Welcome to Namibia
Your very special African voyage to Namibia commences today with your arrival at Windhoek airport. A transfer representative will meet you in the arrival hall with your name on a signboard where you will be transferred to your hotel based in Windhoek, enjoying a lovely dinner and rest up for a wonderful journey that starts tomorrow morning. Please note dinner is not included for tonight and will be for your own account.
- Main Destination:
- Windhoek (City)
- Accommodation:
- Hotel Thule
- Meals & Drinks:
Erindi Private Game Reserve
After a hearty breakfast your guide will collect you from your hotel and then we will be on the tarmac road northbound. Our morning is dedicated to a straight drive, interrupted by a nice lunch break only, in order to be able to cover the 300 km distance to Erindi Private Game Reserve – the world’s largest private nature reserve and the perfect introduction to African wildlife on this itinerary. We plan to check in at our lovely African safari lodge at around two in the afternoon and proceed for a unique game drive after some refreshments and a short break. Erindi has an incredible diversity of wildlife species with regular sightings of Lion, Cheetah, Wild Dog, Elephant, Hippo, Giraffe, Black Rhino, White Rhino and Zebra. We will only return to our accommodation with the setting sun and prepare for a much-deserved dinner under the vast, open, star-filled African sky.
- Main Destination:
- Erindi Private Game Reserve
- Accommodation:
- Old Trader's Lodge
- Meals & Drinks:
The San Bushmen
The rising sun will find us in the bush again, on our open safari trucks, in search of Elephant and Rhino, as well as Lion and Cheetahs and many other species of the African fauna. A full cooked breakfast will attract us back to the lodge after a couple of hours, but we will hit the road again as soon as our dietary needs are provided for. We are heading to one of the most remote corners of Namibia today, a vast bush land, home to the San people, to where very few dedicated travellers ever venture. After a quick stop to admire the world’s largest know meteorite at Hoba, we enjoy lunch in Grootfontein, and make our way north to our next lodge. Roy’s Camp is situated on a game farm and is the perfect base from which to explore and spend time with the Bushman/San people. We plan to reach our lodge just before the sun sets, so that we can enjoy the evening with a drink in our hands under the tall thatched roof of the restaurant area, followed by dinner and an early bed-time.
- Main Destination:
- Hoba Meteorite (Highlight)
- Accommodation:
- Roy's Rest Camp
- Meals & Drinks:
Off to Etosha National Park
After a relaxing breakfast we will be in the vehicle and make our way to meet up with the Ju/’hoansi Bushman, who live in small villages scattered across Bushmanland. After a quick introduction and greeting ceremony, we set off right away, deep into the bush, with the village hunters, and spend most of the morning with them, looking for anything to prey on with their poisoned arrows, as well as for edible roots, berries, honey and whatever else would be welcomed by the villagers. We will break for an early lunch and coffee before we are back in the village again, interacting with the women whose job is to process whatever the hunters brought home from our morning excursion. If we are lucky, the villagers will have a good harvest or any other reasons to celebrate tonight, so that we can stay and participate in an original, traditional, non-organized singing and dancing event, before we make our way to Mokuti Etosha Lodge situated on the eastern boundary of Etosha National Park.
- Main Destination:
- Eastern Etosha National Park
- Accommodation:
- Mokuti Etosha Lodge
- Meals & Drinks:
Etosha National Park
After breakfast we will explore the game rich eastern section of the park. We plan to do a full morning game drive and arrive back at the lodge around lunchtime and after siesta we will be back in the park for an afternoon game drive. One of the most unique phenomena we will encounter this afternoon is Etosha Pan – a huge, 130km long and 50 km wide ‘nothing’. This is the dry, flat, endless bottom of the occasionally flooded Etosha Pan, a ‘must see’ for all adventurers. Naturally, the park consists of many more habitats as well, most of which are lush and very much habitable for wildlife, making Etosha one of the best safari destinations in Africa.
- Main Destination:
- Eastern Etosha National Park
- Accommodation:
- Mokuti Etosha Lodge
- Meals & Drinks:
Etosha National Park
Our entire day is dedicated for wildlife viewing in Etosha National Park with a morning and afternoon game drive in our safari vehicle with a lunch break en-route. Etosha is home to the tallest Elephants in the world and we hope to find a few herds at the waterholes. Besides the Elephants, Etosha often produces great sightings of Lion, Leopard, Cheetah, Giraffe, Spotted Hyena, Zebra, Gemsbok, Blue Wildebeest and it is the best place in the world to see Black Rhino. We will make our way across the park where we will spend the next two nights.
- Main Destination:
- Etosha National Park
- Accommodation:
- Etosha Safari Camp
- Meals & Drinks:
Etosha National Park
After breakfast we will continue exploring Etosha National Park. The rising sun will find us on the remote game drive routes across the park again, in search of the world’s largest (tallest) elephants and many other unique animals, along with endemic and rare bird species.
