# [NAM] Namibia | roads & freeways



## Schweden (Jan 5, 2008)

I could not find any good pictures, so I took some from Google Earth...















































Looks pretty good to me. Does anybody have any ground pictures?


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## Mateusz (Feb 14, 2007)

As a German ex-colony, they seem to have some nice autobahns


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## DJZG (Aug 2, 2007)

here is one map from wikipedia, showing trans-african highways... 

don't know if it's completely true though...


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## Mateus_ (Feb 12, 2007)

These roads look really good!


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## ChrisZwolle (May 7, 2006)




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## annman (Aug 9, 2007)

MateoW said:


> As a German ex-colony, they seem to have some nice autobahns


The majority of Namibia's current paved network was built under the South African administration and their signage and markings are the same. They are now simply carried over to the new government after independence.


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## X236K (Mar 3, 2007)

Me, after reading the thread title: "Where the hell is Namibia??".

Sorry for being ignorant.


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## ChrisZwolle (May 7, 2006)

^^ You really haven't heard from Namibia? Well, it's a very large country, but almost never on the news.

Namibia is actually one of the higher income countries in Africa, though their income inequality is very high and unemployment is also extremely high, but this also takes rural people into account who don't need money or an income to live.


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## x-type (Aug 19, 2005)

Namibia is the most attractive african country to me


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## DJZG (Aug 2, 2007)

X236K said:


> Me, after reading the thread title: "Where the hell is Namibia??".
> 
> Sorry for being ignorant.


lol... i can't believe that :nuts:

somehow i wonder, does Namibia really has highways in our terms... 
maybe with more pictures we could see real condition of roads there...

maybe google earth has some more photos...


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## jkjkjk (Feb 28, 2007)

some pics from flickr, sorry i do not find any pics from motorways

by Gerd se plek op die net 









South of Windhoek, by oenilsen 









by ho.erik 









highway B1, by Paul Watson 









The busy transportation lanes of Namibia, by mtlp 









Watch out! Sand!!, by roevin 









The Sandstorm Road to Luderitz, by linss203 









The new bridge crossing the border over the Zambezi river to Zambia, by gert_van_dermeersch 









Beware of desert Elephant, by Adrian Dahood 









Etosha National Park in Namibia, by Nokes 









highway between Khamanjab and Outjo, by Adrian Dahood









road to Botswana in the desert region, by davidtharby has wanderlust 









Highway through the Kalahari Desert, the bonus  , by Kattaka


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## Norsko (Feb 22, 2007)

jkjkjk said:


> by ho.erik


Even the signage (the route number) looks quite German


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## X236K (Mar 3, 2007)

Chriszwolle said:


> ^^ You really haven't heard from Namibia? Well, it's a very large country, but almost never on the news.
> 
> Namibia is actually one of the higher income countries in Africa, though their income inequality is very high and unemployment is also extremely high, but this also takes rural people into account who don't need money or an income to live.


Sure I've heard about Namibia, but I would not be able to locate it in Africa, I would not recall it's capital, I don't know anything about it's history, I don't know any product coming from there... there's just no relation with my country.. I guess we don't import anything from Namibia, we don't export anything to Namibia, most people do not tend to travel to Namibia... I don't want do degrade that country, just to point out that there are countries in the world (especially in Africa) that we dont know anything about. Usually, when I hear a name of a country, I'm able to recall at least something special about that country... but Namibia...? Just nothing.


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## X236K (Mar 3, 2007)

DJZG said:


> lol... i can't believe that :nuts:
> 
> somehow i wonder, does Namibia really has highways in our terms...
> maybe with more pictures we could see real condition of roads there...
> ...


I'd like to know what do YOU know about Namibia without using Google... I guess not much... hmm?


