The good news is that the state of emergency that has lasted in Namibia for the last 6 months is over. This also includes the lockdown that was in place for the Khomas region as well as the nationwide 22:00-05:00 curfew. I’ve been waiting for this for what feels like forever.

Of course, there will not be a complete relaxation of covid protocols as we’ve all seen the resurgence of the virus in other countries after the relaxation of rules. I myself will for now still be practicing social distancing, wearing my mask and washing my hands regularly.

However, this will not prevent me from travelling. I’ve completely diverted from the original plans and will be heading to the coast and then travel North into the Skeleton Coast park until I reach the Kunene river which serves as the border with Angola. Greater social distancing than that you cannot ask for 🙂

What is 5410Africa?

For those that still don’t know I’ll spend 10 years travelling to all 54 countries in Africa. This will be done with my recently purchased Toyota Hilux truck (see The Toyota that will take me to all of Africa) driving from one country to the next. I’ll start from my home country Namibia, then Botswana, Zambia, onwards working my way around the continent in an anti-clockwise direction. The trip is currently in the planning phases and if Covid allows I’ll get going in 2021.

Travel plans

So for the first time in many editions of my weekly update I will actually do some traveling. I’ll be departing tomorrow morning and the itinerary is as follows:

19,20 Sept: Travel to Hochfeld, visit my parents for 2 days

21 Sept: Spend a night at the Spitzkoppe mountain and tented camp

22,23 Sept: 2 nights in Swakopmund. Visiting friends and maybe some quad biking and off roading in the Namib desert.

24 Sept: Head north into  the Skeleton coast park, spend the night at the luxurious Shipwreck Lodge

25,26 Sept: Drive all the way to the Kunene river mouth, camp and fish for 2 nights

27 Sept: Return South and spend the night at NWR Terrace Bay

28 Sept: Return to WHK

The Car

It was so great to behind the wheel of the Hilux again. Also, with the extended time in WHK I managed to get a lot of work done. I’ll post some pics and maybe do a video. It’s a bit boring to just write about it.

• Bumper & winch (for safety) √
• Upgrade lights (safety, the old lights are not good enough) √
• Canopy (more and secure cargo storage) √
• Fitted awning (provide shade when there are no trees around ie the desert)
• Drawer system (better and more organized storage in the back)
• Dual battery system with solar charging (supply electricity off the grid locations)
• Shock absorbers (old ones not good enough and provide more support to original suspension)
• Tires (but only once the current tires are worn)
• Compressor (to enable me to control my tire pressures) √
• An array of recovery gear (get myself out when I inevitably get stuck) √
• Camping (ground tent, table and chair etc) √

 In addition, I removed the roof rack, side steps and rims and had them completely refurbished.

Equipment and Others

Super excited that my Canon 400mm L lens and GoPro 8 media mod arrived. I’ll be testing the new lens on this trip and hopefully be able to shoot some cool footage with the GoPro.

• Canon full frame camera
• 70-200mm L series lens
• 400mm L series lens √
• GoPro Hero 8 with accessories √
• Laptop to run editing software
• DJI Mavic Air 2 Drone* (some African countries do not allow drones…)

Social Media

Its been slow, but there are new followers. Always grateful!!!

I’m hoping with all the new content I’ll gather over the next few days I’ll be able to add more followers on all my platforms. More importantly I’ll be launching YouTube this month.  

• Twitter @5410Africa 250k (current: 940)
• Instagram @5410Africa 100k (current: 107)
• WordPress (5410africa.com) 1k (current: 40)
• YouTube (first videos in Sept/Oct) 100k

That’s all folks! Please connect, enjoy your travels and stay safe 🙂

Nick from Namibia @5410Africa