On May 17-25 I am hunting Gras Ranch 150 mi ESE from Windhoek and I have 4-5 day left to do some touring. My son (27y/o)is pushing me towards a self drive tour. Have anyone done such thing? Any input will be appreciated.

I've never done it, but will be doing such a tour with my wife either later this year or more likely next year. I've been to Namibia twice and would not hesitate to do a self-guided tour. 4 to 5 days is not a lot of time to see much of the country, but with careful planning I think you can make good use of the time.

Good luck.

While not exactly "touring", we rented a couple of vehicles and spent 3 days at the seashore. It was good to be able to travel at our own pace, stopping where we wanted. Vehicles were new and well maintained.

I agree with Jorge400. The 3 days we had wasn't enough. A week minimum would be good, I'd suggest.

Have driven over much of Namibia on one visit or another, during business and pleasure and hunting trips since the mid-80s. Rental vehicle costs are higher than North America, largely because of the combination of wear due to much driving on the dirt roads, and to the all-to-frequent one car accidents as drivers nod off on the long, straight high-speed tarred major roads.

Agree that a week would be better than 3-4 days. For the latter, start in Windhoek and go to Swakopmund and up to Henties Bay to do some fishing if you like it and to the seal colony which is an odor experience . If you can add some time, drive from Swakop down to the lodge near Sossusvlei with its amazing sand dunes. With a little more time, add the Fish River Canyon.

Alternatively, drive from Windhoek to Etosha Pan and return to Windhoek via Swakopmund. Could do that in five days with three nights in Etosha, one day travelling to Swakop and two nights in Swakop or some combination thereof.

Big distances in Namibia. Wonderful weather in July/August and lots to see. NOTE: Swakop has the best jewelry store in the Southern Hemisphere next to the Hansa Hotel should you and your son be thinking of your Chancellors of the Exchequer back at home...

Regards

Aholz,

After hunting last May, my wife and I spent two weeks driving around Namibia and up to Botswana and Vic Falls. We had no problems whatsoever. The roads are good and well marked and it was easier than driving around Mexico. We rented a truck with all the camping gear included in Windhoek, bought groceries and took off. We had a tent that popped open on the roof and we had a blast camping. Car rentals are not cheap, but it's certainly far cheaper to car camp than to pay for lodges every night. The whole country is set up for car touring and just about every town has a campground of sorts. I would highly recommend visiting Etosha. A night we spent there listening to lions roar in the distance was one of the highlights of our trip. We had dinner with wine each night at the park restaraunts, took hot showers and then retired to our tent and slept like babies. Not exactly roughing it! Just do it you will not be disappointed!

If you'd like more info just PM me.

Don

I have been researching this for about 6 months now. We will be headed to Namibia for PG before heading to Zambia for Buffalo and PG in September 2010. I have talked with three hunters, one local and two from AR who have done self tours of Namibia without a hitch.

The two on AR used a service to help set up the itinerary, vehicle rentals, and lodging.

Cardboard Box

Our local friend used...

New African Frontiers

They handled all the aspects that Cardboard box seems to do plus they produced a specific tourguide for his trip that reminded me of AAA trip-tiks. Very detailed with every stop along the way.

My understanding from communicating with the folks at New African Frontiers is that the service is "free", similar to using a booking agent for a hunt and many times the lodging is cheaper than you could book directly.

Good luck with your planning.

Renting a car and driving yourself to any destination that interests you is a great way to get to know Namibia (and other countries, for that matter).

What I've done in the past is to select my destinations and itinerary and then have my friend Karen Fietz of Tips 4 Tours arrange for the car rental and the pension/hotel reservations prior to my arrival. I pay her for the entire package, which does not cost me more than if I were to pay the car rental company and accomodations separately, and I don't have to worry about not having reservations or any confusion in the prices of the the services.

Here's an example of what I did last year. I told Karen I wanted to go to the Erongo Mountains to look for Bushman rock paintings, then to the Skeleton Coast to photograph some of the shipwrecks, then down to Swakopmund and Walvis, ride ATVs and camels on Namib dunes, then to Okahandja's woodcarvers' markets, then to visit friends in the Khomas Hochland, then to Windhoek for more shopping and Joe's, and finally to hunt. This year I'll be doing it again, but to different locations.

Figure out what you want to do and where you want to go and when and then contact a tour agent in Namibia and have them handle it for you. If you choose to have Karen Tips 4 Tours do it for you I think you will be happy with her excellent service as I had been.

