Na MIB ee AH!
Namibia has the second-lowest population density of any sovereign country with just over 3 million people in its 825,615 km2 (318,772 sq mi). Nearly 500,000 of Namibians live in the capitol city of Windhoek. When I mentioned I was traveling to Namibia, every person said, “you’re going to love it!”
I just like saying the word. Na MIB ee AH.
VISA and arriving a week early
Since April 2025, Namibia has required US citizens to apply for an eVisa to enter the country. Once approved, I printed the approval barcode and was ready to travel. When my plans changed and I arrived a week earlier than was stated on the visa, a stern and disapproving border guard made it very clearly that I had made a BIG mistake by arriving ahead of my visa entry date. In my defense, considering the sparsity of the population, I didn’t think there would be an issue. I only needed two weeks of the 90 day tourist visa; it didn’t occur to me that the start date matter. After disappearing with my passport, the guard returned, scowling and warned me not to make the same mistake in the future. Whew! Not to worry, I had learned my lesson!
Windhoek
I had booked a room for several nights at a hotel overlooking the city. The Windhoek airport is 45 minutes east of the city and I wanted to be close enough to town to explore. I booked a city tour and was very happy to spend the day with a local guide who brought Namibian history to light as we visited landmarks and townships around Windhoek. I learned about the 11 ethnic groups that make up the population, about genocide in the early 1900s, about apartheid after World War I and about the effort to unite the country after hard-won independence in 1990.
My guide helped me buy bracelets from several Himba woman who were making them at the Himba Market. I don’t buy many trinkets but when the person is actually making the item, I like to support them with a purchase.
Connectivity
My normal cell service is through Google fi which boasts service in over 200 countries. Namibia is not one of them. In the past when I needed to buy a service plan, I have been very happy with the cost and service of an eSIM. I would just sign up in advance and once I was in country, the eSiM activates and I am able to connect without wifi. Not so, in Namibia. Airalo, a service I have used in other places, sold me an eSIM on line. I had no service after landing. I did all the normal checks, researched it more online and eventually had to admit that eSims don’t work in Namibia. My iPhone doesn’t take a regular SIM and I was not keen on driving to remote places alone without some form of communication. I solved this little problem by purchasing a basic smart phone that would take a Namibian SIM card and allow me to use my whatsapp account. Turned out to be a well spent $50.
4-Wheelin’ Jimmy
The Namibian highways are great but only cover a small percentage of the interesting places to visit. When I evenutally made a plan to head three hours north of Windhoek to the Omaruru area, I was informated that I absolutley, positiviely had to rent a 4 x 4. The smallest option is a Suzuki Jimmy so that is what I reserved. The Jimmy came with spare gas can and two spare tires. The checkout speech included how to use the tire pressure guage and how to shift into 4 wheel drive. My first turn off Hightway B2 was onto a sandy gravel road and I was glad to have the wheel clearance. When I passed the first sign telling me that the road would cross a dry riverbed, I starting hoping I would remember the rest of the instructions.
Stop, shift into nuetral, push the gear knob back, shift into drive and go. What I had to learn was how fast to go, how to control the cars motion away from the track and how to slowly and carefully press the accelleator to inch up steep inclines make all the more interesting with large bolders. Who knew driving could be so fun!
Omaruru Lodge
My first stop was the Omaruru Lodge, a place selected by the travel agent who had kindly helped me set up the trip. Omaruru was an animal reserve in the middle of nowhere that catered to guest’s desire to see animals closer up. There is a large open area, complete with a watering hole, adjacent to the restaurant. The lodge feeds the animals to encourage them to come in from the bush. The watering hole attracted birds, rhinos, elands, giraffes, wildebeest and more. As I was waiting for dinner, the adult male eland snuck his head over the low fence to help himself to some of the feed.
There was a young impala that had been orphaned and then raised at the lodge. It was super cute to see until I realized it was keen on trying to head butte visitors, especially women.
The next day I joined a game drive through the reserve where we were treated to an up-close encounter with some of the elephants. I even got to scratch the head of one. What surprised me most was that the lodge also fed the elephants from the back of the game vehicle. The elephants were a bit aggressive at first and I wondered what the rangers from Thula Thula would have thought about such interactions.
Tent Camp
Next stop was the Timbila Camp Namibia, only 45 minutes farther down the sandy gravel road. I turned off the main sandy road onto the spur to the camp, drove through the very dry Omaruru Riverbed to arrive at the reception area. There was the office and the dining area and kitchen. I hadn’t bought food in Omaruru, thinking there would be some sort of store along the way. Nope. Thank goodness I had booked the three night stay to include breakfast and dinner.
Each of the 12 Tent cabins overlooked the Omaruru River. What I quickly came to realize is that the word River in Namibia, is actually short for riverbed. Rivers generally do not infer visible water more than a few days each year. The most common state is a broad stretch of very dry, frequently deep sand. There is nothing in the riverbed for critters to forage on, so not much reason to expect to see animal in the “river”.
I drove the little Jimmy around a self-drive route but didn’t see many animals along the way. It was more of an adventure in 4-wheel driving as I struggled to follow the “map” and had to reverse course a few times. I didn’t see a single vehicle or person the whole time I was exploring.
African Goddess massage
As a birthday gift to myself, I arranged for the African Goddess Massage, up at the Timbila Lodge. Turned out to be a particularly good value because I had time to enjoy the panoramic view from the lodge after the massage. With a nightly rate of $1250, the massage time was the only way I was going to enjoy the view.
The massage started with a serious salt exfoliation across my back, legs and arms. It had been a few days since I left Thula Thula, where daily application of tick repellent was necessary. It was oddly reassuring to know that even if a tick had somehow lived long enough to get to my skin, this treatment had most definitely removed them, along with several layers of skin.
The drive south out of Timbila took me through the Erindi Reserve. Erindi used to be a place for game drives and lodge stays. A new owner had fired most of the staff and did not allow guests. He apparently liked the privacy of having the entire reserve to himself for his occasional visits. The road going through the reserve was a public road. Self guided game drives weren’t allowed but transit through the reserve was. I noticed elephant dung on the road and did my best ranger impression to read that age of the dung. Then I started seeing broken tree branches which led my eyes to a herd of elephants grazing along the road. I felt quite proud of my tracking skills and sat for awhile just to enjoy watching the elephants feed along the isolation sandy road.
The mini road trip concluded when I turned in the Jimmy and checked into a hotel for my last night in Windhoek. I was glad to have seen a tiny piece of the country but knew I would need to come back to see the legendary regions of to the north and east. I had stayed in areas that were a little remote but still felt like safe places to visit as a solo traveler. Future explorations would require group travel and I wasn’t ready for that quite yet.
