A group of Kenyan travellers recently had a girls’ trip to the Land of the Brave, and have been praising Namibia’s scenic beauty, friendly locals and calmness – apart from the rough ocean on their catamaran trip in Walvis Bay.
Dubbed ‘Mother of Passports’, Winnie Rioba and 15 others have been voyaging Namibia since last week Wednesday, visiting Windhoek, Spitzkoppe, Swakopmund, Sandwich Harbour, Sossusvlei and Deadvlei. They departed back home yesterday.
“They say Kigali is the cleanest city in Africa, but hear me out, Windhoek would like to have a word,” posted Rioba when she landed in the capital. She also heard from locals about the rush hour traffic, and wanted to know what people were talking about because there is “no traffic” in Namibia.
Rioba, a Kenyan storytelling traveller, is an adventure travel blogger, who has been exploring Africa frequently since 2016. She has seen more than 25 African countries. Rioba also organises all-girls trips from time to time.
“I only started travelling seriously in 2016 because before that I did not know anything about travelling on a budget. After a trip to the United Arab Emirates with my friends, I realised that if I wanted to, I could travel with proper planning and research,” she shared on her blog.
Rioba later took a solo trip to five African countries, and it was on these solo travels that she realised she could travel on a budget while being adventurous at the same time.
Among others, Rioba teaches others how to travel with an eight to five job, maximising leave days, travelling solo and not relying on friends, travelling on a budget, exploiting weekends for travelling and saving money while doing so.
The ladies have received praise on social media for advertising Namibia, with some raving about the photos the girls posted on social media. They went camel-back riding, quad-biking, met seals on a catamaran trip, and were mesmerised by the Namibian sunsets. One commented that a group photo in Deadvlei is “the most iconic picture on the internet right now”.
Others said they deserve to be recognised by the Namibia Tourism Board for how they have marketed the country since their arrival. However, the board hasn’t mentioned anything about the ladies.
Meanwhile, South African songstress Lerato Molapo, known as Lira, is back in the country to continue with her ambassadorial duties.
Lira is Namibia’s Tourism Ambassador, part of the Federation of Namibian Tourism Associations’ Travel Ambassador Initiative, a role she was given a year ago.
“It’s so good to be back in Namibia. I’m loving my road trip adventure in the #NewDefender! It’s been a dream of mine to experience Namibia in a Defender,” she posted on social media this week.