In December last year my husband Paul turned 50, but I had started planning his surprise birthday present about 18-months earlier! He had always wanted to go on safari and we had talked about Namibia as a possible destination. So many months earlier I started my research before getting in touch with a fantastic tour operator Dial a Flight to help me pull it all together.
Troy who was our UK contact, worked with Namibian experts Wilderness Safaris, to create a bespoke 10-day self drive itinerary in Namibia and then a three-night stay in Cape Town. They booked all the flights, the car hire, some activities and the hotels and were totally amazing, not to mention about half the price of Kuoni!! So finally, after nearly two-years of planning, we boarded our BA flight to the Namibian capital Windhoek on the 4th September to start our adventure!!
We had an overnight flight and a connection in Johannesburg, so we finally landed in Windhoek, Namibia at 2pm on Wednesday 5th September.
After doing endless research on the best way to travel around Namibia we decided to self-drive from place to place. They drive on the left so no different from the UK and we made sure we upgraded to a really decent 4×4 automatic, as we heard the roads could be a little challenging as we later found out!!! Our vehicle was booked through Europcar so we headed to the desk to pick up the keys.
However, it turns out that in Namibia, before you are allowed to step foot inside a vehicle you have to watch a safety video!!! The automobile horror movie that followed starts with an opening shot of a car careering off the road whilst they tell you that road traffic collisions are the biggest cause of death in the country!! So if we weren’t worried about self driving before…we were now!!! In fairness the video also gives helpful advice on the best speed for the road surfaces and some tips….but still not massively reassuring!!
Once we had finished our lesson in how not to die, we were finally allowed to get aquatinted with our 4-wheeled companion for the next 10 days….meet ‘The Beast’!!! Our trusty Toyota Fortuna. Great vehicle, lovely drive, and gave us a smug warm feeling every-time we saw some nutter in a normal car trying to navigate the rutted gravel surfaces they call roads.
Paul was first in the drivers’ seat for the 40-minute drive from the airport to our overnight stop in Windhoek the Olive Grove Guest House. We had barely left the airport when we saw our first Namibian wildlife, a warthog followed by baboons on the roadside….needless to say I was very excited!
After an uneventful first drive we arrived at the gated carpark of the Olive Grove in a quiet residential area of Windhoek. This is the one city in Namibia where you are advised not to venture too far due to crime against tourists, so we decided to check in and stay in the hotel for dinner.
We were both pleasantly surprised by how lovely the guest house was. The room was quite big, it was air conditioned, had a mini bar and doors which opened onto a veranda where you could sit and enjoy a drink. This is great first place to stay.
We headed down for an early dinner as we knew we had a long drive ahead of us the next day. The restaurant was really quaint with tables outside so you could dine by candlelight. The chef was cooking in an open kitchen which resembled a domestic kitchen in your house with pots and pans everywhere but she obviously new what she was doing.
We went straight for a taste of local game with an Oryx fillet in a red wine sauce which was very tasty (it took most of the holiday for me to learn how to pronounce Oryx properly!). We had two courses and wine and this is where we first realised that Namibia is unbelievably cheap! It worked out about £13.00 per head so result!
The guest house kitchen!!
Stuffed full of food we headed back to the room with a glass of wine and were greeted by a night cap of port and chocolates compliments of the hotel….not a bad first night at all!!!
Loving Life and Food 