Back in November of 2020, we went on a three week trip to Namibia. We had been anxious to explore Namibia because it’s one of our favorite countries. It was a German colony before they gained their independence, and it is an absolutely beautiful and fantastic country. I planned the trip during lockdown with the help of Namibia Tours & Safaris. This was the first time I’ve ever used a company to book a vacation. However, it was a great experience. They were instrumental in getting our bookings done with some amazing discounts and some unique experiences we would not have otherwise had.

We drove two vehicles, covered 3100 miles, and enjoyed a mix of camping and lodges. I would highly recommend Namibia to anyone! On to the adventure.

We left home around 9:30am to drive to Kuruman, South Africa. It was a six hour drive. We stopped along the way and had buffalo chicken pasta salad for lunch. We got into Red Sands country lodge at 3:45pm. This is the same place we stay every time we head in this direction. We set up camp and then went for a game drive. We saw red hartebeest, impala, zebra, and a monitor lizard. We had sausages, green beans, and baby potatoes on the grill for dinner. Yummm! Red Sands was much noisier than the previous times we’ve stayed there. Rude neighbours. It was not even half full though, so it was really strange.

We woke up earlier than we wanted to, but we got an early start. After breakfast in the lodge, we left Red Sands at 8:30 for the drive to The White House in Grunau. It was a 6.5 hour drive. We got to the border at 12:15. Due to Covid, the process was a little different than usual. We had to be “screened” by the health officials first. They checked our Covid tests, took our temps and made us fill out a register. They gave us a little piece of paper that we had to give to immigration. We had filled out the exit screening forms for SA, but they didn’t ask for them or take them. Then we went to a police clearing area where they gave us a gate pass for each vehicle, then immigration, then customs and we were clear for SA. When we got to the Namibia side, it was the same process. We had to do the screening and get our pass for immigration – but immigration didn’t take it from us, they just looked at it. Then we went to customs, where we had to pay the road tax for each vehicle. No one asked to see our vehicle registrations, licenses, or proof of insurance. It was strange. Once we paid the road tax, we were clear. No one checked our paperwork upon leaving and there was no checkpoint to pass through once leaving the border post. All very weird. They were far more concerned about Covid! We stopped and had lunch (leftovers) along the way. Immediately, we noticed the rest stops in Namibia were way nicer than SA. We got into The White House around 4:30pm and just relaxed and explored the house and grounds. The White House is a historic house and property built in the 1800’s. They even have a museum. It’s located on a working farm. Our room included dinner, which was fantastic. They delivered it to the house and we ate on the well appointed back porch. We had breaded lamb chops, springbok steaks in mushroom sauce, roasted potatoes, and a vegetable bake for dinner. Dessert was pumpkin fritters. Delicious!!! We had some amazing stargazing and then went to bed. They also delivered our breakfast basket that evening so we could eat the next morning when we wanted. We loved this place!

The next morning we woke up around 7. We got showered and packed, then ate breakfast on the back porch again. There was yogurt and muesli, toast and homemade marmalade, boiled eggs, ham, fruit salad, and some tasty croissants. We got on the road at 9am for another 6.5 hour drive. We stopped in Mariental for lunch. We were supposed to eat at Die Kooperasie Kroeg En Has, but it is permanently closed due to Covid. However, that was just fine because we found another place called the Tahiti restaurant and it was really good. Everything we ate was delicious. We got into Windhoek at 5pm and settled into the hotel, The Windhoek Luxury Suites. The hotel didn’t really live up to it’s name, but it was a nice place in a good location. We ate at Joe’s beer house for dinner. It’s an institution! The owner traveled from Europe through Africa in the mini cooper that’s pictured on the roof. He found the tangled kudu horns in a ravine along the way. There’s something to see in every nook and cranny of this place.

The next day we had breakfast at Stellenbosch Tasting Room, a restaurant across the street from the hotel. We’ve eaten there before on previous trips and it’s very good. We went to the old church and then the craft market. We got the grocery shopping done and then back to the hotel. It was a hot day so we went swimming, just before the afternoon rain. At 4:30 we went to Stellenbosch for happy hour and ended up staying for dinner. It was nice to be able to walk back! We’ve been to Windhoek many times, so it was nice to share it with the “kids”.

Part 2 coming soon!