Namibia

Most meals are included when camping and lunch is usually included on travelling days in the truck. When staying in hotels or hostels, all meals are at your own expense. Your tour leader will be able to recommend restaurants.

In the villages and rural areas, the food differs little to that found in Botswana. Traditional food includes porridge and a soup made from cornmeal, millet or cassava, supplemented by fish or meat. This together with stew, vegetables and milk products make up the staple diet. However once you leave the rural areas the similarity stops. In the larger cities and towns such as Windhoek and especially Swakopmund, there is a definite Germanic flavour to the menu. German style bakeries, restaurants and bars are common and dishes such as Eisbien (roasted pork shank) with dumplings and sauerkraut will be sure to fill the emptiest of stomachs.

When on the coast seafood is the main thing on the menu and is very good. The fresh oysters and mussels when in season are delicious and a wide selection of fresh fish is available all year round. A couple of locally found line fish are Kabeljou and Steenbras both of which are worth keeping an eye out for. Game meat makes a regular appearance on the menus in large towns and cities with ostrich as well as Kudu and Eland all being very good.

If you are a strict vegetarian you may experience a distinct lack of variety in the food available, especially in small towns. You might find that you are eating a lot of omelettes and other egg dishes. Our tour leaders will do their best to provide interesting vegetarian alternatives when arranging group meals in the campsite, but your patience and understanding is requested.

All drinks such as water, soft or alcoholic drinks are at your own expense at all times. There is no deposit on bottles in Namibia.

You should be wary of drinking the local tap water. Bottled water, carbonated soft drinks and fruit juices are widely available and are generally safe to drink. Please note however that fruit juices are sometimes made with un-boiled tap water and could upset your stomach.

There are various brands of beers found only in Namibia including Windhoek, Tafel and Holsten. Most of the campsites / hostels that we use have bars or serve alcoholic drinks. If there is not a bar in the campsite / hostel then there is sure to be one within walking distance. Beware imported spirit prices as they are very expensive so always ask for the local equivalent spirit if you want to remain within your budget!