Namibia - (Day 8-9) - Windhoek - Maun, Botswana and back home to Francistown

Driving through the heavy fog

some animals on the way



Back home with the bush car

We are now home and Lennox calculated the total journey’s distance travelled was 4,200km, in the 9 days; we drove for 48 hours straight, 24 hours each, all I can say is WOW.

Leaving Windhoek, 9:00am (April 17) and going through the border it took us literally 15 minutes, first the Namibian side then the Botswana side, yes literally 15 minutes total.  We got there at 10:00am and this was a Tuesday.  As we were making good time we decided to drive past Ghanzi on to Maun, and depending on the time we got to Maun we will either stay there the night, or try and make Gweta, between all these villages in Botswana the distances could be approximately 200+ km.  But guess what, we had to slow down a lot as we were back in the land of the donkeys, cows, horses, you name it all in the road.

We made it as far as Maun, it was now just after 4:00pm and to get to Gweta it will be after 6:00 with night falling, we were tired and just stayed in Maun the night, we stayed at the Cresta Rileys Hotel, not our first choice but Maun Lodge was full.

So the following day (April 18), we still had about 500+km to drive, we took our time, filling up at the filling stations along the way, and dodging the cows and donkeys.  We are now glad to be home in Francistown, and are busy planning on leaving Botswana after two unforgettable years living here.  We thoroughly enjoyed our journey to Namibia, driving is a beautiful way to see Africa.

Blessings from the Francis’ back in Francistown

After driving 4,200km in 9 days here are a few tips, for those who want to make this journey:

<!--[if !supportLists]-->1.    <!--[endif]--> You have to be compatible with whoever you will be making this long trip with.

<!--[if !supportLists]-->2.    <!--[endif]-->Stop at all the filling stations you see to top up, especially in Botswana, and do not forget the jerry can of diesel at home.

<!--[if !supportLists]-->3.    <!--[endif]-->We are sorry we did not stay in Swakopmund and Windhoek another night, I think it would have made the journey less tiring.

<!--[if !supportLists]-->4.    <!--[endif]-->Make sure you have a good car with good tires.  Check tires, oil and windshield washer every morning.  Our bush car is a 1996 Toyota Prado diesel, turbo charged, and the best bush car around.

<!--[if !supportLists]-->5.    <!--[endif]-->On this journey, with diesel, hotel rooms, food, souvenirs we spent approximately 15,000pulas (US$2,200).  And that was because we had a friends place to stay in Swakopmund.  So plan on bringing cash (Rand, US$, and Namibian $), they do take visa at most filling stations and hotels/lodges

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<!--[if !supportLists]-->6.    <!--[endif]-->DO NOT FORGET YOUR CAMERA.

<!--[if !supportLists]-->7.    <!--[endif]-->You can buy internet service if you are not staying at a hotel with wi fi.

<!--[if !supportLists]-->8.    <!--[endif]-->DO NOT FORGET DRINKING WATER, lots of water.

<!--[if !supportLists]-->9.    <!--[endif]-->The key thing is to smile with everyone, a smile goes a long way, even if they do not understand you, they understand a smile.

<!--[if !supportLists]-->10.                       <!--[endif]-->Always plan ahead, know your distances, how far you will be going, and book your hotel/lodges ahead of time.  We booked our forward trip, but not our return, which was not bad, because it is still not the true tourist season yet!!

Have a wonderful time on your journey, we hope these few details will help you through your stay in Namibia, it was truly awesome!!



the game food you will encounter at Soussesvlei Lodge