Safarihiker.: Namibia- northern region self drive and wildlife spotting. March 2026

INTRODUCTION:

If travelling around on well maintained roads and sighting incredible wildlife in a sparsely populated chunk of the planet is your jam then visiting Namibia is a solid recommendation.

My first trip to Southern Africa was way back in 2007.

I drove a stock standard Corolla around South Africa, Lesotho, Swaziland (now eSwatini) and ducked into Zambia, Zimbabwe and Botswana but always meant to return and explore lesser known Namibia in the west.

It was well worth the wait.

Glorious desert skies, iconic animals trundling around everywhere, a safe and stable nation.

You can easily get around self driving and self catering or jump on a tour or do a bit of both.

Map sourced from Google maps.

GETTING THERE:

I flew into Windhoek, the capital of Namibia, from Johannesburg on Airlink. Flight time was 2 hours.

The tiny airport is around a 45 minute drive from Windhoek, no train line runs from the city so it's a taxi, pickup from a tour or rental car provider or legging it if you need the exercise.

There was a 90 minute wait at Immigration and Customs which sucked immensely.

I had a pre paid, validated online Visa to enter Namibia and stay for up to 90 days.

Cost was $160 AUD. Official Visa site here.

A charter flight had just swung in from Germany and the place was packed and chaotic.

It actually ended up that those unprepared folks that jumped on the Visa-on-arrival desk whizzed through much faster as the online Visa tech just wasn't ready and set up correctly.

Anyway, once through Customs you can acquire a local sim card for your phone and hunt down your driver to whisk you away and kick off and see some cool shit.

TRANSPORTATION AND ROADS:

I hired a rooftop camper from Heino and Benita at Bushbundu. Really cool people, happy to recommend their firm.

We obtained a pickup from the airport to the Bushbundu depot base in South central Windhoek. The highway into town was busy with weekend fitness junkies running and cycling as vehicles blew past. Not your usual African sightseeing.

Signing up and doing the legal entities and then observing a full demonstration of the camping and vehicle equipment took 2 hours.

I rented a 2025 4 door Hilux with a pull out roof top tent for a week costing $19,000 NAD with reduced insurance excess and 2 of us listed as drivers.

It worked out to around $1600 AUD or $1200 USD at the time.

All the equipment you need for self sufficient camping and touring is provided including tyre inflation compressor, cooking kit and gas bottles. Everything was in top order and very clean.

Roads: mostly very good. Car traffic was light given that Namibia is a developing country and vehicles are somewhat of a luxury.

Loads of trucks plying the highways though and the 120 km/hr speed limit was treated as a suggestion by most road users.

Fuel was often available from full service petrol stations that expect a small cash tip for assistance.

The gravel roads leading out to the coast on the C35 passed through gritty tribal Damara and Himba roadside settlements where toddlers were sent out with empty water bottles to try to flag down tourists. It was downright scary grinding through these habitations with kids running all over the highway. Really hope none of the little ones get hit.

We were pulled up at a roadblock occasionally but didn't get the full shake down or request for a bribe.

Map sourced from Google maps.

AREAS WE VISITED:

Waterburg Plateau.

We kicked off our road trip by heading north from Windhoek to the Waterburg area.

Loads of hiking and wildlife encounters under sheer red cliffs.

Etosha National Park.

Etosha is fantastic! Iconic animals of Africa everywhere, plenty of places to stay. Birdlife is next level. We camped at a private luxury lodge and went on a sunset game drive and then self drove around the National Park over a few days and camped just outside at Etosha Village.

Walvis Bay.

Fog and desert sand dunes greeted us as we emerged from the interior. We jumped on a day trip to kayak amongst thousands of cape fur seals and spot flamingoes and jackals on the beach.

Spitzkoppe.

This incredible outcrop of orange granite was easily the walking and camping highlight for us. Amazing sunset and sunrise, cute critters all around. It is the perfect spot to chug a cold Windhoek draught and feel blessed for being alive.

THINGS TO KNOW:

The official currency: the Namibian Dollar NAD, is pegged 1 to 1 to the South African Rand ZAR. You will receive NAD from ATM machines and as change from shops. You can also freely use ZAR in Namibia, but not vice versa. South Africa accepts ZAR only. I brought over a wad of ZAR from Johannesburg and spent most of it while travelling around Namibia, receiving change in NAD.

Camping in Namibia can be quite luxurious if you snag a pitch away from the crowds and get the under cover cooking area and private bathroom options.

As Namibia is a Commonwealth Nation member, you drive on the left hand side of the road and give way to traffic on the right. I carried an Australian International Driving Permit but was never requested to produce it when stopped by Police or during the rental vehicle sign up process.

There are a couple of well stocked supermarkets worth hitting before heading off into the boonies if you are starting your journey as we did in Windhoek. The Grove Mall and Maerua Mall are both safe and have paid car parking.

No alcohol sales on Sunday or public holidays.

THOUGHTS:

My plan was to tack on a quick trip to Namibia as a prelude to my Madagascar hiking adventure (the main event), not expecting to enjoy it so much as what I ended up doing. I'm a big fan of self propelled journeys but every now and then I like mixing things up with a road trip into territory I haven't visited before. This self drive journey was easy on the brain, not overly expensive and exuded good energy.

Namibia ticks all the boxes for a stress free, safe, active, independent African escapade.