$5,390 to $5,940 pp (USD)
2 travelers on Start dateArrival
Arrival
Day 1
Welcome to Namibia
Welcome to Namibia
Our local guide, Elvis greets you today at Windhoek’s Hosea Kutako International Airport and transfers you to your nearby bush accommodation in the N/a’an ku sê Wildlife Sanctuary. During dinner, Elvis will offer a few words of wisdom to help you feel comfortable with being in Namibia, while giving a brief overview of the exciting itinerary that lay ahead.
Some travellers prefer to arrive in Windhoek and continue straight onwards to the Namib Desert without considering the possibility of a late arrival due to a flight delay, or the effects of jetlag as well as the very long drive from Windhoek to the desert. Staying close to Windhoek tonight allows you to acclimatise - which can take a day or two due to the uncomfortable combination of the city’s relatively high altitude (1,660m or 5,440ft) and the long-haul flight most travellers endure to get here – and settle into a relaxed, healthy rhythm for the remainder of your safari.
- Main Destination:
- N/a'an Ku Sê Wildlife Sanctuary (Wildlife Sanctuary)
- Accommodation:
- Naankuse Lodge
- Meals & Drinks:
Day 2
Naukluft mountain range & the Namib Desert
Naukluft mountain range & the Namib Desert
Today you are treated to a wonderful scenic drive to Sesreim and the dunes of the Namib Desert. Traveling mostly on graded, gravel roads you descend down into the Naukluft Valley and its panoramic mountain vistas. The scenery remains stunning as you approach the easternmost edge of Namibia’s famed desert dunes, where sand and savanna meet and free roaming wildlife such as springbok, oryx (also called gemsbok) and ostrich can often be seen from your lodge. Our aim is to provide plenty of time for you to soak up this harsh yet beautiful landscape. We therefore provide a stay of two nights at Sossusvlei Lodge, located at the entrance to Namib-Naukluft National Park which encompasses one of the world’s oldest and driest desert regions.
- Main Destination:
- Namib-Naukluft National Park (Namib Desert)
- Accommodation:
- Sossusvlei Lodge
Wildlife in Namib-Naukluft NP
- Meals & Drinks:
Day 3
Namib Desert including Sossusvlei and Dead Vlei
Namib Desert including Sossusvlei and Dead Vlei
You wake before sunrise and Elvis takes you to the desert sands overlooking the well-known and photogenic landmarks of Dune 45, Dead Vlei and Sossusvlei. Later you explore Sesreim Canyon and can visit Elim Dune to marvel at the splendor of an African sunset. Should you wish to experience the magic of a sunrise balloon safari over the desert sands, Elvis will incorporate this within the today’s itinerary (Own expense).
As you travel down the valley of the Tsauchab River to Sossusvlei, you are dwarfed on either side by huge sand dunes. At times, you pass close to groves of dead camel thorn trees, testimony to a bygone era when there was much more water. During the drive you can hope to see oryx, the fabled desert antelope, as well as springbok, ostrich, bustards, jackal, bat-eared fox and hyena. At the end of the tarred road is a short, though at times bumpy, ride along a sandy track to the two iconic vleis of Dead Vlei and Sossusvlei.
- Main Destination:
- Sossusvlei (Sand Dunes)
- Accommodation:
- Sossusvlei Lodge
- Meals & Drinks:
Day 4
Namib Desert, mountain passes & the Atlantic Coast
Namib Desert, mountain passes & the Atlantic Coast
You now call in to the home of Boesman, our bare-footed local desert guide and an old friend of Compass Odyssey. Married to Japanese wife Yuri and the subject of an episode of the BBC’s “New Lives In the Wild”, Boesman takes you on a fascinating private tour of his farm and its resident desert dunes, during which he explains that the Namib Desert is alive and thriving with specialised animal and plant life, the great majority of it utilised in some way by the nomadic Bushmen (also collectively called the San people). You then head for Namibia’s barren Atlantic coastline, via the stunning Gaub and Kuiseb mountain passes and the arid coastal moonscape. Reaching the Atlantic coastline by mid-afternoon, you travel north to the quaint resort town of Swakopmund where you stay for the next two nights.
- Main Destination:
- Namib Desert
- Accommodation:
- Sea Breeze Guesthouse
- Meals & Drinks:
Day 5
Walvis Bay & Sandwich Harbour
Walvis Bay & Sandwich Harbour
This morning you travel the short distance south to Walvis Bay, where you discover this port town’s prolific bird and marine life on an entertaining and informative cruise in the bay, followed by a decadent on-board lunch of locally cultivated oysters. You then embark on an afternoon’s 4x4 excursion along the coast to Sandwich Harbour – one of the most remote destinations within a country that boasts its fair share.
