After months of planning and preparing our self drive tour we are excited to finally start our Southern Africa adventure. And it starts with a good omen as the Phoenix airport actually opened an exhibition on African animals so it seems we will be able to see them at least as art if we get unlucky and cannot see them in flesh during our trip.
But first we have to get to Windhoek with almost 21 hours of flight plus 10 hours in stopovers divided evenly between London and Johannesburg. We have passed through Heathrow a few times before so we already know most of the shops which makes it the more boring stop. The one thing that we try to do is to get a boarding pass for the flight to Windhoek but no luck supposedly it can only be gotten from Johannesburg. So we do some window shopping eat a lunch and then it’s on to the second long flight of our trip.
In Johannesburg it is a bit less clear what to do as a transit passenger but we finally find the right exit and we get to border control which poses a small problem as we do not have a boarding pass and we seem to be alone among all passengers with that problem. However when we mention Windhoek all is solved as they pass us through and tell us to get the boarding pass right afterwards. Which we do after we stand in a queue for about 1h after a group of Japanese flying to Victoria Falls. Finally in the airport we investigate all the interesting and new shops and even buy a couple books about the birds and mammals of Southern Africa and we eat breakfast. In the end we also decide to exchange some US dollars which in the long run proves to be a wise decision.
And then we finally get on the short flight to Windhoek. To our surprise the plane is really comfortable compared to the long haul flights and we even get food even on a 2h flight. From the plane we can catch the first glimpse of Namibia and its roads as we approach the airport. And then we are finally at the Windhoek Hoseo Kutako International Airport, which is a bit small as you even have to walk from the airplane to the terminal.
The border formalities are relatively fast after we complete a 20 question questionnaire similar to the entry to US when on visa including the same weird question “where do you intend to stay while in the country?”. In the airport we first try to buy a Namibian SIM card for our phone which we think is worth the $5 cost as we can use much cheaper domestic rates if needed. It takes about 30 min but we succeed as everything seems to take a lot longer as it should. Then we try to exchange some money but we give up after another long wait, which is a mistake as we find out in the long run, and we simply withdraw some money from the nearby ATM.
And then we finally get to the car rental counter and after a lot of formalities we finally get the key to our 2×4 Nissan Xterra. Knowing what we know now we would have insisted to get a second spare but we didn’t know what we know now of course at that point😊. Then we go outside to get the car which again takes some time as the agent cannot find the car for some time and then he shows us that the spare tire is there and in good condition and that all the needed tools to change a tire are there. We give him a tip and then it’s off to Windhoek 40 km away. Actually it takes a bit to be off as we kill the engine a few times as we get adjusted to a manual on the left side but finally sounding like a race car especially when starting from a standing position we get to the highway.
The road is paved and in great condition with a speed limit of 120 km/h so we zoom along towards our accomodation for the night, Olive Grove in Windhoek. There are relatively few cars on the highway which is good as it is a bit difficult to juggle both the manual and driving on the left side of the road. And then we notice the roadblock – we are a bit scared especially as we kill the engine right at the checkpoint but we are waved through and then we enter the city. Luckily we have directions and the accomodation is an easy find – getting inside is a bit more difficult as it is gated but somebody notices us and we get in safely.The room that we get has both the advantage and disadvantage to face the veranda which is used for dinner and breakfast as it is noisy but also very easy for us to just step out for breakfast.
It feels great to finally see a bed after all the travel and to take a bath – the bath actually is impressive with 3 different ways to get water in the bathtub or take a shower and his and hers sinks. Also the minibar is stocked and we like the fact that the electricity plug is build such that South African, European and US appliances can be used in it.
Before dinner we take a short stroll on the grounds to take a few pictures of the veranda in front of our room and of our SUV still clean and shiny new before the start of our grand tour.
