Wanted to give a budget trip report, since the comments on TT helped us during our trip. We had 4 weeks from mid Dec to mid Jan. We flew in and out of Cape Town from Germany. This was far cheaper than a flight to Namibia. We hired a car (VW Polo) in CT for the whole 4 weeks for less than 600€. This was with full insurance and cross border paperwork. Driving a total of 6500km over the 4 weeks (including a lot of C and D roads in Namibia during rainy season), we had 1 flat tire. We also had with us our own tent, sleeping mats and bags and stuff to braai (plates, cups, cutlery, a bbq rack for meat) but unfortunately no fridge or cool box). The first week and a half was spent in Cape Town (getting married) and Cederberg (rock climbing). We then drove to Namibia. We managed to drive from Cederberg (200km north of CT) to Windhoek in 1 very long day, stopping in Springbok for an amazing lunch.
Windhoek: stayed 3 nights at Chameleon backpackers. Very nice, great value, amazing facilities, friendly vibe meaning you can meet people easily. Good restaurants in Windhoek but really, there is little to see or do. 1 day is more than enough.
Etosha: stayed 1 night at Namutoni campsite, 1 night at Halali campsite, 2 nights at Okaukuejo campsite. All campsites are well maintained, large, with good facilities (lots of toilets and showers, shop, restaurants though expensive and almost always a buffet, pool, power points at each campsite). You really need to book in advance in peak seasons. We used Namibia Reservations and their service was excellent. We had no reply from NWR when we tried to book for Etosha directly. Etosha is amazing and we recommend staying there for at least 3 days. It had rained quite heavily the day before we were there and on our first day, so there were 2 minor roads in the park where we decided to turn back and where it was not possible for a 2wd to pass. Otherwise we had no problems.
Damaraland: stayed 2 nights at Twyfelfontein Country Lodge, which was the cheapest lodge in the area. It was still very nice, with excellent food, a nice pool and a good bar. We didn’t join any excursions as it’s fine to drive around the sights in your own car. The last 20km or so to the lodge from Khorixas are hard going on a small car but was otherwise ok.
Swakopmund: the road from Damaraland was very corrugated and quite hard going. This was the hardest driving we had, about 350km on badly maintained gravel roads. Here we got a flat tire and were more than 70km from the nearest petrol station, so was slightly hairy. There is also no phone signal driving through Damaraland either, so you have to be prepared. We stayed 3 nights at Villa Wiese. It’s a half decent backpackers, good breakfasts, but not quite as friendly as Chameleon. Has lots of big overland truck groups staying. Good value and excellent location though, 5-10 mins safe walk into town. Swakopmund is cold compared to the rest of Namibia! It’s a nice town though, much more to do here than in Windhoek. Also great restaurants and cafes, as well as shopping. We did sea kayaking from Walvis Bay, which was fun though a little tame.
Sossussvlei: the 350km C road from Walvis Bay was well maintained and was nothing like the gravel roads from Damaraland to Swakopmund. Not a problem for a small car. We stayed 1 night at Sesriem campsite, which was the nicest campsite of our trip. Gorgeous views, a great bar/restaurant and very nice pool. There are however only certain campsites you can have if you don’t have a 4wd as the sand is a problem. We got up for a spectacular sunrise at Dune 45, then drove on to the 2wd car park for Sossussvlei and Dead Vlei. We walked from the car park to Dead Vlei, about 45 mins (the 4wd shuttle costs 50 Namibian dollars per person one way). The walk is nicer. Dead Vlei is stunning. Unfortunately for us it then started to rain. We had a quick peak at Sossussvlei but were soaked through and didn’t have raingear on, so got the shuttle back. As it was raining, we then decided to drive on to Keetmanshoop (again, well maintained gravel, no prob for small cars, most of the way to Mariental) to overnight before carrying on to Fish River Canyon. We stayed at Bernice guesthouse (no reservation) which was a joy and great value.
Fish River Canyon: we were tired, it was raining, we had no reservations and so we drove to Ais-Ais on mostly tar roads. The 70km gravel road off the B1 towards Ais-Ais is again fine to drive, though the last 10km are tough going. Because of the weather we decided not to drive to Hobas. Ais-Ais is great though, we camped there for 1 night, made use of the thermal pools and it’s so cheap. There’s also a great restaurant. The school holidays had just ended so we had no problem turning up and getting a site, but apparently this is not normally possible during the holidays. For a good view of the canyon you can scramble up one of the mountainsides across the dry river from the resort. From Ais-Ais we returned to Cape Town, spending one night in Paternoster (100km north of CT) on the way.
Basically, an independent budget trip is possible if you travel in a 2wd, fly in and out of South Africa, hire your car in South Africa, camp, braai yourself when camping, stay in hostels in cities. Even in rainy season, most roads are passable in a 2wd but ask ahead locally first. A high clearance vehicle / 4wd is for sure more comfortable but 3-4 times the price. Make sure you can change a tire yourself. Fill up petrol whenever you can, know that you probably won’t have phone signal and that no cars may pass you for hours if you are stuck. Enjoy the beautiful landscapes and wilderness that Namibia has to offer!