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## DJZG (Aug 2, 2007)

X236K said:


> I'd like to know what do YOU know about Namibia without using Google... I guess not much... hmm?


well... i'm a student of geography, and i know about Namibia since i was a child... ofcourse, you i can't say every little detail cause i'm not from Africa, but we all know basic stuff that are enough for any world geography admirer...

oh yes and Namibia isn't in range of 'small' countries that are totally unknown to majority of population... we're not talking about Guinea, Togo, Sao Tome e Principe, Malawi etc... 

it's just another typical african state... lots of sand, wildlife, and rising cities...


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## RipleyLV (Jun 4, 2008)

What about the capital of Namibia Windhoek? Are there any real highways?


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## X236K (Mar 3, 2007)

DJZG said:


> well... i'm a student of geography, and i know about Namibia since i was a child... ofcourse, you i can't say every little detail cause i'm not from Africa, but we all know basic stuff that are enough for any world geography admirer...
> 
> oh yes and Namibia isn't in range of 'small' countries that are totally unknown to majority of population... we're not talking about Guinea, Togo, Sao Tome e Principe, Malawi etc...
> 
> it's just another typical african state... lots of sand, wildlife, and rising cities...


It is a "small" country in terms of population, GDP and has surprisingly few kilometres of paved roads (CIA factbook states 5,406 km).

And the city of Windhoek is surprisingly nice.


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## Ron2K (Dec 28, 2007)

I have a roadtrip to Namibia on my list of things to do one day.


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## ChrisZwolle (May 7, 2006)

RipleyLV said:


> What about the capital of Namibia Windhoek? Are there any real highways?


It has a 2x2 grade-separated bypass. Though Namibia has only like 2 million inhabitants, so they don't need any large roads. Paved roads to the largest places is enough.


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## RipleyLV (Jun 4, 2008)

^ For a large country (825,418 km²) only 1,820,9162 (2005) inhabitants? :lol: I know it's Africa, but damn what a small nation!


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## ChrisZwolle (May 7, 2006)

It's over 23 times the size as the Netherlands (land area), though only 1/9th of our population.


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## Ron2K (Dec 28, 2007)

RipleyLV said:


> ^ For a large country (825,418 km²) only 1,820,9162 (2005) inhabitants? :lol: I know it's Africa, but damn what a small nation!


It's because most of the country is either desert or semi-desert - the Atlantic doesn't bring any rainfall whatsoever, being a cold water current in that part of the world, and too far north for any winter cold fronts from Antarctica to have any effect.

If I'm not mistaken, the Namib desert is the world's oldest.


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## Mateus_ (Feb 12, 2007)

X236K said:


> Me, after reading the thread title: "Where the hell is Namibia??".
> 
> Sorry for being ignorant.


:uh:


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## Verso (Jun 5, 2006)

jkjkjk said:


> Etosha National Park in Namibia, by Nokes


cute


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## jkjkjk (Feb 28, 2007)

Namibia population density is 2.5 inhabitants/km², that is comparable with Australia (2.6), and only Mongolia has less (1.7). Namibia capital Windhoek has 250,000 inh, so as the chris said, only "motorway" in namibia is that 16 km stretch of B1 round and north of Windhoek. Here is a second ground pic, but due its poor quality it is hard to see opposite direction on it.








And here is Namibia road map:
http://209.88.21.36/Atlas/gif_files/R_Fig%206.33_Transport.gif


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## DJZG (Aug 2, 2007)

i'm kinda bored at work so here's my contribution to topic 

all pics are from GE since there aren't much information on web...


wide pic of main roads in Windhoek...
orange line is full-profile motorway...
light blue lines are main roads (on my opinion)...
purple circle seems like a construction site, i'll post close-up picture below...









some intersection pictures are already on first post so i'm just going to put some interesting things i've found surfing on GE...

surprisingly i found impressive condition of roads, at least main roads...




























and this seems like a new overpass currently in construction... my prediction is that motorway will expand from existing one towards south under this bridge and further to border...










there are few more places that seems to be in construction process, but nothing worth of mentioning...


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## RipleyLV (Jun 4, 2008)

They seem to have good roads! Is there any SSC member from Namibia?


