Border Crossing from Botswana/Sth Africa to Namibia:

We exited Botswana into Sth Africa in the Trans Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park at Nassob. Here there is no border control facilities and thus the Passports need to be stamped into SA only at Two Rivers. We could then proceed to Mata Mata to exit SA and into Namibia.

Vehicle Import and 3rd Party Insurance AND CBC & MDC ( Cross Border Charges and Mass Distance Charges)

The carnet is not stamped as it covers all the Sth African Union of Sth Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Swaziland and Lesotho.

3rd Part Insurance ?

CBC = Cross Border Charge. Owners of foreign registered vehicles pay a cross border charge on entering Namibia.

Cars N$ 259 ( A$26)

Single Unit Truck ( above 3500Kg and below 7000Kg) with 2 axles N$612 ( A$61)

MDC = Mass Distance Charge. 

Is a distance charge and depends on the GVM of the vehicle

Truck more than 3500Kg and less than 7000Kg N$5.90 per 100Km ( A$0.59/100Km)

Truck more than 7000Kg N$7.10 per 100Km

A form must be completed including the odometer and it is computer entered. On leaving the country the MDC fee is paid.

Travel in Namibia:

Travel in Namibia we felt much more comfortable than Botswana and far more relaxed than Sth Africa.

Expect to pay for photographs of Himba people. N$200 - N$250 ( A$20/25 )

That is there way of making a living.

Organised ‘tours’ of villages cost around N$300/person

Large tracts of land on the western seaboard are restricted areas, either for Diamond mining or park reserves.

Permits are required and some forward planing is required to travel some roads.

Some you can transit only for free but then no camping.

Only 2 spot lights are allowed, hence we taped over our additional spot lights.

Note LED bar lights are counted as each individual LED light.

Police checks are ofter outside large towns, always we found no problems.

Camping & Park Entry:

We free camped in Namibia many times and felt very safe. ( about 50% of free camps)

Most camp grounds charge around N$200 per vehicle or N$100 per person. ($20/$10)

A couple of times it was excessive. One private place was N$500 (A$50) just because it was a red sand dune camp and also we paid because it was the end on a long day !

Many camping places do not have Credit Card facilities and only accept cash !

The NWR (Namibian Wildlife Resorts) have a monopoly in National Parks and you have no choice if you wish to stay within the park. The quality is also not as good as those private camps just outside the park.

Most times we had to pay almost twice the outside price (around N$400 camping) yet received less than half the quality. Showers cold, tiles on the shower floor missing, toilet seats missing, toilets that do not flush etc etc. Really they need to seriously look at themselves !

There are also NWR hidden charges that nobody tells you on entry. Eg You pay for park entry to Sossusvlei then drive the 65Km to the dunes. Surprise at the end of the 65km drive it is not allowed to drive a 4x2 OR a 4x4 vehicle that is over 3500Kg the last 4kms. The option is you must pay  N$170/person (A$17) for transport over a very rough 4km road. ( yes only 4kms). For that charge one would think they could do something better than the stinking drop toilet, at least provide a shaded area where you wait for the transport AND at least provide a couple of signs for the walking trails ! It would also be nice if they actually advised of the charge so you have CASH on hand.

Food:

Spar Supermarkets are everywhere and have an extensive range. Food Lovers is in major towns and have the best quality and a great selection of meat, cheese, fruit and vegetables however as for other general goods Spar has a better selection.

Fuel:

In 2016 Diesel varied from N$10.60 to N$11.00/litre ( A$1.06 to $1.10)

In the bigger towns 50PPM diesel was available but all have 500PPM.

500PPM was also slightly cheaper.

Sometimes fuel stations run out of product so always keep some in reserve.

Always ask if they accept Credit Card, small Service Stations do not.

Water:

Namibia is short on water as it is mostly desert and the quality varied from very mineralised bore water to desalinated water.

Available in some but not all camping areas.

Tap connections varied considerably, some even do not have threads. I will now carry a coned rubber connection fitting and clamp for such taps.

Internet:

For such a vast country we are surprised we have internet in some very remote parts. Generally if there is a small village there is internet.

We used MTC prepaid. 3 Gb for 60 days was N$300 ( A$30)

For our actual Travel Diary through Namibia see: GoannaTracks Namibia

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