Namibia 2026 | FindPenguins

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Namibia 2026 Misadventures Of Wanda
Our first Breakdown
May 19 in South Africa ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C
After the Border control it was windows up time and we soon turned left following the river with Botswana on the other side. Then a sign came into view that said “Potholes” and the tarmac turned to gravel and huge potholes appeared. Out of all the roads we have driven this was one of the worst and after an hour there was a noise and in inspection we had sliced through one of our brand new tyres at the back.
We unhooked the caravan and pulled the car forward. We had all the tools and knew where everything was to change the spare but as I slid underneath the car I realised it was locked on with some kind of cylindrical padlock and we didn’t have the key.
My first thought was I could cut it off with the hacksaw which we do have but Ellie noticed we were next to a game lodge and the second phone number worked and she got through.
5 minutes later a game ranger turned up with a diesel mechanic. You’ve got to love South Africa. Within minutes they got out an angle grinder and cut the padlock. Then they got out a bottle jack and helped us change the wheel. Within 10 minutes the spare wheel was on and it had only cost us 40 minutes. They didn’t want any cash but they did take a payment of beer.Read more
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Namibia 2026 Misadventures Of Wanda
Mapungubwe National Park
May 19 in South Africa ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C
We finally arrived at Mapungubwe National park at 4:30pm but this wasn’t the end of our journey. After checking in it was going to be another 45 minutes to get to camp but as we came out of reception there was 2 black guys on the phone and we looked at there trailer and the tyre was totally shredded. We asked if they needed help and they said yes they needed spanner’s.
It was our time to pay forward our help from earlier.
We got the wheel brace and undone the nuts then unloaded the trailer. It was full of boxes of paper. Then we unhooked the trailer tipped it up to get access to the spare wheel and I held it up while the drivers changed it. Of course it was flat só then we had to get the compressor out and inflate it.
We finally got to camp at 5:30pm and we were filthy and very tired. It took 20 minutes to set up and all I wanted was food and a beer and straight away we lit the Braai and then I opened a can. We both felt like crying we were so tired but we were relived the day was done.Read more
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Namibia 2026 Misadventures Of Wanda
Mazou Camp - Mapungubwe
May 20 in South Africa ⋅ ☁️ 23 °C
We were up at 6:30am and in no hurry to get going só after a couple of coffees we finally left our camp at 8:30am and drove the 40 minutes back to reception.
It’s a funny park as it’s split into an east and west section with private land inbetween and a public gravel road to get between the sections. We are camped in the west section and reception and the drivable park is in the east. Our first stop was the restaurant where we had our first cooked breakfast of the trip then we did a full circuit of the park stopping at the lookout point of the Confluence where Zimbabwe, Botswana and South Africa meet.
We just saw herd animals today and finally our first warthog.
Mapungubwe is actually a world heritage site and the Boabab trees here and absolutely huge. Definatly the biggest we have ever seen, they look like something from a fantasy film.Read more
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Namibia 2026 Misadventures Of Wanda
Mazou Camp day 3
May 21 in South Africa ⋅ ☁️ 13 °C
This morning we left camp at 7:15am determined to see something good on our game drive. Instead of driving back into the main park we decided to take the river road just outside of camp snd as the sun came up it made beautiful beams through the trees.
The river road was really bushy and we did find big herds of wildebeest and zebra but no predators.
In the afternoon we drove past the tented camp for staff and onto the plains. This was by far the best road we have driven since our arrival and the reason we will come back. There were huge herds, open plains and a massive lake. Sanparks signposts are crap and só are there maps só that’s why we didn’t know about it.Read more
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Namibia 2026 Misadventures Of Wanda
Polokwane
May 22 in South Africa ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C
We left Mapungubwe at 8:15am and it was 3 hours to get to Plokwane. Our first major town since our tyre blew out and our first stop was Tyremart where they couldn’t repair the 3 inch slice through our new tyre so we had to buy another new tyre at a cost of £150 and it’s a Firestone.
After that we went to the Mall of the north where there was a car wash. This was our chance to get cleaned up before putting everything back into storage and from start to finish the car and caravan took 3 hours and cost £10:50. It’s not as good a job as the other car washes we’ve been to but it’s much better than it was.Read more
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Namibia 2026 Misadventures Of Wanda
Boma in the Bush
May 22 in South Africa ⋅ ☁️ 19 °C
After cleaning the car and caravan it was just a 10 minute drive to our final camp. Boma in the Bush, and we were skeptical about stopping here as it was so close to Polokwane town and there’s no activities, but it’s a beautiful camp ground and we have private ablutions, só we’ve already decided that this is our last campsite and tomorrow we will spend the day cleaning the inside of the caravan and car and putting stuff away.Read more
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Namibia 2026 Misadventures Of Wanda
Cleaning Day
May 23 in South Africa ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C
Today is our last day of the trip and it was spent getting everything out of the car and trailer. Washing the inside of the back of the car and disinfecting the caravan. This sounds easy but it actually took us about 6 hours. Late afternoon we popped back to the mall of the north to get charcoal and some salad bits for dinner and when we got back I went for my last run before lighting the Braai.Read more
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Namibia 2026 Misadventures Of Wanda
Sleep & Go
May 24 in South Africa ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C
We packed up all the bedding and clothing this morning and put everything back into boxes and airtight bags. Then it was a final wipe down of things before heading off on our final night here.
Instead of Bushman’s Rock where we normally spend our final night we have found a cheaper place called Sleep & Go and it’s beautiful. There are 6 rooms 3 on top of 3 and the beds are massive. The room is completely self contained and even has a garden outside and we have a Braai. Inside is a kettle with complimentary coffee and tea and there’s even a small decanter with whiskey in it. There is also a pool and it’s set in the most amazing gardens. This is now our final stopping place.Read more
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Namibia 2026 Misadventures Of Wanda
The journey Home.
May 25 in South Africa ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C
We were up at 7am and had to hang around until 9am to leave or we would peak to soon.
Our first stop of the day was 2km down the road at a petrol station to refill our gas bottles, unfortunately the one that catapulted down the road in Namibia was broken and couldn’t be refilled só we had to buy a new one. That whole process took an hour and from there we drove to Echo 4x4 just another 2km up the road. Here we had a chat with a mechanic and told him we needed new roof struts, a new handbrake and various other bits. After a short conversion we decided it was best to leave the caravan there and let them fix it in their own time and Arbri at the storage yard would collect it.
From there we drove to china land to get some extra knives and forks and then it was a quick visit to the outdoor warehouse because we love it. Then it was to the storage yard. Our final mileage count was 7500 kilometres on the road.
It’s not been the trip we thought it would be, Namibia was huge and the distances between destinations are vast and those distances are boring. The tourist places are overrun with tourists and they are mainly German, young and all in hire vehicles with roof tents. Everyone there seemed like they were on their own instagram story and very fake.
In Botswana we didn’t see the animals we hoped for but the happy people certainly made up for that and it is very safe. And then it was back to South Africa where we feel at home snd everyone is helpful. Fortunately we did get to visit everywhere we wanted considering how the weather had been and we ticked everything off the list. We are going to miss this place again and are already looking forward to our next visit.Read more
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Trip end
May 25, 2026