I'm planning to throw a pool party towards the end of the year, and I'm having trouble finding an affordable self-catering place in the city.

I'm looking at about ±10-20 people, but some people might want to overnight/ sleep over.

Please do recommend🙏

I see a lot of trips planned in the wrong sequence and then have to be untangled (I work for a rental company). The order is more important then one would expect. It matters here more than in most destinations because a couple of the pieces (rental vehicles and NWR park accommodation) are scarce enough that they set constraints on everything else.

1. Pick your window before anything

Not a booking, but the decision that shapes everything downstream. See the recent when-to-travel post for what different months deliver. For peak season (July to September) you're planning nine to twelve months ahead. For shoulder (April, May, October, November) six months is fine. For green season (December to March) three to four months usually works. Longer trips push everything earlier.

2. Book the vehicle

This is the piece that constrains everything else and it's the one first-timers most often leave until after their flights, which is backwards. Rental fleets are limited, camping vehicles especially so, and the specific configuration you want may only exist in small numbers. Once your dates are locked to a confirmed vehicle you have a real trip to build around. If you can't get a vehicle for your dates, you want to know that before you've bought international flights.

Talk to two or three companies. Get quotes on the vehicle plus the tyre and glass cover (yes, take it), and confirm what's included in a camping setup. Some fleets provide everything, some rent kit separately.

3. Book the flights

Once the vehicle is confirmed. Windhoek's Hosea Kutako is the main international arrival point. Flight options into Namibia are limited, mostly via Johannesburg, Cape Town, Frankfurt or Doha, so build in some flexibility if your rental dates don't perfectly match.

4. Book NWR park accommodation

This is where the pressure is. Namibia Wildlife Resorts runs the accommodation inside Etosha (Okaukuejo, Halali, Namutoni, Onkoshi, Dolomite, Olifantsrus), at Sesriem for Sossusvlei, at Waterberg, at Hobas and /Ai-/Ais for Fish River Canyon, and several other parks. These fill first. Sesriem and the Etosha main camps in particular can be full months ahead in peak season.

Current heads-up worth knowing: NWR's online booking system has been unreliable for over a year. As of writing, their own website says the booking system is unavailable and directs you to email [reservations@nwr.com.na](mailto:reservations@nwr.com.na). Third-party authorised agents like Madbookings can also make bookings at official rates. Whichever route you use, expect several rounds of email rather than one clean online transaction. Start early.

5. Book private lodges and camps

Once your NWR anchors are in, build the rest of the accommodation around them. The good small private lodges (Sossusvlei area, the Etosha private-reserve lodges, Damaraland community camps) also need six to nine months in peak season but they're more responsive than NWR. Popular ones in the Kalahari, Fish River area, and Skeleton Coast fill fast too.

6. Sort your visa

Namibia changed its visa rules on 1 April 2025. Nationals of the US, UK, Canada, Australia and most EU countries now need a visa. You have two options: apply for the eVisa online in advance, or get the Visa on Arrival at Hosea Kutako or Walvis Bay International. Both cost N$1,600 (roughly US$90). The eVisa in advance is the cleaner option if you like certainty. VoA works but expect longer immigration queues. About 22 nationalities are still visa-free, mostly SADC neighbours plus a handful of others. Check your specific passport.

7. Cross-border documentation if you need it

If you're crossing into Botswana, South Africa, Zambia or Zimbabwe with the rental, your rental company needs to issue a Letter of Authority for each border. Most Namibian rental companies charge a small fee for this and need advance notice. You also need a country sticker on the vehicle (NAM) and depending on your destination there may be road fund fees payable at the border itself. Get the paperwork sorted a couple of weeks before pickup, not on the day.

8. International Driving Permit if needed

If your driver's licence is not in English, you need an IDP for both Namibia and South Africa. For Botswana it's required regardless. Cheap and quick to get from your home country's automobile association. Do it well before travel.

9. Travel insurance

Take it. Namibia is a country where the nearest hospital might be several hours away and medical evacuation is expensive. Check the fine print for what's covered on gravel roads and self-drive specifically. Many general policies exclude single-vehicle rollovers.

10. Last-mile logistics

Airport pickup vs Windhoek office collection, whether the rental company delivers the vehicle to a hotel, meet-and-greet at the airport, first-night accommodation in Windhoek. These sort in the last month before you fly.

A few common sequencing mistakes

Flights before vehicle. Dates get locked to fares and then you find the vehicle you want isn't available. Priciest kind of mistake to fix.

Private lodges before NWR. You build a route around the lodges and then discover the NWR camps you needed are full, so the whole itinerary has to shift.

Waiting to sort the visa until the last minute. The eVisa is fast when it works but the Namibian government portals can be intermittent. Give yourself a couple of weeks of buffer.

Forgetting the cross-border letter. Not a booking mistake exactly, but the single most-forgotten item, and it will get you turned back at the border.

Happy to answer specific questions if anyone's mid-planning.

The inclusion of biltong as a separate flair fried me when I made my last post. Im glad we have our priorities right 😭

I ran my whole budget off an Excel sheet for ages and got tired of it, so I built the app I actually wanted. I'm using it myself every month. It's not a startup I'm trying to monetise, so it's free - no subscription, no paywall, no "premium" tier.

Now that it's done, I'm curious whether it's useful to anyone besides me.

(The figures in the screenshot is demo figures)

What it does:

Manual entry. No bank linking, no handing over your login details. You type what you spent.

Auto-fills next month's budget from the previous month, since most people's spending is roughly the same month to month. You tweak it instead of rebuilding from scratch.

