Travelling to Namibia and the H.E.S.S. site
This page collects travel information. Please also check the safety instructions for travel in Namibia and in particular for work on the H.E.S.S. site. The travel to HESS checklist describes how to plan and arrange your work on the H.E.S.S. site.
Additional information - including health and safety issues - can be obtained, e.g., from the Namibia pages of the German Foreign Office. See also the official tourism pages. A helpful collection of (tourist) links is provided by Namibia Travel Online. NamibWeb provides an exhaustive list of links concerning country information and tourism.
Climate and weather
Temperatures on the H.E.S.S. site vary in winter between 0 and 10 oC during the night, and reach 15 to 25 oC during daytime. In summer, daytime temperatures reach 20 to 35 oC. Summer nights can be relatively cool, down to 10-15 oC. Between November and April, the sky can be cloudy, with occasional short but violent rain storms. A hat for protection against the sun is essential.
Entry rules and visa
A visa is only required if you intend to work in Namibia (such as for H.E.S.S.). Tourists from most EU countries can enter Namibia without a visa.
If you are visiting Namibia in order to work for the H.E.S.S. experiment you need to hold a passport which is valid for at least 6 months and an official visa before you enter Namibia. Members of the H.E.S.S. collaboration may obtain this visa via MPI-K.
Typically, the visa is issued for a period of 2 years and allows for multiple entries to Namibia as "Seconded Scientist".
In order to apply for the visa through MPI-K, please contact Ruth Crespo at least 8 weeks before the intended date of entry, and supply a scan of your passport and last entry stamp along with the visa application form.
When you enter the country, indicate "Seconded Scientist for the H.E.S.S. project" on the entrance form.
Note that under no circumstances should you enter Namibia as a tourist (or with another type of visa), and then try to obtain the "H.E.S.S." visa during your stay in Namibia!
Travel between the airport and Windhoek
Windhoek International Airport is located about 50 km to the east of Windhoek. Shuttle services and a bus (N$ 40-50) connect the airport and the major hotels as well as the city center. Most car rental companies are prepared to arrange pickup at the airport. The drive from the airport to the city takes about 40 min.
Accomodation in Windhoek
Windhoek offers a significant number of hotels. Larger hotels include
- Safari (Auas Road, +264 061-240240, Fax 235652), Safari Court (Auas Road, +264 061-240240, Fax 235652): Business hotel slightly outside Windhoek, with shuttle service to the city center. Almost always rooms available. The old section (Safari) is slightly less expensive than the more modern Safari Court.
- Kalahari Sands (129 Independence Ave, Gustav Voigts Centre, Tel. +264 61-222300, Fax +264 61-222260): Business hotel at the city center.
- Windhoek Country Club (Western Bypass, +264 061-2055911, Fax 525797): The upper end of the scale, both in terms of quality and cost.
Smaller hotels/pensions are usually clean, nice, and less expensive. Based on limited own experience, we recommend, for example
- Hotel Pension Hotel Pension Steiner: (Tel.: +264 61-222898, Fax: +264 61-224234) near the city center.
- Hotel Pension Casa Piccolo (6 Barella Street, Klein Windhoek, Tel: +264 61-221155, Fax +264 61-221187, Email casapiccolo@iafrica.com.na)
- Hotel Pension Moni (7 Rieks van der Walt Str., Tel.: +264 61-228350, Fax: +264 61-227124, Email pensionmoni@hgud.de)
- Hotel Pension Palmquell (60 Jan Jonker Road, Klein Windhoek, Tel. +264 61-234374, Fax. +264 61 234483, Email info@palmquell.com)
See the accomodation pages of Namibia Travel Online for more exhaustive listings.
Selected Restaurants in Windhoek
- Brauhaus (Cnr. Mandume Ndemyfayo Ave. & Fidel Casto Ave, Tel. 061-226981): decent German and local food
- Cafe Schneider (Levinson Arc, Independence Ave, Tel. 061-226304): ideal for a light lunch in the city center; always crowded at lunch time
- El Toro (Ausspannplatz, Tel. 061-222797): best steaks in town
- Joe's Beerhouse (160 Nelson Mandela Ave, Tel. 232 457): interesting & worth a visit
- Gathemanns (175 Independence Ave, Tel. 061-223853): nice ambiente and good cuisine at (for European standards) still affordable prices
- Gourmet Inn (195 Jan Joker Rd., Tel. 061-232360): ditto, maybe a bit less fancy
- Homestead (53 Feld Street, Tel. 061-221958): ditto
- Heinitzburg (Heinitzburg Street, Tel. 061 - 249597): wonderful view across Windhoek, ideal to have a drink and watch the sunset; modern Namibian cuisine
- Craft Cafe : handmade crafts plus a healthy menu
- Paul's Coffeeshop
Travel from Windhoek to the H.E.S.S. site
Accommodation on/near the H.E.S.S. site
In addition to the rooms in the H.E.S.S. residence building and additional rooms in the farm buildings on Goellschau, accommodation near the H.E.S.S. site is possible on two guest farms, indicated on the map.
- The farm Weissenfels (062-572112) is about 10 km behind Farm Goellschau (coming from Windhoek). It is the next farm building after Goellschau.
- Farm Hakos (062-572111) is about 35 km behind Farm Goellschau, close to the Gamsberg pass. The farm is about 5 km from the main road; the turnoff is just before the Gamsberg pass, indicated by signs. The farm is visited mainly by amateur astronomers and offers observation facilities, in addition to scenic views of the Gamsberg and the Hakos mountains.
Both farms have a limited number of rooms (5-10) and provide breakfast and dinner.
Cars and car rental
To drive to and on the H.E.S.S. site, a normal car is sufficient, although a model with large tires and good ground clearance will provide increased comfort on the gravel road. Four wheel drive is definitely not required under normal conditions. The same holds - under normal conditions - for the road leading from the H.E.S.S. site via the Gamsberg pass through the Namib-Naukluft park to Walfis Bay and Swakopmund. In the rainy seasons, parts of this road may be closed. At least for some of the nicer side roads in the park, four wheel drive is desirable. In the Namib-Naukluft park, a permit is required once you leave to the main road; it can be obtained from the Ministry of Environment and Tourism, Independence Ave., Windhoek.
For four-wheel drive vehicles, MPI-K often uses Savanna Car Hire (061-229272), but a number of other companies offer similar service and conditions. The car rental companies will usually arrange pickup at their airport without additional charge. A comprehensive listing of car rentals can be found here.
Note that South Africa and Namibia have left-hand traffic.
What to do with a spare afternoon
Need to spent a few hours before your flight leaves? We were quite fond of the 90 min. game drive at Okapuka Ranch, about halfway between Windhoek and Okahandja. Call ahead to reserve seats (Tel. 061-227845, Fax 061-234690).
