I was constantly hearing the countries Botswana and Namibia being recommended to me when I was first researching my first solo African photography adventure.
I was fortunate to find Ben McRae’s Namibia trip being promoted on facebook and after watching the promo video clip I instantly knew I had to go on his trip! I emailed immediately after seeing it saying I wanted that last spot on his Namibia photographic experience…and was so fortunate to secure my booking. Some things are meant to be!
An amazing mixture of culture, landscapes and wildlife as well as lodges and camping. It sounded perfect and it definitely met and exceeded my expectations!
In OR Tambo airport, Johannesburg I make my way to the gate for my flight to Windhoek, Namibia. Which of course is delayed by a couple of hours again.
One of our campsites in Namibia near Deadvlei
I wanted to travel with a tour leader that respected the people, tribes and culture of where we were travelling. I also was focussed on getting an Australian tour leader with the aim that they’d have similar values/respect and a relaxing travel nature as myself. Ben was ideal and the respect he shows for the Himba and people in Namibia is why I believe his trips will always be so unique. Many people can run tours in Namibia, but Bens guide, contacts and connections over many years provide the most amazing experience for those that are fortunate to travel with him.
My Canon G7X was great when I was with the Himba tribe as I could flip the screen and they had so much fun watching themselves singing and dancing.
Whilst Namibia is definitely a country that you can hire a car and self drive, it was clear on our first travel day that travelling with a local driver/guide as well as Ben has many benefits. Ben has an absolutely awesome Namibian driver/guide, Morne, that he has travelled with for years. He was so great to travel with. I also had the added benefit of travelling with Pedro from www.photoburst.net who was a bonus tour leader on my particular trip! I had such a great time travelling with them and all three were so awesome to me on the adventure.
This inexperienced tourist car tried to overtake our vehicle super fast around a corner!! Watching it lose control and then roll 360 with a family inside - they were extremely lucky to all be ok.
The tourists in this car were speeding and tried to overtake us around a corner of this dirt road. You can see from the tracks where the car should have gone and where it ended up. It did a 360+ when it hit the other side and whilst everyone inside was shaken (including children) they were all ok. Ben and his long time awesome driver/guide Morne, stopped immediately to assist them and get them out of their vehicle. I knew Ben was a lifesaver back in Australia and after seeing how he handled himself in this situation I was 100% sure that I was on a trip with the right tour leader and guide! Trust is everything and so is safety when you are travelling in a group!
Morne, Pedro and Ben. So grateful for my trip with these guys.
If you are experienced driving long dirt roads (the roads in Namibia were very similar to many parts of Australia) then doing a self-drive trip in Namibia is definitely a possibility. However if you want a guided tour, I’d definitely recommend getting in contact with Ben McRae.
This was our vehicle for our two weeks.
Please watch below my highlight slideshow with some of my photos from this Namibian photography adventure!
A highlight slideshow of my amazing photography trip to Namibia with Ben McRae. An amazing variety of wildlife, landscapes, culture and tribes.
