My Safari is in August and I will have an extra day in Windhoek prior to being picked up by my PH. Would like to get out around town and see a what I can. Would like to hear from those that have been there some suggestions on places in or near town to visit in the time I have available. Thanks.

JD

My dad and I had the proprieter of our B&B drive us to town for a day. She dropped us off and we just wandered around seeing the sites. Windhoek (at least the commercialized part) seemed quite safe and friendly. We took pictures, shopped a little, drank beer at a roadside cafe, and just wandered around. You can exchange money on the main drag, wander by some nice architecture, or go to the casino in the bottom of the Kalahari Sands Hotel. Of course you have to eat at Joe's Beerhouse. The food is excellent and the atmosphere is interesting. There is at least on gun shop (I think it's actually called "The Gun Store") with some good trophy photos to look over and whet your appetite. We picked up some shotgun shells here, which you may want to do if you have the opportunity to hunt birds. I think you'll find it pretty easy to kill a day in Windhoek, especially on foot.

Have fun!

Ditto on the eat at Joes. Best place and atmosphere of any place we ate in Africa. Good time, good food, and good prices.

It is a MUST place for anyone visiting Windhoek.

A walk thru the carver's market in Okajhanja (sp) is nice if you have transportation up there.

Yes, eat at Joe's Beerhouse for sure! Lots of shopping at the Kalahari Sands Hotel building.

In the northern industrial distric, there's a tannery where you can find game leather. I got a kudu skin, hair off, and packed it in my luggage. They have all sorts of leather products, coats, etc. Also nearby is a shoe maker who makes very cool ankle height boots of seal leather. Both are well worth the visit if you are interested in such items. Bob

Another vote for Joe's Beerhouse.
I brought home their placemat (with the drawing of a kudu under a tree), put it between two cristals and hang it from the wall just like any painting

It says:
Joes's Beerhouse, the most famous beerhouse in the african continent

The town pretty much shuts down in the evening and through most of the weekend. If I recall, some places are open Saturday morning, but few (if any) places are open on Sunday.

There's an old colonial church not far up the hill from the center. You can get a key at the church office and climb up into the bell tower, inspect the works, and have a view of the city. The RR museum is worthwhile, if you fancy trains.

The center seems safe in daytime, but the surrounding area is nearly devoid of pedestrians at night. We read later there's a reason for this. Be sure to ask your hosts for any precautions.

On the whole, a nice enough town.

[QUOTE]The center seems safe in daytime, but the surrounding area is nearly devoid of pedestrians at night. We read later there's a reason for this. Be sure to ask your hosts for any precautions.QUOTE]

My girlfriend, two friends and myself spend a couple of days there, and felt a little uncomfortable a couple of times. This was close to the center and in late evenings, after a couple of sundowners..
No big thing really. On one occasion there was a gang "chasing" us. Actually only some brats who wanted our wallets. We had to run some hundred yards back to our hotel.
But this will get you fit for your upcomming hunt.

I'm surprised that nobody mentioned a trip to the Springer chocolate factory! Wonderful stuff. If you have the wife along, take lots of money

If you go out in the evening, take a taxi,even if you're just going a few blocks. They're very reasonably priced. Your hotel and any restaurant will call one for you if none are outside.

We hit the Daan Viljoen game reserve when we had a day to kill. If you have wheels it's only a few minutes drive outside of Windhoek. They have the biggees for plains game, but nothing overly spectacular (at least when I was there). I think it cost us five or ten bucks to get in, but was well worth the tour just to get our feet wet in seeing game if nothing else.

I didn't care much for Okjahandja market, but they do have a lot of stuff there. We were about the only tourists there when passing through and the onslaught of offers was more than I wanted to deal with!

And of course I'll add another vote for Joe's beer house!

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Originally posted by Kernel:
We hit the Daan Viljoen game reserve when we had a day to kill. If you have wheels it's only a few minutes drive outside of Windhoek. They have the biggees for plains game, but nothing overly spectacular (at least when I was there). I think it cost us five or ten bucks to get in, but was well worth the tour just to get our feet wet in seeing game if nothing else.

I didn't care much for Okjahandja market, but they do have a lot of stuff there. We were about the only tourists there when passing through and the onslaught of offers was more than I wanted to deal with!

And of course I'll add another vote for Joe's beer house!

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Whenever I visit the market in Okjahandja, I make sure I'm with a trusted local who speaks the language. They generally know who you can get the best deals with, and will negotiate for you. At most of the markets in Namibia, the goods are mostly imported from Zimbabwe: there's not a lot of local stuff unless you go to one of the local artists co-ops.

Mike,

Yep, you're probably right. We just stopped there for fuel and an ice cream. Hadn't really planned to "shop" but made a pass through the huts. One of our group was an evilly good barterer and she got some good prices .