Namibiahunter

The biggest problem for me driving in Namibia would be reversing almost 50 years of mental conditioning to drive on the right-hand side of the road. By the way, although many countries have switched from driving on the left hand side of the road to the much more prevalent right-hand side, Namibia is the ONLY country on Earth to have changed from the right-hand to the left-hand side of the road! (Due to the change from German administration to British administration after WW-I).

Another hazard is that although Namibian roads are uncrowded, they sometimes suffer outrageously bad drivers and the country has one of the highest death/injury rates per mile of any. This is more prevalent around the population centers, but ALWAYS watch for the donkey cart sitting in the middle of the road just over the hill or around the blind corner.

With those cautions made, I wouldn't find any problem with self-driving in Namibia. We saw retired couples and pairs of single young women tourists driving themselves with no apparent worries. Just use common sense. And stay on the proper side of the road.

My wife and I did this prior to hunt, we rented a car in Windhoek and cruised about for 4/5 days, spent time in Swakopmund, had a great time. Yes, driving on left is tricky at first, especially in the city, but you do adapt. Main problem is a tendency to look the wrong way for oncoming traffic. If you do tour, buy a cheap cooler, picnic food, drinks etc. as it is easy to find yourself a long way from lunch, likewise, plan ahead for hotel/lodge. Also, my experience has always been that you are better off going through one of the large rental agencies, Hertz, National, Avis, Budget and booking/reserving a car in advance, from the USA. Friendly people, roads are good by my estimation, but I am accustomed to Texas country roads, they do warn you about driving problems with gravel roads, but not an issue to me. Make sure you understand insurance rules and that you are covered.

My fellows AR members, thanks a lot for your input! This is what this outstanding forum is about. Regards to everyone, Andrew

Aholz,

My wife and I did a very extensive self drive tour ourselves post hunt in 2006 for over 6 days. It was very easy and rewarding and a chance for you to see the country in detail. There are number of things you need to be aware of as mentioned by some of the other posters such as vehicle selection, driving on the left if not familiar, and it is a big country with lots to see and very easy to bite off more than you can handle. Get yourself a few of the guidebooks and maps. I used The Cardboard Box for some of my reservations etc and they are great to deal with. I have much more information and some photos you might be interest in if you want to PM me for details.

Good luck and have a great trip
Paul

To those that have rented a car and drove around, what did you do with your rifles?

Did you take them with you or did you just rent a rifle at your hunting destination?

I spent about 3 weeks driving around Namibia about 6 years ago. Fantastic - do it!
I could only afford a Toyota Corolla, but it was easily up to it - lots of gravel roads, so you have to keep you speed down. I would consider a 4x4 or truck, just for that extra view and power. Plus it's fun, driving through Africa in something like that!
Everyone seems to get at least 1 puncture. Know where the jack is - I got one right on the middle of the Skeleton Coast, but no one seems to just drive past, everyone stops to check you're OK.
Hire/obtain a jerrycan (fuel can) as there are very few petrol stations, so a little bit of planning is necessary.
Don't drive at night in rural areas. Too mainly big things to hit.
Watch out for animals during the day - all around the car - I drove alongside a bunch of oryx galloping alongside - which then swerved and cut across my bows, causing some controlled braking and raised eybrows. Very impressive though. And baboons can pop out too..
I didn't have any firearms to worry about - there were various police checkpoints which did fairly cursory searches of the vehicle.
On one, a bottle of Scotch was the object of much interest - and remained with me despite suggestions it could be a gift. And another one wanted cash. My wallet did not get opened. I'm a cop and the rule "Don't BS a BS**tter" applies generally. My point is that if you have your rifle when you should not, you would probably get found out. By police who are less than honest.
You'll have a great time -v envious!

Wonderful way to see Namibia!
Do not rent a pickup with a dust proof cap, it isn't.

Get a Toyota Condor. Sits high and everything is in the Passenger compartment.

Dulcinea

I did it last June and highly recommend it. We rented a 4x4 4 door truck with cap. It kept our stuff more secure then an open bed would. No problems.

I did it last year - went through Cardboard box for everything - they were great.

It ranked on up there with my hunt - it was that much fun.

I agree- loved the hunt, but driving around and seeing what we wanted was awesome.

Jimmy

Thank you guys for all the info. My report on self-driving tour is here http://forums.accuratereloadin...221096011#3221096011 Andrew

I've never been to Namibia, but just returned home from two fantastic weeks in the Limpopo region of South Africa. For the first 3 1/2 days of our trip, I drove my family around with a rental vehicle and we had a grand time. I didn't think adapting to the right hand drive, left side of the road was difficult at all, but you do have to pay attention. We're very glad that we did some touring on our own and wouldn't hesitate to do it again.

I'd highly recommend it for your Namibia trip.