Swakopmund
When ill winds blow, head for this museum at the foot of the lighthouse, where you can hole up and learn about the town's history. The museum occupies the…
Must-see attractions in Botswana & Namibia
Windhoek
The excellent display on Namibia’s independence at the country’s historical museum provides some enlightening context to the struggles of this young…
Damaraland
In January 1904 Omaruru was attacked by Herero forces under chief Manassa. German captain Victor Franke, who had been engaged in suppressing an uprising…
Namibia
This reserve, 15km northwest of Mariental, is a 25,000-hectare wildlife park with 80km of gravel roads and a 15km hiking loop. Hardap is Nama for ‘nipple’…
Windhoek
Although this leafy park served as a public zoo until 1962, today it functions primarily as a picnic spot and shady retreat for lunching office workers…
Chobe National Park
In the heart of Savuti, Gobabis Hill is home to several sets of 4000-year-old rock art of San origin. The best are the depictions of livestock halfway to…
Botswana
Loaded with cultural and historical significance, the Matsieng Rock Carvings are regarded by the Batswana as one of the four ‘creation sites’. According…
Walvis Bay
During the winter, rail services between Swakopmund and Walvis Bay are often plagued by windblown sand, which covers the tracks and undermines the…
Namibia
Up against the Botswana border, the flat landscape is broken only by the arid Aha Hills. The region is pockmarked with unexplored caves and sinkholes, but…
Namibia
The dry, crusty landscape around Tsumkwe supports several large baobab trees, some of which have grown quite huge. The imaginatively named Grootboom (Big…
Namibia
The most famous attraction in Uutapi is the former South African Defence Force (SADF) base, which is dominated by an enormous baobab tree. This tree,…
Okavango Delta
It’s difficult to know what to make of this place, not far south of Drotsky’s Cabins (the turn-off from the main Sehithwa–Shakawe road is at GPS S 18°26…
Namibia
If you normally skip museums, make an exception here. Tsumeb’s story is told in this museum, which is housed in a 1915 colonial building that once served…
Namibia
Forming an arc east of Tsumkwe is a remote landscape of phosphate-rich pans. After the rains, the largest of these, Nyae Nyae, Khebi and Gautcha (all at…
Namibia
Historical settler history is depicted here through some fascinating black-and-white photos. The Himba, Kavango and Mbanderu collections of artefacts and…
Namibia
The historical animosity between the Nama and the Herero had its most emphatic expression at the Battle of Moordkoppie (Afrikaans for ‘Murder Hill’) on 23…
Windhoek
Windhoek’s beautiful old Cape Dutch–style train station on Bahnhof St was constructed by the Germans in 1912, and was expanded in 1929 by the South…
Swakopmund
From the shore, the delightful German-style Woermannhaus stands out above surrounding buildings. Built in 1905 as the main offices of the Damara & Namaqua…
Okavango Delta
Literally the third log bridge after entering the reserve at South Gate (although First Bridge and Second Bridge were, at the time of writing, easy to…
Botswana
Situated about 5km east of the Botswelelo Centre, in Mmankgodi, and 2km off the Gaborone–Kanye road, is Bahurutshe Cultural Lodge, an innovative cultural…
Namibia
Near Bagani, the Okavango River plunges down a broad series of cascades known as Popa Falls. The falls are nothing to get steamed up about, especially if…
Windhoek
Opened in 2014, this museum is dedicated to the country's anticolonial and independence struggle. The first floor tells the story of Namibia under…
Swakopmund
If you're on a quest to see weltwitschias, continue east along the Weltwitschia Drive to the Moon Landscape, a vista across eroded hills and valleys…
Botswana
The approach to steep-walled Moremi Gorge gives little hint of what lies ahead. Once within the site, with its sheer beauty and abundant birdlife (with…
Swakopmund
Often known by its German name, Marine Denkmal, this memorial was commissioned in 1907 by the Marine Infantry in Kiel, Germany, and designed by sculptor…
Okavango Delta
The drive between North Gate (including Khwai) and Xakanaxa Lediba follows one of Botswana’s more scenic tracks, although the exact route changes with the…
Kasane
Signposted as Biodiversity Centre, about halfway between the main highway and the Chobe Safari Lodge, this research and education centre rescues small…
Namibia
Otjiwarongo is home to Namibia’s first crocodile ranch, which produces skins for export. You can do a worthwhile tour, and there’s a shop which has mainly…
Botswana
The walls of the Tswapong Hills are riven with deep canyons, and the east–west Motetane Gorge is the prettiest of them. The turn-off to the gorge is well…
Walvis Bay
Immediately east of town at the municipal sewage-purification works is this nature sanctuary, which consists of a series of shallow artificial pools,…
Walvis Bay
The shallow and sheltered 45,000-hectare lagoon, southwest of town and west of the Kuiseb River mouth, attracts a range of coastal water birds and…
Namibia
The beautiful, but frightfully steep and challenging, Van Zyl’s Pass forms a dramatic transition between the Kaokoveld plateaus and the vast, grassy…
Kaiserliches Bezirksgericht (State House)
Swakopmund
This rather stately building was constructed in 1902 to serve as the district magistrates’ court. It was extended in 1905, and again in 1945 when a tower…
Botswana
The enormous crescent-shaped dune known as Gabatsadi Island has an expansive view from the crest that has managed to attract the likes of Prince Charles. …
Namibia
In the churchyard and across the road from the 1876 Friedenskirche are the graves of several historical figures, including Herero leader Willem Maherero,…
Walvis Bay
Walvis Bay’s oldest remaining building, the Rhenish Mission Church was prefabricated in Hamburg, Germany, reconstructed beside the harbour in 1880 and…
Namibia
The main attraction in the area is Lake Oponono, a large wetland fed by the Culevai oshanas (underground river channels). After a heavy rainy season, the…
Walvis Bay
Along the Swakopmund road, 10km north of Walvis Bay, take a look at the offshore wooden platform known as Bird Island. It was built to provide a roost and…
Swakopmund
This architecturally astute gallery features some of the planet’s most incredible crystal formations, including the largest quartz crystal that has ever…
Namibia
The range of limestone hills known as the Hamilton Hills, south of Vogelfederberg campsite, rises 600m above the surrounding desert plains. It provides…
