14 days Cape Town to Windhoek tour; on your third, you embark on Orange river canoe in the morning. It is the best time to cool down given that in the week ahead you will be in the World’s true desert. The Karoo desert which you had already experienced the past 2 days, winds down slowly merging with the Namibia desert. Shortly after crossing the Orange River, which marks the border with South Africa, Namibia just became a massive bear. Along the Orange River, the vineyards flourish on rocky soil. As you head far away from the river you would not believe the beauty of the landscape. Hills crop up every few kilometres drive, with hardly any sign of life. 

Namibia Africa 

Namibia is a country in Southern Africa. Africa is a continent with 53 countries and over 1 billion inhabitants. South Africa borders Namibia in the South and Angola in the North. Botswana, Zimbabwe, Zambia and Namibia intersect at Kasane forming a quadripoint on the North-eastern part. On the west is the Atlantic ocean. Geographically Namibia lies 22° 0′ 0″ S, 17° 0′ 0″ E.  

Formerly known as South-West Africa, Namibia attained its independence in 1990. Initially a colony of Germany it then became under the administration of the former South African apartheid government from 1948. Namibia is a massive country covering 825,615 sq km that’s almost 1 1/2 times the size of France. With a population of just 2,3 million people, it is one of the least populated countries in the World. Its population density is 3 people per square kilometre, that’s so much space! Windhoek is the capital city of Namibia. Other towns include Swakopmund and Walvis Bay on the coast. On this 14 days Cape Town to Windhoek Tour we pass through these towns. 

Since we are travelling from neighbouring South Africa our entrance border on the South is the Vioolsdrif. Having checked off South Africa both on the immigration and the police check you drive shortly to cross the Orange River. Read here for Covid-19 Requirements and regulations to observe in Namibia. You may need to be very patient during these times of the pandemic, it’s safety first. The procedure to check in your passports and necessary Visa requirements at normal times should take slightly less than an hour depending on traffic of the day and time.  

Namibia Climate 

The Namib desert is 55 million years old, probably one of the oldest deserts. Annual precipitation is 2mm in the most arid regions while the less arid region can receive up to 200 mm rainfall a year. This coastal desert spans about 2000 km from the Carunjamba river in Angola through Namibia to the Olifants River in the Western Cape province of South Africa. Its width is the range 75-100 km. This part of Namibia is the rockiest and mountainous with sand dunes.  

Then there is the central plateau from Kunene and Okavango river valleys in the North to the Orange River in the south. This central plateau is the most arid area of Namibia, largely savanna and shrub, with mountains and hills in distant places. The Brandberg mountains with an altitude of 2,573 metres and the Fish River canyon lie in the central plateau. Gradually savanna merges into the Kalahari in the east which becomes more distinguished in Botswana. 

Namibia’s climate is generally warm to very warm, especially in summer. Summer runs from November to February and the winter months are between May and August. Inland the air is dry while along the coast there is moisture. The sky is usually clear with temperatures rising to as high as 38 degrees celsius. Night temperature drops to just above 25 degrees although in winter temperatures overnight can be 10 degrees. 

14 Days Cape Town to Windhoek

I decided to drive parallel to the Orange River for a few kilometres to see the green grape farms under irrigation. In this rocky sandstone desert, to see the expanse of the farms on either side of the river is so beautiful. I took the C37 gravel road to link the D316 that took me to Ais-Ais, my overnight campsite today. I’m surprised already by the long drive with no other cars in sight. Dry grass, dark rocky kopje, barren plains of sand, shale of stones with little sign of how life can survive here, and short sparsely distributed shrubs. It is calm most of the time. Mountain ranges surround me from very distant places but also rocky and barren, just the stones. 

Warm air blows in the car with the windows wide open but then again the trail of dust behind the car is like a storm. Most roads in Namibia are gravel in the vast desert except for major roads linking towns and business areas. Roads are well maintained throughout the year but one has to be careful driving on such roads. 

4 Fascinating places to visit in Namibia

In the first part of the Namib desert adventure you can not miss these 4 destinations; Ais-Ais, Fishriver Canyon, Sossusvlei, and Namib-Narkluft national park. It should take 4 days to traverse the desert at a relative pace that gives one ample time to enjoy and rest. These 4 fascinating places to visit in Namibia if you intend to have a quiet time in the desert.

Ais-Ais is a hot spring resort in the desert surrounded by high mountains. It is at an altitude of  400 m and lies at the end of the Fish River Canyon. The experience is magnificent just chilling in a hot swimming pool overnight in the desert. During the winter months, many hikers take part in the 85km hiking trail from Hobas to Ais-Ais.

Fish River Canyon   The Fish-river canyon is a gigantic ravine of landform that is 550m deep at the main viewpoint and winds like a snake with patches of pools of water on the river bed. It spans 160km and the widest part is 21km. The hiking trail however is 88 km from here at Hobas entrance to the Ais-Ais. For hiking enthusiasts, you have to have a hiking permit having satisfied the health requirements; it is a real challenge of 4 to 5 days in this graben where temperatures go up to 48 degrees during the day and 30 degrees during the night. 

Sesriem, Dune 45 and Sossusvlei The dunes are believed to be 5 million years old and cover the whole area of the Sossusvlei(32 000 sq km) in the Namib-Naukluft national park. Striking to the dunes is the red colour which is attributed to the iron oxide swept from the Kalahari through the Orange River to the Atlantic Ocean.