The article has been updated since first published to include comment from Drifters Adventure Tours.
Road conditions in Namibia have deteriorated in the past year, to the point where it is negatively affecting tourist travel within the country.
The best way to explore and discover Namibia is by road, either self-drive or overland safari, however the road conditions have impacted travel times, and in certain cases, caused damage to vehicles, says Mariska Yntema, Product Manager at Jenman African Safaris.
“The areas most affected are tourist hotspots such as Twyfelfontein, Sossusvlei and other locations around the Namib Desert as well as Damaraland.
“In order to combat this we have rerouted the Northern & Southern Experience and Northern Explorer tours as well as the shorter ‘Skies’ and ‘Adventurer’ versions for the remainder of 2017. Instead of viewing San Rock Art at Twyfelfontein guests will visit Philipp’s Cave close to Usakos. In 2018, guests will travel to Spitzkoppe instead of Philipp’s Cave. A unique wine and fine spirit tasting experience at Kristal Kellerei has also been added instead of a visit to the Petrified Forest for 2017,” says Yntema.
Veronika Verster, Tour Consultant at SWA Safaris says: “The roads are quite bad.” However Verster mentioned that even though the roads were not up to standard, there were not many rerouting options in certain tourist hotspots, so SWA has continued as normal.
Claire Gall, General Manager of Chameleon Safaris says it is not planning on any rerouting but said: “The roads are not maintained, especially for the amount of traffic they experience.”
Steve Maidment, Operations Director at Drifters Adventure Tours says: "Some sections of the Namibian roads have improved; however, the roads in Etosha are bad. The roads between Solitaire and Swakopmund are bad, between Twyfelfontein and Palmwag are a nightmare and there are road works which are not great between Hentiesbay and Spitskoppe".
Maidment said Drifters is not planning on changing any routes due to the confirmed bookings they already have on their tours.
“If the conditions persist and they deteriorate to such a point it is no longer safe to travel; the Operations will look at altering the route; however, still making sure that the guest are experience the best of what Namibia has to offer,” concluded Maidment.
