Namibia

Travel Guide Namibia

Journeying through Namibia will take you through a variety of ecosystems and let you discover their inhabitants. The Namib Desert covers a large part of the country. But in a country twice the size of Germany, there is still enough place for other natural highlights!

Our trips to Namibia:

Volunteering Namibia – Elephant Conservation

Family Volunteering Namibia – Elephant Conservation

Safari Namibia – Between Delta and Caprivi

Safari Namibia – Northern Wildlife Highlights

Guide Course Namibia – Field Guide

Highlights in Namibia

The Cape Cross Seal Reserve is a sanctuary for the world’s largest breeding colony of Cape fur seals with up to 210 000 seals present during the breeding season in November and December. It is one of Namibia’s most visited parks. New facilities include a walkway enhancing viewing of the seals, information signs along the walkway, renovated picnic areas, five campsites with fireplaces, and timber-plastic wind shields. Accommodation is available at a private lodge bordering the park, camping is available at Mile 72 and Mile 108. Cape Cross is a gateway to the Messum Crater and the Brandberg Mountain to the east and Skeleton Coast Park to the north. Bird platforms in the south of the park are closed to the public.
This place is characterized by a unique mountainous landscape and a large number of rare animals such as black rhinos, whose populations are recovering due to different protection programmes. In addition to a wildlife tour you can also visit the “Spitzkoppe Mountain” and have a look at the amazing cave paintings from prehistoric times. And maybe you even find the “White Elephant”.
This world-renowned national park is home to the famous Big Five and the Dik Dik antelope which weighs only 5 kg. One of the most important reasons why to visit Etosha National Park is the stable populations of black rhinos. Besides that, the park has got the highest density of wild animals in Namibia. In the center of the park there is a large salt pan which serves as water source for many animals. The major advantage of Etosha National park is that self-driving is allowed in the park and gives you the great opportunity to be your own guide.
Due to its lush vegetation this region forms a beautiful contrast to Namibia's generally arid landscapes. The east of this region is similar to the Okavango Delta in Botswana, the rest of the area is covered by lush forests. Here you can observe an incredible amount of wildlife such as elephants, antelopes, hippos, crocodiles and even wild dogs. This magnificent area is worth a trip for any wildlife enthusiast!

Geography of Namibia

Namibia is bordered by Angola, Zambia, Botswana, South Africa and the Atlantic to the west. The Namib Desert runs along the coast from South Africa to Angola. The south and north of the Namib Desert are sandy and gravel plains. However, the fine sands of the central section are covered by dunes. The most famous sand dunes are in the vicinity of Sossusvlei. The inland Great Escarpment borders the Namib Desert. This region is dominated by rock formations and rugged mountain chains, and forms a natural transition between the Namib Desert and the Central Highlands. These cover the majority of Namibia and are covered by shrub savannah. The central Erongo region contains Brandberg, Namibia’s highest peak at over 2,500 m. The Central Highlands are bordered by part of the Kalahari Desert, known for its red dunes, and the Kavango-Caprivi region. This wetland in the north-east of Namibia stands in contrast to the rest of the country, which is dry.

Der Sonnenuntergang im unberuehrten Damaraland Namibias

Eine Giraffe sucht in der Halbwueste Namibias nach Wasser und Nahrung

Geomorphology/Geology

The oldest areas of Namibia consist of two landmasses Kongo-Kraton and Kalahari-Kraton which were originally separated by the Damara sea. Over Millions of year these two areas moved towards each other. When they collided they created the Damara Mountains. Nowadays parts of these mountains can be also found in Khomas highlands as well as in the Naukluft Mountains. Another important event regarding the origin of landscapes was the separation of African from South America. Before both Africa and South America were parts of the super-continent called Gondwana. The separation of both continents lead to a lifting of the flanking bench and the development of relief became more dynamic. The Namib Desert and the central party of the country were affected by strong erosions and weathering.

Travel Tipps and Trivia for Namibia

Long distance busses connect all larger cities. Besides that there is a railway network, so that you can reach almost every city easily by train (but consider that the trains are relatively slow!). In order to see as many places as possible in the country you should get a rental car. The road system is highly developed, but some parts of the street might not be paved though. To rent a car in Namibia an international driving license or a national driving license in English language is required. Since Namibia is sparsely inhabited there are not many petrol stations. Do not forget to refuel at every petrol station you pass and better fill some petrol in a can as a backup.
- January 1: New Year's Day
- March 21: Independence Day
- May 1: Labour Day
- May 25: Africa Day
- August 26: Day of Heroes
- December 10: Namibian Women’s Day and International Day of Human Rights
- December 25: Christmas
- December 26: Family Day
- Additional holidays: Good Friday, Easter Monday, Ascension Day
- Do not forget to take enough sunscreen with you.
- You should always carry enough drinking water with you.
- Do not go out alone at night.
- Keep a sufficiently large distance to any wild animal you see.
- When passing gates or grids of farms you should not forget to close them.

Climate in Namibia

Namibia is located in the subtropical-arid climate zone. The temperatures are rather high and the air is dry. Depending on the place and season temperatures can vary strongly. In the western parts rainfalls are pretty rare and temperatures can rise up to 40°C. In winter temperatures can fall below the freezing point at night. The climate on the foggy coastal areas is determined by the Benguela stream and strong south-west winds and thus relatively cold. The central highlands have strong rainfalls and high temperatures in summer and mild temperatures in winter. There are around 300 days of sunlight per year! However, spontaneous rainfalls and thunderstorms during the African summer months (December to April) are no rarity. During the winter month (April to September) temperatures are more comfortable though.

Flora and Fauna in Namibia

In the Namib Desert only adaptive animals like the desert beetle can survive the high temperatures and dry environment. The desert beetle for instance can use the air humidity (even if it is very low) to cover his water demand. On the coast there are several colonies of seals. In the rest of the country typical African animals like elephants, rhinos or antelopes can be observed. In the northern part of Kavango-Caprivi wild crocodiles can be found.

Zwei Elefanten werden waehrend der Elefantenpatrouille von den Teilnehmern fotografiert

Straussen sind die an die Wueste am besten angepasstesten Voegel

Social Geography of Namibia

Namibia is known as a “rainbow nation”, which means that there are many different ethnicities living there. In the everyday life they do not play an important role, most people consider themselves as Namibians and get along well with each other. Namibia is one of the most sparsely populated countries. The countyside is hardly inhabited as there is the tendency of people to move to larger cities. Despite the fact that Namibia has a high rate of young unemployment, it can be considered as economically and politically stable.