March 2024

​

A pinnacle-of-travel animal-filled desert wonderland.​​

​

Namibia earns rave reviews from the majority of travelers for good reasons: it's cheap, safe, relatively unbureaucratic, without corruption issues for the traveler, and has amazing quantities of open space and Africa wildlife. The price?

 

It's HOT.

 

Most of the year, including our visit in March, the heat is simply unbearable. It was 108F at sunset nearly every day. We planned our trip to include a pool at each campground to compensate, which I would strongly recommend.

​

Every day we saw tourists in short shorts, tank tops, and no sombrero, thinking that less clothes means cooler body temps. This is false! The sun is a monster, and the traveler here needs to cover up! Long sleeves, lightweight pants, a neck/face bandana and sombrero are mandatory to cope with the intense heat.

 

That said, March and April, in my view, are still the best times to visit. It's still relatively green, the birdlife is fantastic, it's tourism low season, and there are plenty of animals. Come earlier, and it's even hotter. Come later, and prices quadruples, tourists are EVERYWHERE, sites are filled up, and the green foliage dries out.

​

We were in Namibia as part of our Coast2Coast2Coast Africa Overland Expedition. My parents accompanied us on this one, in their first visit outside North America. We entered from Botswana, spent a few days in surprisingly nice Windhoek, and then drove to the oasis-filled Naukluft Mountains. From here we went to Sossusvlei, then the glorious springtime-weather coast, and up to Etosha and the Zambezi region before re-entering Botswana.

​

I can't imagine any other way to travel here than 4x4 rental with camping equipment. Distances are vast, public transport is non-existent, and anything guided is pricey and boring.

​

If you do go, be sure to connect with locals. Many, or even most, locals don't speak any English, but a ball or some toys will do wonders with a group of children. The locals see us foreigners traveling, but it seems like the majority of them never actually get to talk with us - we're always just speeding along to get to the elephants and oryx.

​

Go slow. Sitting around in a remote campsite, hiding in the shade while watching the birds and animals in the distance, is one of life's great experiences. Namibia is all too easy to fall in love with.