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## Verso (Jun 5, 2006)

DJZG said:


>


Merging in the overtaking lane.


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## KB (Feb 22, 2006)

you can check more of namibia and windhoek in this thread.

Quite a nice city it looks.


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## Verso (Jun 5, 2006)

^ Like Germany in the desert.


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## ABRob (Feb 10, 2008)

MateoW said:


> As a German ex-colony, they seem to have some nice autobahns


The Germans lost their colonies in 1918 to the British - I don't think that there's a namable German influence on the road system. 

Just look at the signs:








British-style.


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## x-type (Aug 19, 2005)

but font is quite german actually


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## ChrisZwolle (May 7, 2006)

Yes, looks lik the DIN 1451 font, same as in South Africa.


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## -Pino- (Aug 12, 2007)

If there is any nation that has had influence on the signs in Namibia and other Southern African nations, it's South Africa. Neighbouring nations have pretty much copied it (even though that may not have been voluntary in the case of Namibia, as it was de faco controlled by the Apartheid regime).

Anyway, South African signs used to be in Interstate in the past, but they switched to DIN 1451. Think that was somewhere in the 1980s. The neighbouring countries have since followed.


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## DJZG (Aug 2, 2007)

Verso said:


> Merging in the overtaking lane.


exactly what i was thinking... that intersection is just too weird for me...


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## [email protected] (Dec 23, 2005)

DJZG said:


> exactly what i was thinking... that intersection is just too weird for me...


you are all overlooking one thing. Namibia, like South Africa, drives on the LEFT ! Nothing strange about those junctions then !


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## -Pino- (Aug 12, 2007)

Ehm, even on that basis I see a definite merge into the overtaking lane and an exit from the overtaking lane. But it looks like they had to do it here, but there was no room for a standard cloverleaf. And probably not enough traffic for flyovers, which is probably also the reason why this intersection doesn't pose too many problems.


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## DJZG (Aug 2, 2007)

-Pino- said:


> Ehm, even on that basis I see a definite merge into the overtaking lane and an exit from the overtaking lane. But it looks like they had to do it here, but there was no room for a standard cloverleaf. And probably not enough traffic for flyovers, which is probably also the reason why this intersection doesn't pose too many problems.


again... it is very dangerous taking turn there... doesn't matter on what side they drive... 

seems like it was cheaper just to build this kind of intersection without overpass... but i would be very very careful turning there...


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## -Pino- (Aug 12, 2007)

Fair enough. You'd have to take that turn at rather low speed and you will have to accelerate quickly before merger into the overtaking lane. Or, when taking the exit from the overtaking lane, you have to break seriously.


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## Robosteve (Nov 6, 2008)

DJZG said:


> here is one map from wikipedia, showing trans-african highways...
> 
> don't know if it's completely true though...


Those Trans-African Highways are not "highways" in the sense that many Europeans like to use the word. Very small portions of a few of them (in South Africa, Namibia, Morocco and Egypt, for instance) are motorways, but the majority are either paved two lane single carriageways, unpaved single carriageways or not even built at all yet. I think Africa would be lucky to get all of those highways built and paved within twenty years or so, although ultimately I'd like to see them all built to motorway standard and without border controls, like many roads in Europe - this definitely won't happen for at least half a century, though, probably more if it ever happens at all. hno:


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## Verso (Jun 5, 2006)

^^ Wasn't the road in Mauritania between Nouakchott and Nouadhibou paved recently? And I doubt all these unpaved roads are even passable, especially in the equatorian Africa. Particularly bad "roads" can be found in the Central African Republic and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Ironically, where Africa is "widest" (in the center), it's hardest to pass.


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## Robosteve (Nov 6, 2008)

Verso said:


> ^^ Wasn't the road in Mauritania between Nouakchott and Nouadhibou paved recently?


I have no idea; it might have been.



Verso said:


> And I doubt all these unpaved roads are even passable, especially in the equatorian Africa. Particularly bad "roads" can be found in the Central African Republic and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Ironically, where Africa is "widest" (in the center), it's hardest to pass.


