Not a great end to a long day.

We had a long day yesterday. We planned on doing a long drive from Rundu to Okahao, but we didn't know what accommodation we would find in Okahao. I had done some research and found that there were supposedly three options there but it's not a touristy place and there wasn't a lot of info available online.

We made it no problem, but our accommodation wasn't looking great!

Here's the route we did on Friday...

576 kms (357 miles) across the top of Namibia.

We were a little late leaving Hakusembe Lodge (we didn't want to leave!) and it was almost 8:40am by the time we hit the road. One thing I have to say is that the road conditions were great. On this particular drive, there were no dirt or gravel roads, and the pavement was in excellent shape.

A typical roadside shebeen (bar) and mini market.

Another shebeen.

There are so many of these shebeens (roadside bars) that you wonder how they make any money. And you'd wonder that they don't have a drinking and driving problem, but that's mostly because there aren't many cars on the road! And, you'd wonder how the locals have much money for going to a bar to have a beer, yet they seem to.

A larger school.

This area across the top of Namibia is the most populated. We did go through some sparse areas, but for the most part we saw quite a few people both roadside, and in villages and towns along the way. We went through two cities that were over 30,000 population.

Lots of donkeys, goats, and cattle by the side of the road.

A bottle depot. The Namibians love their beer!

Plowing with oxen.

Almost every second field had people working with oxen plowing. The rains have just begun and it's time to do the planting. Hopefully they get enough rain this year because last year the crops only just started growing and then the rain stopped. Apparently the corn grew about a foot high and that was it. Most of these people are sustenance farmers and although they have cattle and goats for meat, they don't eat much in the way of fruits and veggies and the corn maiz is a staple of their diet.

The two small cities we drove through don't have much to see, but they do have all of the amenities of any small city...

Yup, there's a KFC. We've seen a few KFC's here, yet there are no McDonald's in Namibia!

We arrived in Okahao at just after 4:00pm. We drove by the deserted looking Ongozi Guest Lodge and directly into town. Again, this duty little town doesn't have much to offer so there aren't many places to stay. We saw one little guest house that looked so run down on the outside that we were afraid of what the inside might be like. So we drove back to the Ongozi Guest Lodge to see if anybody was around. The gate was closed, but a pickup truck was just leaving and I asked the guy if the lodge was open. He says "yes, it's open and it's very safe". Hmm.

So we went in and to the rundown reception desk. This place has seen better days. I wish I had taken a picture of the chandelier! Ended up we didn't take any pictures.

Room price for the two of us (most places charge by the person, sharing a room) was N$300 ($32.10) for the night. This is pretty reasonable by Namibian standards, so we asked to see the room. It wasn't great, but the choice was another hour and a half drive. 

So we stayed.

It was okay, but we can't recommend it. Keep driving! Didn't sleep great because no a/c, no fan except for a ceiling fan that squeaked and rattled like crazy. And it was too warm and there was no breeze. Besides, no screens on the windows! 

Today was a much better day, but you'll have to wait until tomorrow to hear about it!