Namibian Safari: The Logistics

Anthea and I recently went on a safari to Namibia, a truly once in a lifetime experience.  Since then, a few people have asked me about the logistics that go in to planning a safari, especially in a country as relatively unknown to Americans as Namibia.  Below are a few things that went in to the planning phase of the safari.

Step 1: Choosing the country & the flight

Some people like to choose which country they’re going to first and then plan all the details around that country or countries.  However, I like to do it a different way.  Since the flight is usually the most expensive part of a vacation, I scour the internet for the best flight deals and essentially let the deal choose the country for me.  This was especially the case for Africa, because so many different countries offer safaris.  For that reason, I follow The Flight Deal and wait to see their deal of the day from Washington, DC.  One day, I got their daily newsletter and saw that there was a deal to Namibia on British Airways.  This immediately piqued my interested because: 1) Namibia was a country I hadn’t been to before, 2) the possibility existed of taking a safari, 3) the deal was available during Anthea’s birthday, and 4) the deal was available during a US holiday, meaning 1 less vacation day I’d have to take from work.  After pitching the idea to Anthea,  she jumped with excitement and exclaimed “WE’RE GOING TO AFRICA!!”  Alright, we have a winner, Namibia it is…let’s do this!

Step 2: Safari Company

This was the most difficult choice out of the entire process.  From experience, I can identify a good flight deal or a good hotel deal, but I was pretty clueless about what a good “safari deal” looked like.  I didn’t mind paying a little extra for the safari if necessary because for an experience like this, I prefer quality over price.  As such, traveler review sites such as TripAdvisor played a significant part in our decision.  The following was my process for choosing a safari in Namibia, but this same process could apply to any country you’re looking at:

1. Find out where in Namibia safaris take place.  A simple Google search for “Namibia safaris” gave me an expansive list of tour companies in Namibia.  I took a look at each of their itineraries and got a good feel for where a majority of the safaris went in Namibia.  We ended up settling on one that went to Etosha National Park.
2. Verify safari departure location and length.  We booked our flight to Windhoek, Namibia’s capital, so naturally we looked for safaris that departed from Windhoek.  This may seem like a no-brainer, but some companies offer similar itineraries with different departing cities.  Additionally, safaris vary greatly in duration.  In Namibia, for example, safaris range from 2 days within Namibia to 2 weeks spanning Namibia, Botswana, and Victoria Falls.  Choose one that fits your budget and time restrictions.
3. Differentiate between Safari Company and Booking Agent.  When I finally booked the safari, I went to the safari page of the Etosha National Park website and chose the option I wanted.  Here, I clicked on the ‘Contact’ link, submitted my information, and was then contacted by a company called Umkulu Travel.  Since I had never taken a safari before, I assumed that Umkulu would be the the company to lead the safari.  However, Umkulu was just the booking agent, and our safari was in fact lead by Chameleon Safaris.  This is an important difference, but more about that in the Lessons Learned section.
4. Other activities.  We knew we wanted to see Etosha National Park, but we also knew our time constraints, so we picked a safari that revolved around that.  However, Etosha National Park wasn’t the only place on the itinerary.  We spent 2 days there, but we also got to see other parts of Namibia: the town of Swakopmund on the coast, quad biking in Walvis Bay, and stopping to meet a few of the native tribes.  It was these add-ons that really made the trip that much more remarkable.  When making your final decision on safari companies, checking what other activities are on the safari itinerary may very well be the deciding factor.

 

Step 3: Lodging

During the safari, lodging is covered as part of the cost of the safari.  For our experience, our lodging included private rooms and bathrooms, but some can include an outdoor camping style and shared bathrooms.  Obviously tailoring this to your preferences will make the safari experience that much better.

However, there is the question of lodging before and after the safari begins.  This can be an excellent opportunity to use accrued hotel points, as you’ll most likely only need a couple nights.  In Windhoek, there is a relatively new Hilton property, but that was the only major hotel chain in the city.  Another option would be to see if the safari company has any lodging available.  In this case, Chameleon Safaris is co-located with Chameleon Backpackers, a guest house that has luxury private rooms in addition to your standard bunk room style.

Step 4: Additional research

Before making that final booking, here are a few last things to consider:

1. Weather/Time of year.  Ideally, you want to go on safari during dry season.  During dry season, animals have to seek out water, and with fewer watering holes, you’ll have a greater chance to see large populations of animals at a waterhole.  Also, there is less vegetation to conceal animals, which increases the chance you’ll see even more animals.  We were extremely fortunate on our safari because even though we booked in January (technically rainy season in Namibia), it hadn’t rained like in years past so we saw tons of animals.
2. Election years.  In some countries, election years can be rather tense, potentially leading to riots or worse.  It’s best to just avoid those areas.  First, check the political climate in the country you plan on visiting and then see if there are any elections (especially for head of country like President or Prime Minister ) during the time that you’ll be visiting.  A good place to check this is the CIA World Factbook country page.  You will find information on elections under the “government” section.

Lessons Learned

• I booked flights too soon.  I booked based on vacation days I’d have to take.  I didn’t check to see how long the safaris were before I booked.  If we would’ve flown out 1 day later we could’ve added Sossusvlei to the itinerary, which I really regret not seeing.  Oh well, a good excuse to go back!
• As I mentioned earlier, knowing the difference between the booking agent and safari company is important.  If I were to book again, I’d book directly with the safari company (in this case, Chameleon Safaris).  Some of the basic questions I had about the safari were answered incorrectly by the booking agent, causing some confusion once it came time for the actual safari.  The experience would’ve been that much smoother had I eliminated the third party and booked directly with the safari company.

There are lots of ways to prepare for a trip, especially one as unique as a safari, but these are just a few of the tricks I picked up during our journey.  If you have other tips from personal travels, please leave them in the comments below…everyone can benefit from the information!