5,100 km and 26 days around Namibia.

When my friend Angela returned from Namibia she told me two things: I had to go and I had to stay at the andBeyond Desert Lodge in Sossusvlei. I told her I’d add it to the list.

This year I made good on that list. I started planning for the trip seven or eight months before I departed, emailing Ramona—the travel agent I had used on my first East Africa trip—to ask her advice and help me book lodges.

Honestly, she told me, I should rent a car and drive around the country myself. She had done it herself and said it was an amazing place to self drive. She sent me maps with estimated times and answered my questions and set me loose.

I’m forever thankful for her advice.

Namibia is one of the most beautiful countries I have visited and I’m glad I got to experience it behind the wheel of my own automobile. I stopped more times than I can count along the side of the mostly gravel roads to take it in and to take photos. And even though I drove from the southern Fish River Canyon to the northern border at Epupa Falls (over 5,100 kilometers round trip), I still couldn’t see it all.

15 May 2024 – 9 June 2024