- Main Destination:
- Etosha National Park
- Accommodation:
- Etosha Safari Camp
- Meals & Drinks:
The Himba
Today we are heading to the exciting northern tribal territories of Namibia and have a long road trip ahead of us, so we check out of our lodge very early. Naturally, we will stop for great wildlife sightings, but overall, we will leave the park behind relatively early and make our way to a small town called Opuwo in the north. We are in the heartland of Kaokoland, known for its exciting Himba tribal villages and traditions, as well as the unique ‘desert elephants’ and other species that can’t be found elsewhere in Namibia. We plan on arriving in time for lunch and the afternoon is dedicated to the amazing Himba people – the last truly nomadic tribe in Namibia. We will be back at the lodge situated on top of a hill overlooking Kaokoland to enjoy a beautiful sunset and a well-deserved dinner.
- Main Destination:
- Opuwo (Town)
- Accommodation:
- Opuwo Country Hotel
- Meals & Drinks:
Twyfelfontein and Damaraland
After breakfast we head directly south, through dry riverbeds and rocky plains, until we reach the edge of Damaraland, where the landscape suddenly changes into one of the most spectacular and dramatic in Namibia. Damaraland boasts magnificent desert scenery, fascinating geological formations, archaeological sites and a unique variety of desert fauna and flora. It is also the southernmost roaming ground for the rare Black Rhino and the ‘desert adapted Elephant’, which we will keep searching for all along. After a picnic lunch en route, we will stop to admire the 260 million years old logs of the Petrified Forest, as well as a beautiful, impressive specimen of Welwitschia mirabilis, the longest-lived plant on Earth. Before we check into our lodge this evening, we visit the geological formations of the ‘Burnt Mountain’ and the ‘Organ Pipes’, which are particularly stunning in the late afternoon golden light. After sunset, we quickly occupy our rooms and gather for a great dinner.
- Main Destination:
- Brandberg Mountain (Rock Art)
- Accommodation:
- Brandberg White Lady Lodge
- Meals & Drinks:
Swakopmund and the Skeleton Coast
After breakfast, we start the morning with a visit to Twyfelfontein world heritage site, where bushman communities engraved and painted over 2500 pictures some 6000 years ago. We will take a short break at the abandoned mining town of Uis to photograph the buildings and learn about the history of mining in Namibia, before continuing towards the Atlantic Coast. This route crosses the desolate ‘gravel plains’ of the Namib Desert before arriving at the ‘Skeleton Coast’. We will reach the ocean and turn northbound to visit Cape Cross and its world-famous Cape Fur Seal colony. We will adequately explore, enjoy and photograph the 80 000 inhabitants of the colony, before we continue south along the coast and make our way to Swakopmund. After a quick check-in at our city hotel, we use the remaining hour or two of the daylight, to explore this charming coastal city, booming in the middle of hostile desert environment.
- Main Destination:
- Swakopmund (City)
- Accommodation:
- Swakopmund Sands
- Meals & Drinks:
Swakopmund
After a relaxing breakfast we will depart for a Living Desert Adventure in the Namib Desert where we will learn more about the fauna and flora that have adapted to survive in this harsh but beautiful environment. Amongst other creatures we will look for Sidewinder and Horned Adders, scorpions, Namaqua Chameleons, Reticulated Lizards, legless skink and Palmato Gecko. Once we are back in Swakopmund we enjoy lunch and then have the afternoon available to explore the town or perhaps finish the day with a quad-biking and dune-boarding adventure. Other optional activities that could be arranged include scenic flights over the coast and dunes.
- Main Destination:
- Swakopmund (City)
- Accommodation:
- Swakopmund Sands
- Meals & Drinks:
Off to Sossusvlei
After a hearty breakfast we will be in the vehicle and make our way south, via the Namib Naukluft Park as well as through the Kuiseb and Gaub Canyons. We will reach our accommodation as the sun is disappearing behind the horizon, painting the surrounding sand dunes flaming red. A nice dinner and an early bedtime will endure that we have enough energies for the early start tomorrow.
- Main Destination:
- Sossusvlei (Sand Dunes)
- Accommodation:
- Namib Desert Lodge
- Meals & Drinks:
Sossusvlei, Deadvlei and Sesriem Canyon
Once again, we will rise before the sun does today, and will be in the vicinity of the world’s highest, bright-red sand dunes when the first rays appear over the horizon. This is a truly magical time of the day here, as the giant, dark shapes suddenly dress in colour and the mosaic of shades and sunlight creates incredible photo opportunities. We will drive in the ancient bed of the extinct Tsauchab River, stopping at every great location, climbing a few dunes and slowly making our way to the world famous Dead Vlei, where red dunes provide a breath-taking backdrop to centuries old, dry trees standing in the desert. It will take all morning to explore this true wonderland, so we will only be back at our accommodation after noon. A nice lunch will ensure that we are ready for further exploration. For one last excursion, we visit the 18 million years old and 30 meters deep Sesriem Canyon, carved out by the Tsauchab River while it was still flowing.
- Main Destination:
- Sossusvlei (Sand Dunes)
- Accommodation:
- Namib Desert Lodge
- Meals & Drinks:
Back to Windhoek
Today we will make our way back to Windhoek. We plan to arrive in Windhoek by late afternoon and unless you have an evening flight home you will spend one night in a Hotel located in the centre of the city. This will be the perfect opportunity for some last-minute curio shopping. This is the official end of our tour.
- Main Destination:
- Windhoek (City)
- Accommodation:
- No accommodation (End of tour)
- Meals & Drinks: