Our 25th African safari, 14th Namibian safari, was yet another PERFECT vacation. Even though we repeat this trip annually we still manage to make some minor modifications to make it more perfect. This year the first change was going back to our pre-covid airline, British Airways. The disadvantage of BA is two over-night flights instead of one if departing from the east coast and flying directly to Johannesburg. We are comfortable with coach and for us the BA experience is worth the extra flight time. Like last year we did an overnight layover at the Johannesburg airport. A very short walk from the airport via covered walk-way to City Lodge. The image to the right is their VERY enjoyable dining area.
After a good night's sleep in a real bed we caught our 6am Airlink flight to Windhoek, Namibia. For the 2nd year in a row they again upgraded us to first-class. Which means a roomier seat, a better breakfast and served first. We already knew this was going to be another great trip and now we knew for sure!!!
Just like clock-work a Safari Car representitive was waiting for us when we arrived. This is our 4th year using Safari Car Rental, in our opinion the best truck rental company in Namibia. Our truck this year was brand new with only 5,000km on the odermeter. After our vehicle check-out we proceeded with our next trip modification, the C23. In years past we had always proceeded into Windhoek for some light shopping before leaving the city. Butdriving on the wrong side of the road in a crowded city right after arrivng was never pleasant. So this year our first lodge was down the C23, a mostly gravel road that did not require going into Windhoek. The lodge selected was the Jansen Kalahari Guest Farm, which turned out to be the perfect solution. We eliminated the stress of driving in Windhoek and instead recovered from jet-leg by spending a couple days at the Jansen Farm. Besides having a great pool area the chef was outstanding.
After leaving the Jansen Farm our objective was to head south, cross into South Africa and stay in the City of Upington. The distance is longer than we like to do in a day so be broke it up into two days. About an hour outside of Jansen is Mariantal where we picked-up some drinks, our pre-ordered meat for the trip and topped up our dual-tank truck. The destination for our mid-point to Upington was just outside Keetmanshoop. We saw this lodge for the first time in 2023 when we were in route to Upington. So Kitchen-51 Lodge was a new lodge for us. This lodge is run by a single older very nice lady with lots of cats. The chalets had a/c which was appreciated as it was hot the day we were there. Dinner was included, it is delovered to your room in a warming tray, very good. The only change on this one would be to request a chalet that overlooked their citrus orchard, definately a do-over.
The next day we drove to the
River Place Manor Lodge in Upington, South Africa, a long time favorite of ours. Our River Manor room was excellent with king-size bed, a/c, wifi, tv, frig, microwave, self-serve sherry and more. The image to the far-right was from our balcony the other is of the Colombard vineyard as you drive in. If you would like to try their Colombard a bottle in always in the room's mini-frig. We stayed in Upington for 3 days during which time we slowly collect the provisions we would need for our 24 nights in the self-serve Kalahari park.
With our truck, cooler-box, and truck freezer full, we left Upington on a nice tar-road for the 2.5 hour drive to the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park. Our nice tar-road ends at the park as the images to the right show. Check-in is done at the building shown before you are allowed into the park gate.
Once in the park we immediately drove to our favorite camp the Kieliekrankie Wilderness Camp. The images to the right reflect a typical evening of sitting on our deck, cooking our dinner, and watching the waterhole for activity. This never gets old!!!
Another of our favorite park camps is Urikaruus Wilderness Camp. This year we were able to book the honeymoon suite which has a queen-size bed, is only one level and has a much bigger deck. This might be our new favorite camp. Notice in the image to the right our truck parking is under our chalet.
This year we spent a couple days at Grootkolk Wilderness Camp. Grootkolk is known for having more animal activity at their water-hole. In the image to the right I am in our fenced chalet area but notice a big male lion a few feet away. The other image is a typical sunset at this camp.
Our 26 days in the Kalahari Animal Park started out with fabulous animal sightings. In the first day and a half we saw three leopards, three cheetah and three lions. Obviously that sighting rate could not continue. We had less productive days, overall we got the following sighting numbers:
- 10 leopard
- 21 lions
- 13 cheetah
- 6 bat-eared fox
- 2 Cape Cobia
The "Trip Album" link at the top of this page has more than 300 of our best animal images from this year's animal park days.
After 26 days we exited the park through the Mata-Mata gate. Our first lodge outside the park was about a hour past Keetmanshoop, a good 5+ hour drive. We had planned to leave the park early but our last day sightings delayed our depature until after 11am. On prior trips we ended up with lodges around Keetmanshoop but none were that appealeng. So for 2024 we decided to try the Alte Kalkoefen Lodge. The chalet had a/c, a mini-frig and parking close enough so I could plug in the truck. The food was fabulous and they had on-site nurseries of lots of native plant life, all desert plants.
Our next lodge was in Luderitz where we stayed at Kairos Cottages. The concern about Luderitz is always the wind. When it is windy in Luderitz it can tear the door off your truck. But when the weather is nice it is the best place to be. The image to the right was from our room; the weather was perfect. The middle image is a near-by light house that is always fun to visit especially when the weather is so beautiful. The last image is the amazing breakfast this lodge has called a "toastee", very good.
Also while in Luderitz we visited Kolmanskop Ghost Town, a must see whenever in southern Namibia.
After leaving Luderitz and the Altantic coast we headed one hour east to a favorite lodge we have stayed at many times, also a LOT warmer. The Eagle's Nest Chalets are rustic chalets built into the rocks. During this visit some wild horses decided to stop by for a visit.
Our next lodge was new for us, the "Villa" at Kronenhof Lodge. The Villa turned out to be fabulous as you can see in these images. There is actually a gated Villa compound with a total of four rooms. The image to the right is our truck entering the compound and then our room. They do not fill the other rooms unless all parties are part of the same group. So we had the entire Villa compound to ourselves. The compound has many great features including a indoor blunge pool, a pizza oven, a full kitchen bigger than back home and much more. This lodge is definately a do-over but with one change. We learned when we were there that they offer dinner delivered to the compound.
After leaving the Villas we headed north to Sossusvlei, a world heritage site. We have been to Sossusvlei before but we wanted to try a new lodge that just opened inside the park called Dead Valley Lodge. The images to the right show the chalets as viewed from their pool area which is next to their outside dining area, very beautiful. The last image is an example of the stunning sunsets that can be enjoyed at this lodge. And of course the lodge is inside the Sossusvlei park so dune viewing is a must-see.
Our last lodge before heading to Windhoek was a lodge that has been on our list for a number of years. For one reason or another it never worked until 2024. That lodge is Rostock Ritz Desert Lodge. The food at this lodge was excellent and the pool was one of the best in all of Namibia. But unfortuately the rock rooms were very small and held the heat so well you could not stand to be in your room during the day. The room had a little deck that was so narrow you could hardle get two people on it at the same time. Maybe that was why when we got home we realized we had NO pictures from our Rostock days. Not a do-over for us.
After Rostock we headed for Windhoek for a new lodge for us. Our goal was to find a lodge where our truck was close to our room. The goal for the last Namibian lodge is to prep luggage for leaving. Thus having the truck close is rather important. The new lodge for this trip was the Trans Kalahari Inn. Our objective was meet. The truck was close and the dinner was excellent.
Normally after turning our truck in we are taken to the airport to start our long journey home, but not in 2024. Instead we flew to Capetown and joined a wine tour group organized by Wine Maker Magaine. The trip album link at the top of this page also has sub-albums from that tour as well. The itinerary for the wine tour is located right below this itinerary.