My 71-year-old father (from Canada) plans to go hiking and camping in Namibia. I am worried about his safety. Has anyone out there been to the place? Am I being foolishly over-concerned?
This is the Canadian governments’s view
voyage.gc.ca/dest/report-en. … try=201000
If dad is always running off to climb Mr Erebus etc I wouldn’t worry, but if he has never left Alberta before…
bababa,
I have a lot of info about Namibia. My company runs trips there. PM me if you have any specific questions.
Otherwise, in general Namibia is a safe, and very beautiful country. It’s huge, and offers some quite exceptional game viewing opportunites. It’s one of the continent’s relatively “undiscovered” gems.
If your dad is really into hiking than he’ll be heading to the amazing Fish River Canyon, in the South. Prime safari type touring takes place in the Namib Naukluft Park (particularly the dunes at Sossusvlei - a must see), Etosha National Park, Damaraland (private concessions) and the truly incredible Skeleton Coast Park. Camping at all of these places is very doable.
There’s so much to see and do in this country that the real challange is how to structure your time. It’s so big (Larger than France and Britain combined) that you really can’t think in terms of “doing it all”.
Windhoek, the capital, is a nice little city with an outstanding local lager. I’d go there just to do the brewery tour!
If your dad wants to go to Africa, he couldn’t pick a safer, more beautiful place than Namibia if he tried.
Hiking - Geez, the Fish River Canyon hike is for EXTREMELY FIT people only!! Six days through the sun-baked canyon is NO joke, even when I did it 10 years ago when I was 10 years younger, and definitely younger than your dad!! Visit the place, by all means, but as for hiking … I’m not sure if they have shorter hikes available now, but Windhoek (and the rest of the country) is awash with tourism info, so getting any won’t be a problem.
I can personally recommend the three or five-day Waterberg Plateau hike. The plateau is about 60km from Otjiwarongo in the north of the country and you start from the Waterberg Plateau Park. A magnificent place to visit on its own, but the hike is not too taxing and you spend your time on top of the plateau amid various wild animals, including white rhino. Five stars, guaranteed!!
As for camping, the sky’s the limit. You can camp ANYwhere, but I would recommend Daan Viljoen Game Park just outside Windhoek, the Etosha National Park in the north, and any national park / game ranch in the Caprivi Strip on the Okavango river.
Again, Namibia is super-geared for tourism and info should not be a problem!
Hope your dad has a GREAT holiday!!
If your dad wants to go to Africa, he couldn’t pick a safer, more beautiful place than Namibia if he tried.
Hiking - Geez, the Fish River Canyon hike is for EXTREMELY FIT people only!! Six days through the sun-baked canyon is NO joke, even when I did it 10 years ago when I was 10 years younger, and definitely younger than your dad!! Visit the place, by all means, but as for hiking … I’m not sure if they have shorter hikes available now, but Windhoek (and the rest of the country) is awash with tourism info, so getting any won’t be a problem.
I can personally recommend the three or five-day Waterberg Plateau hike. The plateau is about 60km from Otjiwarongo in the north of the country and you start from the Waterberg Plateau Park. A magnificent place to visit on its own, but the hike is not too taxing and you spend your time on top of the plateau amid various wild animals, including white rhino. Five stars, guaranteed!!
As for camping, the sky’s the limit. You can camp ANYwhere, but I would recommend Daan Viljoen Game Park just outside Windhoek, the Etosha National Park in the north, and any national park / game ranch in the Caprivi Strip on the Okavango river.
Again, Namibia is super-geared for tourism and info should not be a problem!
Hope your dad has a GREAT holiday!!
Thanks for all the information, everyone! I feel much better now about Dad’s trip. In fact, I wouldn’t mind going there myself now. It sounds great.
Got to agree with everyone else, Namibia is the most ‘parent friendly’ place I visited in Africa. Amazing scenery, fantastic wildlife, and great beer. Oh, and it gets quite warm there too! What more could you ask for…
I’ve done Fish River canyon in 4 days. You don’t have to be extremely fit! It is closed over the summer months though, due to the heat.
Namibia is a beautiful country. It has the desert, small mining and fishermen’s towns like Luderitz, Swakopmund etc. and even green forests in the north.
I hope he enjoys it. I’ve never heard of anyone encountering troubles.
Colla