Namibia notes and hints

Entering Namibia from Botswana is a further step towards development and Westernisation. To further complicate matters regarding costs Namibia has a non-existent public transport system and barely any sealed roads on which to hitch from place to place.

Visa - if needed it costs $50 (payable in USD$ only) from any Namibian embassy. The embassy in Lusaka will accept/return applications on Tuesdays and Thursdays only.

Lift from Buitepos (border town) to Windhoek - 100ND in a truck
Camping at CardboardBox Backpackers, Windhoek - 65ND per person per night. Including free pancakes w/ tea or coffee for breakfast.
CardboardBox was OK but very loud. At the time I was staying there they had a whole rugby team and full entourage (Around 50 people all in) who made a 48 braii party, drinking throughout the night and basically keeping the whole place awake with no respect for other guests. They also left the bathrooms and kitchen in a filthy state. If they had not have been there we may not have noticed the scant regard that the FHM reading, fat chav owner gave his guests, using the place simply to fund the daily drinking, braii and weed smoking habits of him and his friends, who treated the guests with more rudeness, dominating the bar and choice of TV/music. Quite poor really considering how popular it is (or used to be).

Beer/Wine at CardboardBox - 10ND bottle/ 13ND very full glass
Tasty Boerwors hot dog at MK fast food , Windhoek - 10ND
Internet - 10ND for 30-40 mins depending on place.
Car hire from Europcar for Hyundai Atos(booked through rentalcargroup.com) - advertised as USD$228 for 7 days but terrible exchange rate meant we were charged USD$310, later reduced to around $270.
Petrol - 7-7.5ND per litre. Hyundai Atos full tank cost around 220ND.
Groceries for 7 days self-catering camping - around 400ND
Entry fee for Nauklauft mountains National Park - 40ND p.p. plus 10ND per car.
Camping at Nauklauft mountain National Park - 200ND per site.
Delicious cakes at Mooses bakery, Solitaire - 18ND each, coffee 8ND
Entrance to Sossusvlei - 80ND per person plus 10ND per car.
Breakfast at Wimpy, Mariethal - 30-40ND per order. Wimpy MegaCoffee - 12ND
Entrance to Fish River Canyon - 80ND per person, 10ND per car.
Camping at Chameleon Backpackers, Windhoek - 70ND per person. Excellent place, friendly staff, nice bar and pool, fairly quiet (bar closes at 10pm), amazing free buffet breakfast, free tea and coffee all day. Only problem is severly limited camping space. Rooms and Dorms available at higher prices.
Beer at Chameleon - 10ND
330ml can of 100% pure tasty fruit juices from LiquiFruit - 5ND
Intercape Sleepliner coach from Windhoek to Cape Town - 620ND p.p.

Ave cost per person per day (inc car hire for 7 days with 4 full tanks but sleeping in the car 5 nights) - 340ND
Without car hire the cost would be around 200ND but you would not get anywhere and hitchers are generally requested to pay the equivalent of a bus fare.

Approx Exchange rate - USD$1=7.5ND (pegged to South African Rand), GBP1=12