It needs to be valid for six months or more from the date you plan to leave Namibia, and it should have at least two blank pages. BIRTH CERTIFICATES. All children under 18 need an unabridged birth certificate to cross the border unless they have a passport with their parents' names listed in the back. DRIVING LICENCE. Your South African licence is valid in Namibia – keep it at hand. VEHICLE REGISTRATION DOCUMENTS. Bring the original or certified copies of these documents. Remember the papers for the trailer or caravan. LETTER OF AUTHORISATION. If you're still paying off your car, you need a letter of authorisation from the bank. If the car you're travelling in doesn't belong to you, you need a letter written by the owner…

Bring on breakfast! Wild Rocket Café (Sam Nujoma Avenue, opposite the Total Energies service station) is the first choice for breakfast dates with friends – try the Mexican eggs benedict or the salmon dome. It has a modern but cosy setting in the town centre, with inside and outside seating among flowerpots and lanterns. They also do bingo evenings – check out their Facebook page for the dates. 00 264 64 461 046 “Wild Rocket” on Facebook For the health nuts Bojos Café has the healthiest lunch menu in town and offers gluten-free options. The side salads are especially delicious, heaped with seeds and home-made dressing. Seating is under beautiful palm trees in Daniel Tjongarero Avenue – great for people-watching and marvelling at Swakopmund's well-preserved buildings like the grand old…

1 Watch game in Etosha Book at least five nights in this popular national park: Two nights at Okaukuejo so you can go to the Ombika, Olifantsbad and Nebrownii waterholes; two nights at Halali so you can drive to the pan and see vultures at Sueda waterhole; and one night at Namutoni, which is quieter. You can also explore the remote western part, with a stay at camping-only Olifantsrus – it has only 10 stands. Day visitors pay R100 per person, plus R50 per vehicle. 2 Go on a sunset river cruise Make sure to book at least one sunset cruise on the Kavango, Kwando, Zambezi or Chobe rivers. You'll see waterbirds by the dozen, and maybe even big game like elephants, hippos and crocodiles. Rates vary from R350 to…

Namibia has some of the most scenic desert landscapes on earth. It's also a place where silence rings loudly across the plains. But during summer, the Kavango East and Zambezi regions (formerly known as the Caprivi Strip) are never quiet. The call of a woodland kingfisher is your alarm clock. A red-billed spurfowl gives a harsh cackle. Something disturbs the crowned lapwings on the riverbank and they also kick up a racket. A coppery-tailed coucal calls doo-doo-doo in a bush. Cows moo, donkeys bray. Insects zoom and chirr, and when the sun sets, frogs join the choir. The closer you are to the river, the louder all the clicks and croaks become. In the morning, a gogga floats in your coffee mug. Moths flutter up from your towel when you…

DAVID LIVINGSTONE MUSEUM Spend a morning with the friendly and knowledgeable curator, Linus Mukwata. His stories bring the history of the area to life. Entrance is free, but consider making a donation. 00 264 81 397 2185 MASHI CRAFTS This big shop stocks a variety of crafts and souvenirs. Choose from woven products like baskets, place mats and trays, as well as wood carvings – all made by the local people. How about a miniature mokoro to display fruit in? WHITE-BROWED ROBIN-CHAT…

When you stop here after a long day on the road, you'll sigh with relief. It feels like you've arrived in a botanical garden, with apple-leaf, leadwood, silver cluster-leaf and monkey thorn trees all around. Bird baths are strategically located. At your self-catering chalet, the sand is neatly raked and the braai is clean. The inside is beautifully decorated with tasteful linen and beadwork. There are also lots of hooks to hang your stuff. There are deck chairs next to the bright-blue swimming pool and Miley the tame Meyer's parrot keeps an eye on the boma. Someone clearly loves this rest camp, and that person is Ansie Pool.“Before we took over, this was just bush. It looked like that, everywhere,” she says, pointing to the densely vegetated bank on the…