Michael and I, together with two friends, have been in Africa since May 6. We started our trip in Cape Town for 11 days and flew to Windhoek on May 17 for our 23-day self-drive journey in Namibia.

The seed of this trip sprouted three years ago when I started my business and one of my first clients asked me to help her plan a Namibia self-drive. Often, it is the wanderlust of my clients that inspires me.

I’ll cover our time in Cape Town in a later post when wifi connectivity is stronger. For now, let me tell you a little bit about Namibia while I’m here.

COVID protocols are observed by all the lodges and camps. The vaccine roll-out has started and the initiative to vaccinate staff from camp to camp is exactly what’s needed to revive tourism.

ROADS are well paved, graded, and marked. There are rest stops under an acacia tree with a table, benches, and garbage bin. We have not seen road trash at all. Namibia is a very clean country. There is no litter and public restrooms are spotless!

FOOD at the lodges has been excellent with a variety of meat (often game such as oryx or springbok), seafood (from the Atlantic coast), and vegetables. Lunch packs are prepared by our lodges.

We have met FELLOW SELF-DRIVERS from South Africa, Germany, and France. They are couples, families, and friends who strike a combination of camping and lodges for accommodation. I’m not a camper so I’ve booked lodges all throughout. The beauty and uniqueness of each lodge will break my bandwidth so let me share that at a later time. We have also befriended travelers who are on a Fly-In Safari.

We have felt SAFE at all times. Our 4x4 vehicle has a tracker and our car rental company knows where we are at all times. I have a local phone with all lodge numbers pre-programmed and I’ve never had to use it once.

GROUP TRAVEL is FUN and everyone has a purpose. I’m the group leader/trip planner/navigator/social media person. Michael is the lead driver & photographer. Frank is the second driver and our “geologist”. Teresa is our treasurer, raconteur, and “astrologist”. We have settled into our groove and are forging friendships and making memories to last our lifetime.

Follow my journey, I’m posting daily on Instagram.