General information: Situated along the southwestern coast of the African continent, Namibia is truly a remarkable country of contrasts. With a land surface of 824 269 kms2 it is nearly four times the size of Great Britain. Despite the size it is one of the most sparsely populated countries in Africa. The country’s landscapes are an ever changing kaleidoscope, varying from the Namib dune sea in the west to teak woodlands and waterways in the northeast. The Namib desert in the west and the Kalahari in the east account for about 22% of the country’s surface. Namibia’s people are diverse, ranging from the pastoral Himba in the northwest, to the San in the east. The San no longer pursue an exclusively hunter – gatherer existence, but are struggling to adapt to a new way of life. Namibia is also one of the top diamond producing companies in the world.

Climate: Summer: October- April, average temperatures range from 200C to 340C during the day
Winter: May- September, average temperatures range from 180C to
250C during the day but can drop below 00C at night.

Population: 1,927 million, the official language is English but Afrikaans and German is also widely used.

Local time: GMT plus 2 hours

Clothing: Casual, lightweight, comfortable, light colored cotton clothing. Warm clothing will be required at night for example a windbreaker or tracksuit.

Health: Medical services in Namibia are of a very high standard. It is advised to take along sufficient supply of prescribed medications as well as malaria precautions, information and prescriptions can be obtained from your nearest travel clinic.

Insurance: Travel insurance (medical, hospitalization, baggage, theft and cancellation) is highly recommended, and can be arranged in country of origin. Travel insurance documents must be in the possession of the holder at all times.

Electrical appliances: All run on 220/240 volts. Outlets are of the round 3 pin, 15 amps type

Accessories: Sun block lotion, sunglasses, hats and insect repellent.

Telephone
Police 10111
Fire 211111
Ambulance 211111

Game Parks and Reserves

The Caprivi Strip: The Caprivi Strip is a long panhandle enclosed by permanent water and stretching eastwards from the Kavango River to and along the Zambezi ending at the border junction of Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe and Zambia.

This lush savannah area is bounded by the Kwando, Linyanti and Chobe River system on the southern border with Botswana and with the Zambezi River forming part of its northern boundary with Zambia.

Wildlife in the Caprivi has not yet recovered from years of poaching and the destructive bushwar of the 70's and 80's but its superb conservation areas may in the future rival Etosha. Almost 70% of the bird species found in Namibia have been recorded in the Caprivi.

As the best of the Caprivi habitat is captured in the area shared with Botswana, it's usually more productive to look at the Selinda Reserve as a safari option.

Kaokoveld: Originally referred to as the Kaokoland district, the remote northwestern corner of Namibia is rugged, harsh, untamed and practically devoid of commercial tourist developments. This hinterland, reached by the Herero during the early southward Bantu migrations about 450 years ago and the Dorstlandtrekkers over 120 years ago is still sparsely inhabited by man. The Himba (or Ovahimba) tribe are Herero descendants who continue their semi-nomadic existence in this primitive wilderness today. The Kaokoveld remains a wild sanctuary for small but wide-ranging populations of the renowned desert elephant, rhino, giraffe and lion. Roads are horrendous and basic infrastructure is virtually non-existent - this is prime safari territory!

Etosha National Park: One of the world's pre-eminent wildlife areas, at the turn of the century the governor of then German South West Africa proclaimed an area of nearly 100000 square kilometres as a game reserve - until modern times, the largest reserve on earth. Present day Etosha National Park was pared down due to political considerations in the 1960's and is now a modest but still very impressive 23175 square kilometres in extent.

A vast area on Namibia's central plateau, a haven for 93 mammal species and 340 bird species, the park's focal point is the Etosha Pan - a flat saline desert, 130 km long by 50km at its widest in the eastern sector of the park.