Namibia

4th of August – 24th of September, 2019

Our Route

Our Video

Days

5734

Kilometers Per Bike

4172

USD For 2 People

283

Liters Of Petrol Per Bike

Dates Visited
4th of August – 24th of September, 2019
Detailed Costs For 2 People And 2 Bikes
- 536$ petrol
- 421$ camping
- 123$ entry fees
- 9$ new cloths
- 256$ new gear (new external HD, stuff for the GoPro and our mobile phones)
- 11$ repair and maintenance of gear (new zippers for our tank bags)
- 756$ supermarket
- 686$ repair and maintenance of the bikes (2x new radiator fans and new water pump seal)
- 635$ restaurant
- 28$ road tax
- 14$ laundry and other small things
- 668$ accommodation in AirBnB’s
- 28$ for data and sim cards
Hights
Highest Point: 2038 m a.s.l

Lowest Point: 0 m a.s.l
Currency
Namibian Dollar
Average Petrol Price
~ 0.94 USD per liter
Sleeping Places
- 23x camping
- 2x wild camping
- 24x accomodation
- 2x friends
Average Temperatures
During the day between 25 and 38 degrees and at night between 4 and 14 degrees
Road Conditions
Only the main roads from North to South and a few other roads are paved, otherwise Namibia is a dirt lovers paradise. You can find everything from beautiful gravel roads to extremley corrigated dirt roads, sand and bull dust (or fesh fesh). So there is something for everyone!
Weather
In winter Namibia is always sunny and quite nice during the day. The nights can get really cold so be prepared! In summer it can get very hot and also the rain season is usually then (they did not have a proper rain season for years though, which makes the land very dry)
Health Issues

Xenia: none

Martin: none

Apps / Websites

Here some apps and webpages we think are usefull for travelling overland to this country

App: iOverlander

Websites: Gravel Travel / Overlander Africa (Facebook Groupe)
Service / Work on the bikes
XTR: cleaning the air filter and re-greasing

XTZ: cleaning the air filter and re-greasing, water pump service (see Problems / Breakdowns), checking valve clearance, new coolant, cleaning and greasing of the starter motor
Problems / Breakdowns
XTZ: the bike overheated once in Zimbabwe due to no obvious reasons but in Namibia we found out that the radiator fan did not work anymore and the bike overheated again. Because of that the seal of the water pump broke. Therefore the fan and the seal had to be replaced.

XTR: for whatever reasons (we believe it was the very salty dust in the Makgadhigadhi Pans) the fan on this bike stopped working too and needed replacement. Also one of the indicators (after marked) did not work due to a loose cable therefore we had to fix the connection.

Lost: nothing

Other: zippers of the tank bags stopped working and needed to be replaced
Paperwork

Visa: As Swiss passport holders we get 90 days for free

Carnet de Passage: As we travel with the CdP we used it but you can also get a temporary import permit (TIP) at the border. Be careful with the CdP stamps when you travel in the SACU ( Southern African Customs Union). You need to stamp in when you enter the union and then only stamp out when you leave it (therefore not at every border). The problem is, that a lot of people working at the custom offices have no idea about it and therefore do it wrong.

Insurance: You don’t need an insurance as it is included in the fuel price
Notable
Namibia combines some really interesting cultures. In the North it is very rural and a lot of traditional tribes like the Hereros, the Damaras and the Himbas are still around. The further South you go, the more it becomes Western and there is a lot of German food and Beer places can be found. This makes for a very interesting but still very easy and nice place to go for holidays.
Important information
Here some very country specific information:

You can get money easy at ATMs but its good to bring in some Rand or USD to get a start in case the first ATM does not work and also to pay the fees at the border.

Its easy to get a SIM card (MTC is the best provider) and data. “Super Aweh” is a good deal per week and you can get it at any supermarket.

Motorbikes are not allowed in the national parks

Favourite Places To Sleep

Camp Cornie (-17.0624563,13.4917175)
Free Bush camp at Naute Dam (-26.956597,17.9662594)
Xenia’s BnB in Windhoek also for camping (-22.5856119,17.0940137)

Points of Interest

Cultural Himba Village (-17.8060553,13.6874383)
Yamaha Windhoek, also if you don’t have a Yamaha (-22.5750075,17.0731814)
Tigerquellen Farm, amazing dinner and also great camp ground (-19.5134011,18.0123397)