Namibia

This new thoroughly updated edition of Bradt’s Namibia remains the essential guide for a successful visit to this vast country - more than twice the size of Germany but with less than 3% of the population. Written by expert author and long-standing tour specialist Chris McIntyre, this sixth edition incorporates all the most recent changes, including unrivalled coverage of places to stay and eat, from small, personal guesthouses to classy hotels and upmarket game lodges, and detailed information for self-drivers (including personally researched and checked GPS coordinates) as well as for fly-in and guided safaris. There’s also in-depth coverage of wildlife and where to see it, including a new full-colour wildlife field guide section, covering mammals, reptiles and amphibians, marine life and birds.Two background chapters covering everything from history and politics to people, ethnic groups and culture are complemented by two chapters on planning, preparation, health and safety and two on the practicalities of getting around and camping and walking in the bush (including canoeing). Helping you to discover Namibia in detail, 13 chapters offer a regional breakdown, from the capital, Windhoek to the Southern Kalahari, Namib desert, Swakopmund, Skeleton Coast, Etosha National Park, and the Kavango and Zambezi regions in the extreme northeast, including excursions into neighbouring Botswana.With sweeping landscapes and empty roads, Namibia has long captured the imaginations of travellers and photographers. Its immense emptiness offers majestic sand dunes, seemingly endless gravel plains, vast tracts of farmland and rugged mountains hiding galleries of ancient Bushman rock art. Add to this the wildlife and the unexpected beauty of the rivers that define the country’s northern and southern boundaries, and it’s easy to see why Namibia attracts lovers of the great outdoors.

Chris McIntyre went to Africa in 1987, after reading physics at Queen’s College, Oxford. He taught with VSO in Zimbabwe for almost three years and travelled around extensively, mostly with a backpack. He first visited Namibia, driving from the far tip of the Caprivi to the Orange River, in 1989. There was too little time for the vast distances covered, but he was captivated by the country.In 1990 he returned to cover the ground in more detail, attending the country’s independence ceremony in the process, before returning to the UK. There he co-authored the UK’s first guidebook to Namibia and Botswana, published by Bradt, before spending three years as a shipbroker in London.Since then, Chris has concentrated on what he enjoys most: Africa. He wrote the first editions of Bradt’s guides to Zambia in 1996 and Botswana in 2003, and since has co-authored several guides to Tanzania and Zanzibar, whilst regularly returning to Namibia, and continuing to ensure that it’s up to date.Meanwhile Chris’s day job is managing director of Expert Africa - a specialist tour operator which organises high-quality trips throughout Africa for individual travellers from around the world, including a very wide range of trips to Namibia. This also includes the Wild about Africa programme of trips guided by top professional guides.In his spare time, Chris maintains a keen interest in development and conservation issues, acting as advisor to various NGOs and projects associated with Africa. He is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, and contributes photographs and articles to various publications. Now based in Dockenfield, Surrey, Chris and his wife, Susan, still regularly travel and research in Africa.Chris can usually be contacted by email on chris.mcintyre@expertafrica.com