You’ve spent a full day in Namibia’s extraordinary Etosha National Park. You’ve chuckled as helmeted guinea fowl fly low across the road ahead of you. You’ve spied lilac-breasted rollers streak across the sky, giraffes necking, zebras trotting alongside your car, lionesses resting under a tree, and oryx grazing on barren landscapes. You’ve watched the unfolding action at a watering hole, when everybody from elephants and elands to pied crows gather for a drink. And now you need some rest and refreshment. You’ll find it in wonderful abundance at Mushara Bush Camp, just a few miles outside the eastern entrance of the park. And you’ll love every minute of it. Read about it >
Tag Archives: Namibia
Staying at the Gates of Namibia’s Best National Park
I was traveling from one desert camp in Namibia to the next. From the fantastic Doro Nawas Camp in Damaraland, I drove north, for about 200 miles, through surrealistic landscapes. With fresh memories of a flawless stay at Doro Nawas, I was setting up my next destination, Etosha Safari Lodge, for some very high expectations. Within striking distance of Etosha National Park, the lodge met every single one of them. And when the very first creature to greet me was a curious giraffe, it did, indeed, surpass them. Read about it >
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Desert Delights at Doro Nawas, Namibia
The building rose like a desert mirage, a castle-like apparition atop a hill in the middle of the flat savannah littered with scrub. But this was no trick of the eye. This was Doro Nawas Camp, a fantastic desert camp in the floodplain of a small tributary of the Huab River in the Damaraland region of Namibia. It was also my unforgettable accommodation for a couple of nights within Damaraland National Park. Read more about it >
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Enjoying a Really Local Dinner in Windhoek, Namibia
My brother, sister-in-law, and I were spending two full weeks in Namibia. We had come to this southwestern African country to see its famed ghost town, climb its spectacular orange sand dunes, stay at its unforgettable desert camps, and gape at its tremendous wildlife. So you can imagine our apprehension when some of that wildlife starting appearing on our dinner plates. Of course, restaurants here, just like anywhere else in the world, prepare foods that are local — I’ve had whale in Norway, cloudberries in Sweden, bison in Utah, boletus mushrooms in Poland, and llama in Argentina. In Namibia, that happens to mean things like eland and crocodile and ostrich — and it’s some of the best food I’ve ever had in my life. One of the places that does it outrageously well is Joe’s Beerhouse in the capital city of Windhoek. Read about it >
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Staying at a Contemporary Hotel in an Old German Colonial Town in Namibia
I had come to the coast of southwestern Namibia with one purpose in mind: to visit Kolmanskop, one of the world’s best ghost towns, something I had been yearning to see for a couple of decades. Not to my surprise, it immediately became one of the highlights of my two weeks in this sparsely populated and wonderfully friendly country. And, after spending a few hours roaming around this remnant of a German colonial diamond-mining town, occasionally being stung by the desert sand in this windy location, I was equally happy to head to the hotel that was serving as my accommodations for a couple of nights, Lüderitz Nest Hotel, fewer than 10 miles down the road in the small city of Lüderitz. With its waterside location, wonderful service, and terrific menu in its restaurant, it’s the ideal place to stay. Read more about it >
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The Power of Pink
You may first conjure up an image of a baby blanket for your infant daughter or niece. Perhaps an Easter bunny comes to mind. Or maybe you recall the unmistakable aroma of bubble gum. No matter what your association, the color pink will make you think of something relevant, and it’s usually a positive and cheery thought. Although pink comes to the fore with the arrival of spring, in myriad blossoms and flowers, you don’t have to look very hard to find it in delightful places around the world throughout the year. Read about the top five pinks >
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Aus, Namibia: Outstanding Food in an Out-of-the-Way Locale That Translates to “Out”
On the recommendation of our travel agent at &Beyond, my brother, sister-in-law, and I broke up our drive through southern Namibia with a stop for lunch in the little town of Aus, with a population of less than 800. It seemed an odd place to find sustenance: hot and arid (but with the coldest winters ever recorded in the country), lonely and quiet. Even the name could be a deterrent: In German, aus means “out”; in the local Khoekhoe language, it means “place of the snakes.” Despite all that, we found the terrifically charming Bahnhof Hotel and its fantastic restaurant to be both welcoming and memorable. Read more >
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An Easy — and Wonderful — Introduction to Namibia at Windhoek’s Villa Vista Guesthouse
After spending nearly a full day traveling in economy class on airplanes, flying from New York to Windhoek, Namibia, via Johannesburg, the first thing I wanted to see after hopping in my rental car and driving a half hour into the city was a restful bed. Fortunately, I had made reservations at Villa Vista Guesthouse, where everything from large, comfortable rooms to delightful breakfasts with a view assured me of a hassle-free and amiable entry into the first African country I ever visited. Read more about this terrific accommodation >
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Namibia’s Diverse Attractions Promise Something for Everyone
Upon landing in Windhoek on my very first day in Africa, I knew this would be a markedly different type of vacation. After all, it’s not every day that you spy a family of baboons along the road just outside the airport of a capital city or a couple of feral horses galloping through a punishing landscape. Over the next two weeks, surprises and indelible moments unfolded (you will never be unable to forget the frisson you feel the first time you see a 20-foot-tall giraffe pop up from behind a tree just a few feet from your car), and Namibia very quickly started to surpass all my expectations. With a broad range of sites and activities, from lolling about on lazy afternoons on a beach along the Atlantic Ocean to skydiving over the orange dunes of the Namib Desert, this country in southwestern Africa offers plenty of activities for everyone. Read about the top five things to see and do in Namibia >
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Oceanside Luxury in Swakopmund, Namibia
Enticingly comfortable rooms and luxurious suites, with satellite TV and Wi-Fi, proper tea service, great air conditioning, and well-designed bathrooms. Three restaurants, a lobby bar, and a beer garden. Relaxing lounges. Private parking. Superior staff and knowledgeable activities directors. Gym and full-service spa. It could be a list of requirements from guests at hotels in the world’s most-visited cities. But this is not New York, for example, or Tokyo. This is Swakopmund, Namibia, and you’ve just checked in to the Strand Hotel, a fine four-star hotel with gorgeous nightly sunsets and just about everything you could possibly want in a hotel. Read more >
Stephen Travels 