Just some questions
Replies: 2 - Last Post: Oct 29, 2012 5:25 AM Last Post By: denafrikanskefa...
jump to
Just some questions
Hi, dear travellers, maybe you could answer some questions:1. Namakwa National Park. Is there any sence to go there in a couple of last October days?
2. May we bring to Namibia food, fruit, tinned meat, sweets etc from South Africa or that`s forbidden and checked on the border?
3. What is the cheapest namibian simcard?
4. A bit not about Namibia... sorry...
What are conditions for getting zambian transit visa? Is it necessary to fly? For example, we cross the border from Namibia to Zambia, get tranzit visas, then take a ferry from Zambia to Kasane, Botswana, that is a tranzit to the third country, but now on a plain. Firbidden?
1
You know Namaqua NP is in SA right?Most people who visit only go to Skilpad and only go in flower season. Locals wil be able to tell you if there are still flowers at the end of October but if not there won't be much to see at Skilpad - it is basically just a circular drive/walk.
The rest of the park stretches out to the coast. We spent 5 days there in 2010 and it was incredible. We camped by the ocean and saw whales, a seal colony, flamingos in the bay. But certainly for some of the areas we traveled you would definitely need 4x4. We followed the Caracal Eco-Trail. Full info about it and what you'd see is on the SANParks website.
We never usually take red meat over a border as there can be restrictions in place and it can be hard to find out about them in advance. Sometimes there may have been a foot and mouth scare just days before and they will stop all meat traveling. Same can be true of fresh fruit and veg. Don't take too much - you'll get exactly the same shops (Shoprite/Choopies/Spar etc) and excellent meat in Namibia.
All SIM cards will be around the same price - just a few $.
I'm not aware there is a transit visa as such for Zambia. For us (Brits) we have to get a single entry visa for $50 regardless of length of stay. It is also expensive and time consuming to take a car in. There's road tax, insurance, carbon tax, TIP (if you don't have a carnet), council tax and the cost of the ferry was $28 each way. It's around $150/$170 in total for two people and a car. If you are planning just to cross and see the falls then I recommend you go from Namibia into Botswana and take a day trip to see them from Kasane. Let someone else worry about the red tape. It won't work out much more expensive to go on a tour and all the lodges will run them.
2
2. You can bring tinned/canned stuff over the border at any time, but you might have problems with meat and fresh fruit. And like ItcyFeet is saying, there's really no need to bring stuff unless it's part of the food in your camping gear that just has not been consumed yet. No reason to stock up at all. You'll find everything you need in the Namibian supermarkets.3. There's no big price difference, but I find that there is better coverage with MTC than CellOne and always recommend that people buy the MTC card. Cost of SIM card last time I bought was N$ 7, and then you re-charge with tango whenever you need to. You can buy recharge vouchers EVERYWHERE. Even the smallest shebeen in the middle of nowhere will have tango/recharge vouchers.
4. You're planning on going via Zambia only to take the ferry over from Zambia to Kazangula to Kasane in Botswana? I don't get this. Are you going to go via Livingstone for a couple of days or is this strictly transport? If it's for travelling straight through, I'd definitely rather go for the road from Katima Mulilo via Ngoma Border crossing, through northern Chobe. Much easier, really. Zambian border crossings can be a hassle. Got no idea what the requirements are for transit visas. I didn't even know they existed, but I suppose that an overnight stay in Livingstone or thereabout will make it void and you'll have to go for a regular one.
Again, I agree with ItchyFeet.
People say crossing into Zim is easier and cheaper than into Zambia at the moment, and the falls are suppose to be better from the Zim side. Something to consider.

