4x4 Over-landing through Namibia

Getting its name from the Namib Desert, one of the world’s oldest deserts, Namibia, located in south west Africa, is home to some diverse wildlife, including the world’s largest population of free roaming Cheetahs and Black Rhinos. As well as boasting one of the world’s largest seal population, sitting at almost 100,000.

This is an account of my trip exploring this unique country, from the town of Swakopmund, along the salt roads, across the beaches of the Skeleton Coast, beside the cold Atlantic Ocean, then up and over some of the biggest dunes in the world. With high hopes of seeing the elusive Brown Hyena and, with a bit of luck, some Desert Elephants, which can only be found in the Namib and the Sahara Desert.

How the trip came to be

We had been invited to join my girlfriend, Angela’s folks on an overland trip from Durban, South Africa, through Botswana and on into Namibia, following a route up to the Kunene River, which borders Namibia and Angola. This was a very tempting trip but with an old Mitsubishi Colt 2800tdi that was far from reliable, it didn’t seem like it was going to become a reality.

Fast forward a few weeks and we were lucky enough to get a far newer and much more reliable Toyota Hilux 3.0d4d 4x4 to do the trip with.