There are some gaps, particularly on Trans-African Highway 3. I think Highway 1 is the closest to being fully paved, though personally I would love to see Highway 4 completed, as it is the epitomic Cape to Cairo road proposed by British colonists more than a century ago. It has the potential to become a reality fairly soon, too, if Egypt and Sudan can settle their differences and build a road across their border.

I think it would be great for Highway 1 and either Highway 3 or Highway 4 to be completed, in conjunction with the proposed Strait of Gibraltar crossing and the developing Asian Highway network, as this would eventually provide a paved road link between Cape Town and Beijing/Hong Kong. Now _that_ would be an awesome road trip! :cheers:


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## snowman159 (May 16, 2008)

Robosteve said:


> I think it would be great for Highway 1 and either Highway 3 or Highway 4 to be completed, in conjunction with the proposed Strait of Gibraltar crossing and the developing Asian Highway network, as this would eventually provide a paved road link between Cape Town and Beijing/Hong Kong. Now _that_ would be an awesome road trip! :cheers:


Throw in a link to Alaska and across the Darian gap and it would be one hell of a road trip! Cape Town - Ushuaia. :laugh:

Too bad that so many highways on that map are pretty much off limits to ordinary tourists and on a real transafrican road trip you'd be left with very few choices, if it's possible at all, depending on the current political and security situation.


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## Robosteve (Nov 6, 2008)

snowman159 said:


> Throw in a link to Alaska and across the Darian gap and it would be one hell of a road trip! Cape Town - Ushuaia. :laugh:


How about a tunnel from there to Antarctica? 



snowman159 said:


> Too bad that so many highways on that map are pretty much off limits to ordinary tourists and on a real transafrican road trip you'd be left with very few choices, if it's possible at all, depending on the current political and security situation.


There's some organisation that is working towards getting all those highways completed, paved and accessible to the public, mostly to aid in getting supplies to poorer parts of Africa. The politics do tend to make this difficult, particularly as poor countries are generally more interested in their internal road network than connections with other countries.


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## passionate saffer (Jun 8, 2009)

dude wats up with u


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## essendon bombers (Apr 27, 2008)

Nice pictures of the Namibian roads.

Elephants and giraffes would have to be my favourite African animals!

Going back to the conversation about knowing something about Namibia (now a year old..) I know that Namibia have fielded teams in rugby and cricket world cups.


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## TohrAlkimista (Dec 18, 2006)

AWESOME! :nuts:


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## Nolin (Jun 24, 2009)

why is the standard of nabia to south african freeways so different. south africa has toll roads, ring roads and intercity freeways?


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## Nolin (Jun 24, 2009)

dats all


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## -Pino- (Aug 12, 2007)

Nolin said:


> why is the standard of nabia to south african freeways so different. south africa has toll roads, ring roads and intercity freeways?


Because the traffic levels throughout Namibia do not justify any such roads. Look at the pictures of the roads of Namibia. Your sole hassle would be the game crossing the road.


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## ed110220 (Nov 12, 2008)

Nolin said:


> why is the standard of nabia to south african freeways so different. south africa has toll roads, ring roads and intercity freeways?


That's because South Africa has a lot more people and much bigger cities than Namibia. Namibia has only 2.1 million people in its whole 825 000 square kilometres. Windhoek only has 234 000 people and there is no other settlement approaching it in size. It would hardly make sense to build an intercity freeway the 350 odd kilometres through almost unpopulated desert from Windhoek to Walvis Bay to serve its 80 000 inhabitants.

You will find a similar situation in the neighbouring sparsely populated Northern Cape province of South Africa and indeed any sparsely populated part of the world (much of the interior of Australia or Alaska etc).

For those interested in history, Namibia was a German colony until the First World War when it was conquored by South Africa as part of the Allied war effort. After that it was administered by SA under a League of Nations mandate. From 1915 till independance in 1990 it was to all intents and purposes run as an unofficial fifth province of South Africa called South West Africa, and that is why there are a lot of similarities between the two countries.