After one hour of relaxing after our arrival we go to dinner which is menu based and as we did throughout our trip we each choose separate dishes to sample as much as possible. The food is great especially after the airplane food, it is soup followed by either kudu steak or pork medallion and then a selection of chocolates which added was about $40 for the two of us.
We wake up early for an early breakfast so we are be able to buy some stuff from the supermarket before we have to check out at around 10 AM. The breakfast is the first of many very filling breakfasts that we have on our trip in this case it is a combined buffet + hot item from a menu breakfast. We both choose eggs unfortunately without knowing that we will get sick and tired of them by the end of the trip.
And then it is off to the supermarket, if we only knew how to get the SUV into reverse. We try multiple ways with no luck almost driving it through the wall. Finally we read the manual and solve the mystery (there was a ring on the shift that had to be pulled up) and are on our way.
But before we leave we snap a few pictures of the accomodation as we forgot the previous day and then we drive to the supermarket according to the instructions of the host. After a few bad turns we find the store but it is not yet open as it is Sunday. We wander around a bit more and find an open gas station where we buy water and a few food provisions for our trip. And then we check out and go to explore Windhoek.
We park at the only covered parking in downtown which supposedly also has security even though we don’t see any and it looks a bit deserted. After a short walk we get to the pedestrian zone, the Post Street Mall, and go directly to the most well known sight in the area the Gibeon meteorites. There are actually 33 meteorites (minus ~3 who have been stolen) that are presented as a sculpture in the middle of the mall and are part of what was supposedly the world’s heaviest meteor shower some 600 million years ago. In order to ensure that no meteorites are stolen anymore there is a 24h on duty guard who eyes us really carefully so we snap only a few pictures before moving on.
The downtown area has very few craft sellers this Sunday morning and also most stores are closed but at least the Bushman Art and African Museum is open so we take a look at the different artifacts from across Namibia and buy a few postcards and then we return to the car to drive towards the Christus Kirche (Church of Christ) which is another major attraction in Windhoek.
We park at the Christus Kirche where we face for the first time the Namibian parking system. Parking is free but you tip somebody to watch your car. The tip is given afterwards at least and is in the vicinity of USD 50c so it is not high by any means it’s just that you never know whether the person is just a random bypasser or really a security guard. In our case he gives some directions to the attractions around the Christus Kirche. The first one however is not mentioned by him and actually not mentioned anywhere across all the guidebooks we read: the Independence Memorial Museum. It is not open yet even though it was supposed to be opened in 2010, it was built by a North Korean company and it might be a bit controversial as it involved moving some other historic colonial monuments, especially the Reiterdenkmal (Equestrian Statue) to make place for it but still it is almost like it doesn’t exist.
We then walk a bit further up the street to see the moved Reiterdenkmal which commemorates the German soldiers who died during the wars of conquest of Namibia, ok maybe there is a good reason to move the statue a bit. Behind the statue is the Alte Feste (old fortress) which is the first structure erected by the Schutztruppen (protective army) when they arrived at the end of the 19th century. It is really not that impressive from the outside but we intend to visit it as it also houses the National Museum of Namibia and it is open between 10-12 am. We get there at 11 am and it actually is closed which is really a surprise for us and the other tourists who climb to the entrance. At least we see a few wagtails that walk around on the lawn.
Then we walk back towards the church and a different direction to get to the Tintenpalast (ink palace) which is where the colonial government was housed and the name came from the copious amounts of bureaucratic ink used. Now it is the Parliament of Namibia but there is no one guarding it as far as we can see.
We then walk back through the park in front of the Parliament to the car and view a few large lizards and quite a few birds and there are some locals who enjoy the time off picnicking and walking around. At the car the guard tells us that the church is open (which is rare) so we go inside to see the stained glass windows donated by Kaiser Wilhelm II. After this we finally leave the city on the main street going north, the B1, which should be paved almost up to our destination. It is interesting to see the street names as we leave the city including people that are not well viewed in Western countries such as Fidel Castro and Robert Mugabe.
