This trip was officially the 10th time I have visited Namibia.  It was a simple and a basic trip, yet beyond beautiful and nevertheless absolutely worth sharing. It is a pleasure sharing some tips and some rituals with you. I hope these travelling toes and evidence will help you when you are planning to go to Namibia. It will also be handy even if you are only planning to go through Namibia whilst touring Africa. 

Real resting

In this post the photos will do the talking, but what made this holiday particularly amazing is the fact that there was real and honest resting. I only turned on my phone if I wanted to let my mom know that I was safe and when I wanted to send a merry Christmas photo all the way from the Namibian desert to friends and family. In total I turned on my phone five times just to turn it off again. I took these wonderful photos with my husband’s phone and most days we didn’t even take photos at all. I realize that being of the grid is something that I want to do at least twice a year. It ensures real resting.

This type of resting is so valuable for so many reasons. You have extreme quality time with your family. You have time to reconsider crucial decisions. You have time to pray and you also have to time to steer your thinking into the right direction.

On the roads of Botswana & Nambia

The first night we just wanted to cross the South African border so we made a booking at Stwalos Place, Lobatse. The photo says it all and you can just see what we have experienced there. This spot was a perfect start to what was a true African December holiday. It was not super glamorous, but it was authentic, real and value for money. All we really wanted was to rest well before taking on the road the next morning.

I don’t want to elaborate on what we have experienced on the Namibian border. However I need to warn you to take all the patience you have with you if you want to go through the Namibian border during peak seasons. The incompetence of the system challenged me and whether it challenged me or not I had to wait four hours. On our way back I had a book with me and I sat on the floor reading pretending to not care about the fact that I was again waiting two hours for my passport to be stamped.

Gobabis

Before joining the rest of the family husband and I decided to enjoy two days at a lodge just on the other side of the Namibian border.  We booked a honeymoon suite at West Nest Lodge, Gobabis. The honeymoon suite had its own small and private swimming pool. We loved our spot at the lodge. It was a self-catering unit although you can have breakfast, lunch and dinners at the restaurant as well. We preferred to braai and to sit in the swimming pool most of the time. The lodge also had some tame animals that were joining the party; uninvited visitors that we did not mind at all. I will definitely suggest West Nest Lodge to family and friends. It was stunning quality time with husband and the best start that we could have asked for.

Windhoek and Joe’s Beerhouse

If you ever forget to get petrol in Gobabis don’t worry you can get some petrol at Witvlei; a very small town between Gobabis and Windhoek. We have this ritual where we stop for a beer at Joe’s Beerhouse in Windhoek every time we tour through Windhoek. Joe’s Beerhouse is an authentic and rustic gem within the heart of Windhoek. It is an outing and a cold beer is a superb win at 13h00 in the afternoon on a very hot December day. However Joe’s Beerhouse operates within the well-known and very slow African time. Please don’t expect speedy service from them. I also experienced that they don’t have some of the craft beers available during peak seasons. They seem to plan the same way they always plan regardless of the fact that they will definitely have more customers during the holidays. Still Joe’s Beerhouse is the best you will get if you want a true Namibian rustic experience. We shared a Joe’s schnitzel which is also genuinely Namibian considering their German heritage and history.

Going to the family farm means that you will not see shops or restaurants for a while. This is blissful, but you need to plan in advance and do all the shopping for the upcoming weeks before you tackle the gravel road. Just a free tip – If you ever travel through Africa and you need to go north of Windhoek, please do yourself a favor and do your shopping at the Okahandja Spar. This Spar is way better than the one in Windhoek and they also have the very famous ‘Roesyntjie brood’ (a fresh raisin bread to die for).

Our family farm  

I am sure that our family farm got something to do with the word ‘health’ as it is just that what this farm produces over and over again; healthy times, healthy memories and healthy people…

Christmas in the desert

A summer Christmas is what I know and what I have grown up with, but in Namibia Christmas day was the hottest day ever. We adapted our menu and Christmas lunch easily to the ‘summer’ theme. It included stunning cold meats, an original potato salad, a coleslaw salad and some genuine German Brätwursts all wonderfully prepared to cool us down. I also prepared a homemade venison carpaccio; I promise that I will add this recipe onto the food section of my blog. We paired a pinotage (dry) rosè with the food and it worked out brilliantly. It was a ‘less is more’ Christmas lunch and also beyond easy to prepare.

Erindi trips

How lucky are we that our family farm resides close to the very remarkable Erindi. Erindi is one of the largest PRIVATE game reserves in Africa and has plenty to offer. We always enjoy a trip through Erindi early in the day or just before sunset. We were spoiled with plenty of wildlife. Erindi is always a blissful getaway, no effort and a must when you are in the area.

Dinosaur outing

If you don’t believe that dinosaurs existed; you can come and visit us so that I can go and show you. After seeing the first footprint I was fairly in a thinking-mode. For the rest of the day my mind was occupied while pondering about these huge animals and how amazing God’s creation is. You can go and visit these footprints or tracks at any time. It is also a nice walk with a beautiful view.

Omaruru and a winery in the desert

I have mentioned that it was my 10th trip to Namibia and here again was another surprise. I cannot emphasize how shocked I was when I saw a board on the gravel road with “Wyn Kellerei” written on it just outside of Omaruru. Obviously we pulled over and visited “Kristall Kellerei”; a very unique and small boutique winery and distillery in the middle of the desert. We tasted their white wines and unfortunately could not taste the red ones as they could not produce enough red bottles because of the drought. Still they have a cellar and a distillery not really minding the drought times. I loved this. We tasted an authentic and handcrafted gin and also other liquors. My favorite was the gin and the ‘dandy’ which is a brandy made of dates.

New Year’s Eve in the desert

The evening started with an orange, pink and gold sunset. Later full moon was on the way and we did not see one firework. To be honest it was more exciting than loads of crowds and fake fireworks. It was an evening well spent and a year well started. We made a ‘safe’ fire at the centre of the farm, enjoyed a braai and each other’s company.

Saving a swallow

I have to highlight the fact that my husband saved a swallow on the first day of the year. I was so mesmerised by that little bird and again it confirmed God’s beautiful creation.

Swaeltjie ! “Daar is wêreldwyd tientalle verskillende soorte swaeltjies, en as ’n mens die woord hoor, dink jy bes moontlik aan hul verstommende vliegvermoë. Om met die wisseling van die seisoene duisende kilometers ver van die aarde se een halfrond na die ander te kan vlieg, sou jy mos nie van só ’n oënskynlik brose voëltjie verwag nie.” Unknown

A healthy farm

This holiday was worth more than a 5 star hotel vacation. I am sure you will experience this same wonder and rest whenever and wherever you travel within the healthy borders of Namibia.