Great, thanks. I look forward to hearing from you. I'm still in the UK until the end of the month.
John

Hi John,

I was just trying to do what you want to do, only a few months ago!
The camping in the park is only open Dec and Jan, when there’s some big fishing tournaments going on.
The permits for the park are quite expensive….but you can get a transit permit for free, that will allow you to be in there all day.
They are issued at the gates.

Not much to hang around in WB for, in Swakop there’s several campings, in my opinion by far the best is Alter Bruge.
My truck is currently in Swakop and I’m flying down there on the 26th of Aug. Planning on travelling some more in Namibia, then across to Zambia and Botswana.
If you would like to hook up somewhere for a couple of coldies, that would be fun.
I would not recommend to travel too much on the coast alone, without another truck with a winch……you also have to take care with fuel going up north.
Take lots of cash, as the petrol stations don’t take cards.

I’m in a Defender 110, with all the gear….been driving all over the world but don’t know too much about Africa.
When you enter Namibia, make sure you check your passport and entry stamp to see if they gave you the time that you asked for.
I did not, and sat 3 days in jail in WB……..

Ask away if I can help further…

Cheers, Ib.

Thanks for the info Viking! Good tips. I've kind of resigned myself to a making day trips with a transit permit. I'll try to find another vehicle to tag along with further up into Kaokoland. I was expecting to pick up my Landcruiser in WB on 3 Sept, but just had an email from the shipping company saying that it's now due in on 9 Sept(??). But either way I hopefully won't be too far behind you - I'm also planning on working my way through Botswana and Zambia, en route to northern Mozambique, hopefully before it gets too wet over there... It would definitely be good to knock back a few brews with you somewhere. I'll keep you posted on my whereabouts. I've travelled quite a lot, but not in Africa and not with a car, so this is all going to be new for me. I nearly got stuck in Russia overstaying on a visa earlier this year, so that's something I'll pay particular attention too! Jail time in WB is not on my agenda...
Cheers, John

Hi John,

I had a crack at it last time, but difficult and expensive unless you stay out of the park. The lodge inside will not let you camp....but theres plenty of places between WB and the south gate of the park, where you can camp on the beach for free or very little. You can then continue inland and up north, the tracks are very good.

My (very lose as always) plan at the moment is to drive down to Sossusvlei, from there to Windhoek to pick up my new tires, then up north to Kunene all the way to Epupa. From there on trying to follow the Angolian border to the Caprivi strip and further into Botswana.
Last fuel going north is in Opuwo, and depending on how much you want to do, you'll need to carry a fair bit of fuel.

My truck was also a little delayed arriving in WB, happens! Did you find a good clearing agent? As mentioned Max is a top bloke, very dedicated to the job.

I'm an ex RTW biker, I did an almost 3 year trip back in the early 90'ies, before all the GPS/computer/mobile phone crap came around....but only touched Africa back then in Egypt. Would be cool to meet up and swap some stories, Namibia is a great place to be with your 4X4, look forward to it!

Did a trip through Russia myself back in 2010, on route to Mongolia. Loved that country Mongolia, will go back there some day.

I'll PM you my local number, once I get one in NAM.

Cheers, Ib.
(that is actually my full name...Ib.)

Thanks Ib. I did think that was an abbreviation for something! If you let me have your local number, I'll give you a shout when I get into WB (should be 8 Sept). My planned route is basically the same as yours but with a detour to Etosha: Palmwag-Kunene-Epupa-Etosha-Caprivi-Botswana. If we could hook up for any of it, that would be good. Agreed re Mongolia - I can't wait to get back there some day. Stay in touch, J

Hi John,

Yep, that name have given me nothing but trouble!
I'm flying back to NAM tomorrow, and I'll let you know when I have a new number.

Your route sounds good, but I'm not sure if they will let you in at the Galton gate (western gate) as that part of the park is only for Namibian tour operators. You can try, otherwise you can drive further onto the Anderson gate. You can buy a very good map of the park in the Okaukuejo camp.
See you down there!

Cheers, Ib.

Hi John,
I have send you a PM with contact details, currently in Windhoek doing some work to the truck, but will travel up north soon.

Cheers, Ib.

All, Useful info, thanks.
Our vehicle wont get to Cape Town till about end Oct (due to some transport issues we've had).
Our (revised) plan is to spend November till mid December in Southern then Northern Namibia (incl Etosha, Opuwo, Caprivi); then Northern Botswana end of December; return to S Africa (Cape Town to Durban route -ish) for Jan / Feb; before heading to Vic Falls March; and Zambia to Tanzania March / April.
Trying to avoid wet season before we head north to Uganda. We realise that this is possibly not the best timing, but those are the cards we've been dealt.
Any thoughts?

Hi guys,

Glad your plans are coming together. We spent three years avoiding the rain. It is possible! This is what I'd bear in mind:

Rainy season in Southern Africa (ie SA, Namibia, Botswana, Zambia, Malawi) is mid November to mid April. January and February see the heaviest rain. This does not apply to:

a) the very south of SA (where November to March are the driest months with only 2 or 3 days rain a month on average), or

b) parts of Eastern Africa eg northernTanzania and most of Kenya which have short rains in Nov/Dec and long rains in March to May/June ie Jan and Feb are, in theory at least, dry. This is the most popular time to visit the game parks in E Africa.

So that means that during this period you can escape the rain in the very south of the area you're talking about or for Jan and Feb you can escape it in the very north ie Tanzania.

Rainy season will have a bigger impact in some areas than others. For example, it may be a good idea to limit your time in the more off-road destinations as you will get plenty of mud and camping isn't such fun. It won't have much of an impact on you if you're traveling on tar.

Some parts of the area you are talking about are desert and see little rain even in wet season so consider spending plenty of time in the middle of the wet season in these areas (eg the Kalahari).

South African school holidays have a massive effect on the availability of accommodation esp in game parks. These run from early Dec (6th or so) until mid Jan. You will find it hard to get into game parks during this period and they will be heaving (personally I would avoid Botswana in late Dec, same goes for Etosha or Kruger. If you do want to be there then check availability/book now).

For us this area is largely about the game viewing. If you're the same then get to some good areas as soon as you arrive. A couple of weeks after the rains start - lets say by late Nov - there will be enough water deep in the bush to make it much harder to see game and access will get trickier. If game viewing is important to you I would think about heading straight to Botswana and saving Nambia until it's wetter. Etosha is a good game park to save until the rains as the roads are all weather. Similarly KTP (Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park) is also still good in the wetter weather. It is a doddle to check availability/book SA parks online (go to SAN Parks website). It harder to book spots in Namibia and harder again in Bots (but I have the email of a nice lady in Maun who will do it for free ...).


Have fun planning.

Thanks for the info 38, good to know!
John, I have just today found out that one needs a Cross Border Permit, and it's only issued in Windhoek,,,,,,,,,went and got mine today 220 NAM Dollars. Apparently the fine for not having one when going through roadblocks or crossing the border is 1000 NAM Dollars,,,,,,,,have gone through some roadblocks already, and nobody asked for it,,,,the border might be different! Got a mate in Windhoek who can get one for you if you want, you don't have to show up in person,,,,,,,,

Cheers, Ib.

You can buy the Cross Border Permit at any border crossing into Namibia as well as at the road authority office in Windhoek.

Margaret

Hi Margaret,
That´s correct, but when you ship into WB you can´t buy it there for some reason......not sure if you can get it LEAVING Namibia......

Cheers, Ib.

We had the same issue shipping into WB ie it wasn't possible to buy a cross border permit. We bought it in Windhoek - no issues.

Thanks all.
Ib, I have sent you a PM. John