May 2025

Travelling on Namibia’s beautiful dirt roads

In our previous post, we told you about our first camping experience in Namibia at Klein-Aus Vista, aptly named Desert Horse Campsite (read here).

In this post, we are driving from Klein-Aus Vista to our next overnight spot – a lovely old farmhouse in the NamibRand Nature Reserve. And although this evening was the highlight of our road trip (it feels like I say this about every place), and we would love to share it with you right now, we first want to show you the beautiful route we took on this day.

After the previous two days were quite hot, the weather has now changed drastically. When we got out of our rooftop tent after a good night’s rest, it was misty and the temperature was in the single digits.

Misty morning at the foot of the Aus Mountains

The distance for the day we had to travel was 245km/152 miles. Because this was a dirt road, we decided to leave early – we definitely didn’t want to be rushed in this beautiful part of Namibia. I got the rusks out, while Berto made coffee and tea. After we took our rooftop tent down, it was time to hit the road again.

Getting the hot drinks ready

When we left the campsite, I got out to close the gate behind us. And although we were only about a kilometer away, it was surprising that we were now in sunny weather while the camp was still shrouded in mist. It was such a beautiful view – and just the beginning of what we would experience throughout the day.

Leaving Desert Horse Campsite

We filled the bakkie’s tank at Aus and then took the dirt road to Helmeringhausen – about 110km/68 miles further. The mist has now made way for dark clouds with occasional light rain. There was also a biting wind that came from the nearby mountains – it was definitely time to put on the warm jackets.

Dirt road to Helmeringhausen

After the recent good rains that fell over some parts of southern Namibia, the grass was abundant. It was beautiful to see, as Namibia is normally a very dry country.

The red sand is covered in grass

A lovely plant pattern on the ground

Beautiful scenery

Except for the rusks that we had with our hot drinks at the campsite, we hadn’t had anything else for breakfast yet. However, there wasn’t much more than apples and biltong (dried meat, almost like jerky), which we ate while driving.

Healthy breakfast on the road

All vehicles entering Namibia must pay a road fund tax, which is then used to maintain the roads. We could see that the money is indeed used for this purpose – there was heavy duty machinery on the roads almost every day, scraping the road. Except for one day, we drove on dirt roads that were in excellent condition. So, to tourists in Namibia: Pay the road fund tax with a smile – it’s money that’s very well spent!

Heavy duty machinery on the road

We stopped a couple of times to admire the beautiful scenery. With only a few cars passing by, it almost felt like it was just us on the road.

Stunning views

Just another 60km/37 miles to Helmeringhausen

We stopped again to take a photo of the mountains and hills when we saw one of the most well-known features in Namibia on the other side of the road – a big weaver nest in a tree.

Another beautiful sight

Sociable Weaver nest in a tree

As we got closer to Helmeringhausen, the clouds began to lift and we could see blue sky. This still did not mean it was any less cold, but at least the sun was shining.

Blue sky close to Helmeringhausen

In *Helmeringhausen we first refuelled the bakkie with diesel and then walked over to the only shop. It’s not a big shop, but there’s something of everything. We bought a big packet of chips and hotdog rolls – from this we made a tasty and unhealthy lunch (this is what you do on road trips, right)!

* We will tell you more about Helmeringhausen in a next post when we’ll be camping in this small village.

Lunch time

Scenery at our lunch stop next to the road

We still had to drive 100km/62 miles to the small hamlet of Betta. On the way there, we saw donkeys next to the road that watched us quite curiously.

Donkeys next to the road

Betta is a popular stopover for tourists on their way to Sossusvlei. Here we found a fuel station, as well as a small restaurant/shop. There are also camping sites and rooms available as accommodation.

Welcome in Betta

Time to refuel the bakkie (and I’m cold)

The garden, which features succulents, trees, and rocks, was actually so lovely – just shows that one can create a garden even in the driest place. The sunburnt, rusty cars added a rugged charm to this tiny village.

Garden in Betta

Rusty old car

More rusty cars

You can find many things here at Betta’s restaurant

Restaurant/shop

Two stick figures doing the potty dance

We bought take away coffees at the restaurant before we drove the last 40km/24 miles to our accommodation at NamibRand Family Hideout in the NamibRand Nature Reserve.

Drinking my take away coffee in Betta

However, this was not yet the end of beautiful views on the road. Mountains and dunes nestled snugly against each other are some of the most beautiful scenes we encountered on the road today.

Main road to Sossusvlei

(More) beautiful scenery

Mountain and dune

Finally, it was time to leave the main road and drive the last 11km/7 miles through two farm gates to our accommodation. This stretch of road was quite corrugated and Berto decided to deflate the bakkie’s tyres so that we could drive the road more comfortably.

Corrugated farm road (but still with stunning views)

Deflating the tyres

We absolutely loved this last stretch of road. The red sand dunes covered with green trees were just a taste of what we would see later.

Farm road

Beautiful scenery next to the road

Green trees on the red sand dunes

What a view

Fine gravel on a corrugated road

The second gate to enter the farm

Breathtaking tapestry of golden grass, dunes and mountains

Welcome to NamibRand Nature Reserve

And that’s where we’ll stop today’s post, because the rest of the afternoon and evening at NamibRand Family Hideout farmhouse deserves its own post (read here).

During today’s journey, it sometimes felt as if time had simply stood still. We exhaled and smiled at the same time – what a beautiful day on Namibia’s roads.