Why Namibia
It is one of the least densely populated countries in the world, and the trip consists largely of crossing that emptiness: the red dunes of Sossusvlei, the Fish River canyon, the Skeleton Coast, the Damaraland plateau and its rock engravings.
Etosha park allows a particular kind of wildlife watching: in the dry season, the animals concentrate at waterholes that you observe from your vehicle, without searching.
Getting around
The self-drive tour is the normal way to travel, on well-maintained but treacherous gravel tracks. A four-wheel drive with two spare wheels is the standard, and a puncture is part of the programme.
Driving is on the left. The rules that matter: do not exceed eighty kilometres an hour on gravel, never brake sharply, and do not drive after sunset because of the game. The distances between gas stations run to hundreds of kilometres — you fill up the moment you pass one.
Money
The Namibian dollar and the South African rand circulate interchangeably, at parity. Cards work in the lodges, the supermarkets and the stations, but cash remains necessary in the villages and for informal tolls.
The country is affordable for camping accommodation and much more expensive in lodges. Tipping is customary: ten per cent in restaurants, a sum for guides and trackers.
Before you go
Water and fuel are managed as on an expedition: a permanent water reserve in the vehicle, systematic refuelling, and your route known to the next place you are staying. Phone coverage disappears over long stretches.
Campsites and lodges are booked months in advance in high season: there is no alternative on the spot when they are full.
Sossusvlei enforces entry times tied to sunrise and sunset, and sleeping inside the park is the only way to reach the dunes at dawn.