There is German colonial architecture and there are also German-speaking Namibians and German placenames, but I think Germany lost the territory long before it could have much influence on its roads!


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## ChrisZwolle (May 7, 2006)

Yes, it was way too long before the roads developed in colonies. Germany lost Namibia around 1918, that is approximately 14 years before the first real Autobahn in Germany opened. Before that, roads were not seen as a priority, especially not in colonies. Germany also had a few colonies in east Africa (I believe Rwanda, Burundi and Tanzania). 

However, it has to be noted some French colonies didn't have any road development in colonial times either (for example; Chad).


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## -Pino- (Aug 12, 2007)

The German Wiki about German South-West Africa has some interesting info about transport in colonial Namibia. The colony was considered inapt for road transport, because cars would get stuck in the sand all the time. So they constructed a rail network.At 2100 km at the outbreak of WWI, it was a fairly extensive one actually.

To what extent colonial powers created roads depended, I think, to a certain degree on the demographics of the colonies. In Indo-China for one (present dat Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia), the French built a network of Routes Coloniales. Ever wondered why the main throughfare of Laos bears number 13? And why Vietnamese Route 13 is so much out of place in the Vietnamese network? That's all Route Coloniale 13; they French needed a better way to get inland from Saigon than the Mekong, so they constructed roads. But not so in many other colonies. For other colonies, other means of transport were convenient enough. Namibia seems to be one of them ...


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## DanielFigFoz (Mar 10, 2007)

[email protected] said:


> you are all overlooking one thing. Namibia, like South Africa, drives on the LEFT ! Nothing strange about those junctions then !


Overtaking is still done in the most central lane.


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## wotwot (Jun 13, 2010)

amazing nambia


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## Fargo Wolf (Oct 23, 2009)

Verso said:


> ^^ Wasn't the road in Mauritania between Nouakchott and Nouadhibou paved recently?


That's been paved for years. I remember watching a TV show about a small group of people taking old cars from Spain to Senegal, and the road was paved then (late 1990's). The only place it wasn't paved, was the "safe" route (Military escort required due to the abundance of land mines) was the track across the border from Western Sahara, to Mauritania.


snowman159 said:


> Throw in a link to Alaska and across the Darian gap and it would be one hell of a road trip! Cape Town - Ushuaia. :laugh:


That would be one hell of a road trip all right. 


Robosteve said:


> How about a tunnel from there to Antarctica?


Such a link, would probably be easiest through Argentina. Then the UN and UNESCO, would declare the whole continent, a World Heritage Area or some such. Not that I'd complain about that of course. 


TohrAlkimista said:


> AWESOME! :nuts:


Neat pic of the elephants crossing the road.


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## Schweden (Jan 5, 2008)

Near Windhoek. Seems to be a motorway with a very wide median?










North of Windhoek. Re-post.










Windhoek. Seems to be some kind of motorway.










Road B2. Connecting Windhoek to Swakopmund and Walvis Bay.










Same road, a bit more to the west.










Once again the B2.










View from B2 










Still B2. In the middle of the desert now, soon in Swakopmund. (I think the sign says 66?)










Just outside Swakopmund.


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## Schweden (Jan 5, 2008)

Road connecting Swakopmund and Walvis Bay. First picture is just outside Swakopmund and last one just outside Walvis Bay.


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## Zagor666 (Feb 20, 2011)

Too bad that life is too short to drive on all those roads :cheers:


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## musiccity (Jan 5, 2011)

Road Map










Source: hunting-portal-namibia.com

B6 Highway into Gobabis










Source: Panoramio - Ossewa

B1 Highway into Otjiwarongo










Source: Panoramio - bmh60

B4 Highway between Keetmanshoop and Luderitz










Source: Panoramio - khopan

Namibian roads in rare snow










Source: namibia-tours-safari.com


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