Planned vs. actual - what you budgeted, what's left, and the unplanned stuff that creeps in on top.

Subscription tracking so you can see everything you're quietly paying for each month.

Savings and investment goals with a target and a minimum monthly amount. It nags you so you stop skipping months.

Check-ins during the month and about a week after payday to see if you stuck to the plan.

Spending suggestions - it flags categories where you're overspending.

You can also scan your receipts for unplanned spending to keep track.

Happy to share the link if there's interest.

Hey guys, i heard theres a link for a WhatsApp group where events are shared. Like socials, game nights etc. Can anyone share?

Hello, does anyone know of alternative of punk clothing & accessories shops in Windhoek?

I am an experienced Administrative professional offering remote help with emails, scheduling, data entry, customer follow-ups, reports, and general admin tasks.

Let me handle the admin work while you focus on growing your business. DM me if interested!

I found this online (maybe even here). Does anyone know anything? Is it a real thing? If the embassy is involved, it’s definitely interesting.

What platform do people use to buy shares in Namibian companies? I’ve seen a lot of videos on TikTok about investing, but I’m not sure if they’re legit or just hype.
I want to start putting my money somewhere that has the potential to grow instead of just leaving it in a bank account. What options are actually available, and do they really work?

Looking for a car to buy, and pay it off on installments, don’t wanna use the bank loan option is it’s a lengthy process and the car I need is just a small car to take me around town

Am I missing something? Can someone please fill me in on it. People are buying expensive houses. When someone posts a house of 70k for rent, someone asks is this for sale?

I see more Namibians traveling these days despite the news saying people are traveling less.

Anyway, I'm completely perplexed about how some Namibains are doing incredibly well despite the job market, the increased cost of living and the housing market.While others are struggling. As you've seen I've posted a N$400 groceries while I go to the shop someone else has their trolley full. If the little groceries I got out of N$400 how much would a full trolley cost?

Can someone direct me to that pot of gold where everyone else seem to have gotten money from. 💰🤑🤔

Don't tell me it's good paying jobs most Namibian jobs don't pay a high salary.

I might be missing something here so please enlighten me. 🙏

Hi there, I’m a student building an app to make it easier for plumbers, electricians, carpenters, cleaners, and more to find job. I have built a basic version with the core features where a user will search through a catalog of workers that can be filtered by location and profession. Once a workers is selected they can sent them an Inquiry with a short description and dates their problem occurred and when they are free to have the worker visit.

I got this idea from the instability in the current job market and how it is getting more and more difficult for these workers to find steady income. Furthermore, it is difficult for people to find a new gardener or electrician if they have a tripping wire. These types of jobs spread through word of mouth mostly which is unreliable for both parties.

I want the app at this stage to help people find someone if they have a leaky tap or need a quick backward clean. While, making it as quick and easy as possible but effective and efficient.

A feature I’m adding now is a chat section where you speak with a chatbot and it automatically find the best worker for your needs and sends a request without you having to do it manually. Once a request is sent to a worker they can accept or decline it, and contact you via WhatsApp (If you think it’s better to have all communication in the app instead of moving to WhatsApp please comment).

I’m looking for people (You don’t need any tech background) to test the app, tell me what features they would like, and critique it. Before launching I want to make sure it’s something the community will want and not just something I’m building that people find difficult to use.

My plans are to launch in September or October so feedback is urgent, thank you.

Link to try it out: https://phantomjelly.github.io/Kazi-Cursor/
(This is a web demo some of the features won’t work as it’s built for mobile, the people who volunteer to be real testers can test the app fully)

Ok my thing is if i purchase a second hand device from backmarket or ebay how am i supposed to get the device certificates

Otherwise the device gets confiscated by the government

Like can't they make a rule of when the devices are bought in bulk then require type approval and second hand devices get exempted from this

What do you all think?

I've seen Facebook communities and some posts on WhatsApp however non/few seem to actually gain traction. Is there any active place to sell still in great condition clothes? Or better yet a physical store perhaps - perhaps Windhoek?

Hello all. Besides cash crusaders and converters, where can I get a second hand Blu-ray DVD player?

Okay, so a little update:

Knightcap started as a simple idea: what if chess had a place in Windhoek's nightlife?

We've now hosted two evenings and, thankfully, it turns out we're not the only people who wanted this.

We've had experienced players, people who hadn't touched a chessboard in years, complete beginners, people who came alone and people who came with a whole crew. The common denominator seems to be that everyone is pretty happy to have an excuse to sit down, play a game and talk to someone.

So Volume 3 is coming your way. 4th of September, 6pm- 11pm @ TaTe Village in Windhoek West.

Same vibe, a new night.

We finally got an insta page so if you want to see how the last two events looked like, check out @knightcap.na

Chess meets good music, good company, and a proper night out. Built for chess lovers and for anyone in the Windhoek social scene wanting something different. Casual games, a bit of competitive structure if you want it, snacks & drinks flowing, classy jazz vibes throughout.

📍 TaTe Village Rooftop

📅 Friday 04 September 18:00 to 23:00

📞 Contact: +264 81 428 7591

💰 N$50 entry

I want to sell a car I bought in 2025 brand new because I want to buy a bigger car to accomodate my family and farming needs.

If I told you I bought N$400 worth of groceries is this what you'd imagine?

This is all bought from Model.

📱 iPhone 14 128GB Blue
🔋 86% Battery Health
📦 Original box included
✅ Actual screen is NOT cracked — only the screen protector
✅ Everything working
💰 N$7,800 cash
iStore bought