Your cruise around the bay offers sightings of dolphins, whales, Cape fur seals, mola mola (sunfish) and with a bit of luck, orca (killer whale). Birders won’t be disappointed, with close-up viewing of pelican, cormorant, Cape gull, Caspian tern, flamingo and other wader species. Less than 60km south of Walvis Bay in the Namib-Naukluft National Park, Sandwich Harbour is one of Namibia’s most unique and dramatic sites where some of the world’s highest sand dunes descend into the wild Atlantic Ocean to form a picturesque lagoon.
- Main Destination:
- Sandwich Harbour (Highlight)
- Accommodation:
- Sea Breeze Guesthouse
- Meals & Drinks:
Day 6
Damaraland
Damaraland
You now travel north along the eerie and desolate coast to the north of Swakopmund, stopping along the way to view a shipwreck or two. You then venture inland to Damaraland and the Doro Nawas Conservancy, one of Africa’s most successful examples of community-based wildlife conservation and tourism. This afternoon you enjoy a leisurely nature drive and some drinks while watching the sun set over the Damaraland escarpment.
Despite the aridity and foreboding topography, Namibia’s Damaraland is now becoming one of the most accessible, authentic wildlife destinations in Africa, and over the next two days we are very hopeful of you spotting the region’s famed desert-adapted elephants, as well as springbok, Red hartebeest, Greater kudu, Hartmann’s mountain zebra, giraffe, oryx, and with a bit of luck, cheetah and lion. There's also 170 bird species, including endemics like Ruppell’s korhaan and Benguela Long-billed lark.
- Main Destination:
- Damaraland
- Accommodation:
- Doro Nawas Camp
Wildlife in Damaraland
- Meals & Drinks:
Day 7
Damaraland
Damaraland
The day commences with an early morning game drive led by an experienced camp ranger, where in addition to the desert-adapted elephant you’ll be on the lookout for kudu, springbok and the endemic Hartmann’s mountain zebra, as well as the region’s 35 lizard species, 24 snake species and over 170 bird species. This afternoon offers a visit to the ancient rock engravings at Twyfelfontein and an opportunity to learn from the indigenous San/Bushmen people. There’s also time to simply relax and absorb the peaceful tranquillity and perhaps embark on a self-guided hike around the camp’s surrounding hillsides.
- Main Destination:
- Damaraland
- Accommodation:
- Doro Nawas Camp
- Meals & Drinks:
Day 8
Etosha National Park
Etosha National Park
This morning you depart Damaraland to enter Namibia’s savannah region and Etosha National Park, where you enjoy an afternoon's game drive with Elvis before arriving at your camp - famous for its floodlit waterhole.
Accompanied by Elvis’ broad knowledge of Namibia’s wildlife, you’ll also be on the lookout for the park’s iconic ‘black’ species, such as its black-maned lions, black rhino, black-backed jackal and endemic black-faced impala. On one of your evenings, we also provide an evening game drive with an experienced park ranger, where the spotlights will be on the lookout for the park’s varied nocturnal life – both predator and prey.
- Main Destination:
- Etosha National Park
- Accommodation:
- Okaukuejo Resort
Wildlife in Etosha NP
- Meals & Drinks:
Day 9
Etosha National Park
Etosha National Park
You stay two nights in Namibia’s premier national park, allowing plenty of time to visit a number of the park’s famous waterholes, which regularly affords great viewing of the park’s large herds of elephant, oryx, giraffe, wildebeest, zebra and springbok.
The camps within the park are less salubrious than those located outside the park. However if one is staying outside the park, then one can only enter the park when the gates open at sunrise and one must be back out of the park before the gates close at sunset. We continue to accommodate our travellers within the park because this offers the dual benefits of 1. Game driving earlier/later than those staying outside the park, and 2. Being able to sit and overlook each camp’s floodlit waterhole for as long as one wishes (all night, if you want).
- Main Destination:
- Etosha National Park
- Accommodation:
- Okaukuejo Resort
- Meals & Drinks:
Day 10
Farewell
Farewell
Time permitting, this morning you can stop in the nation’s capital, Windhoek, and visit a local craft centre for some final souvenir shopping. Elvis then bids you farewell as he returns you to Hosea Kutako International Airport in time for an afternoon flight departure. Daily flights are available to Cape Town, Johannesburg and Frankfurt, among others. There's also a three-weekly flight to Botswana's Okavango Delta via the town of Maun.
NOTE: It’s also possible to spend the night in Windhoek, in which case Elvis can provide an informal afternoon tour of the city (stopover at additional cost).
During your journey, you will witness Namibia’s natural and wild beauty, be exposed to her diverse cultures and history, view her iconic wildlife and experience genuine African hospitality. Thank you for visiting Namibia on this Compass Odyssey safari.
Haese mugus (“see you soon”).
- Main Destination:
- No major destination visited
- Accommodation:
- No accommodation (End of tour)
- Meals & Drinks:
