Namibia Welcomes Us. Windhoek

The Ethiopian Airlines plane lands in Namibia’s capital, Windhoek, on Saturday, November 8 at 1:20 PM. After some hassle at the Europcar airport rental desk, we finally manage to get the keys to the Toyota Hilux we’ve rented for the entire trip. However, we’re not allowed to take the car until we’ve watched a safety video.

The video explains that in Namibia, most deaths are caused by car accidents. You can’t drive at the same speeds as in Europe because many of the roads are gravel. The footage shows a car flipping over from a dashcam perspective and stresses that under no circumstances should you drive over 70 km/h. The rental agent reassures us that otherwise we can feel safe — car theft in Namibia is said to be very unlikely.

A long drive into the city follows, where we pick up the keys to our apartment. Later, we walk uphill to Leo’s at the Castle, a restaurant located in a castle built in the early 20th century, offering views over the city and the surrounding mountains. The friendly service, beautiful sunset, and excellent dinner create a very positive first impression of Namibia.