So, I had yet another work trip to Johannesburg, and decided this time due to the way meetings feel that I would take a week of vacation in the middle. Original plan was to head to Namibia for 5 days, followed by two each in Zimbabwe and Botswana.
I was hoping to fly from Namibia to Zimbabwe on Air Namibia, and after a night in Harare fly down to Bulawayo on Air Zimbabwe. Unfortunately, between the planning phase Air Zimbabwe went from three working planes down to one, and it was dubious if this would work. Worst case, I figured, I would take a driver from Harare to Bulawayo and then catch the train from there into Botswana.
Flights ended up being:
Driving plan in Namibia was:
Of course, this is Africa, and nothing ever works out as planned. So, with this trip report, I’ll cover what actually DID happen, and take a post in the middle to do a short recap of what…didn’t.
So, in the realm of what did transpire:
1. DC to Geneva with United Fauxlaris and long layover in Geneva
2. Geneva to Johannesburg with Lufthansa in Business and First (incl Geneva Swiss First Lounge)
3. Few days in Johannesburg
4. Johannesburg to Walvis Bay with Air Namibia, overnight Swakopmund
5. Driving Swakopmund to Sesriem, overnight
6. Dunes, dunes, dunes, and overnight Moon Mountain
7. Moon Mountain to Windhoek, overnight Windhoek
8. What went wrong…and eventually Windhoek to JoBurg on British Airways
9. Few more unexpected days in Johannesburg
10. Johannesburg to DC with Lufthansa Business and United Polaris
So buckle up, the roads in Namibia are rough…