Arrival
Arrival
Day 1
Windhoek to Etosha National Park
Windhoek to Etosha National Park
You will be collected from your accommodation or the airport by 07:00 and transferred for a short pre-departure meeting.
Heading north from Windhoek, we stop briefly at the small town of Otjiwarongo to gather supplies before continuing on to Etosha and we enjoy a light lunch pack whilst “on the move”. We enter Etosha National Park and game drive our way to our overnight accommodation at Halali Camp. The ‘game show’ in Etosha doesn’t stop when the sun goes down. All the Etosha camps have floodlit waterholes for extra game viewing opportunities.
Driving time: ~4-5 hours
NOTE: No single supplement will be charged if you are willing to share a tent with another single traveller of the same sex.
Sleeping bag and small pillow can be rented for NAD 30 per day.
- Main Destination:
- Etosha National Park
- Accommodation:
-
Halali Resort
Wildlife in Etosha NP
- Meals & Drinks:
Day 2
Etosha National Park
Etosha National Park
We have the whole day to explore Etosha and we want to make the most of it. The park gates open at sunrise and we aim to be on our way just as the sun breaches the horizon. Early morning is usually a productive time for game viewing and first thing in the morning is a good time to catch big cats returning from the hunt. We return to Halali for breakfast and to load our vehicle before heading out into the park once again in search of big game. Etosha is desert landscape and water is the most scarce natural resource. There are however numerous waterholes here, both natural and man-made, and our game driving technique is to take in as many as of these possible. Here we hope that the game will come to us as the thirsty animals attend for a much needed drink. On our way today we will stop to have a closer look at the Etosha Pan.
We exit Etosha close to sunset and it is just a short drive to or accommodation.
- Main Destination:
- Etosha National Park
- Accommodation:
- Etosha Village
- Meals & Drinks:
Day 3
Etosha National Park to Swakopmund
Etosha National Park to Swakopmund
After breakfast we aim to be on the road by 07:30 today. We head for the Skeleton Coast via the scenic route. South on the main road, passing the town of Outjo, then onward towards the west and picking up the gravel road as we travel through Damaraland. We also have a chance to meet some of the locals as there are several places along our road today where we can find informal shops selling locally made souvenirs. We continue our journey west and soon arrive at the coast and the chilly Atlantic Ocean. The whole coastline of Namibia is known as the Skeleton Coast and it is easy to see why this barren seaboard is so named with its forbidding mountains and barren beaches. Heading south on the coast road our next stop is a more recent shipwreck. We complete the final leg of our journey into Swakopmund, we check into our accommodation. Swakopmund boasts some truly excellent restaurants and your guide will be able to help you with recommendations and bookings.
Driving time: ~5-6 hours.
- Main Destination:
- Swakopmund (City)
- Accommodation:
- Hotel Pension A la Mer
- Meals & Drinks:
Day 4
Swakopmund to Sesriem
Swakopmund to Sesriem
Making the most of our time at the coast we leave Swakopmund at 11:30, giving us plenty of time to wander around town. Alternatively, there are optional activities available this morning. We head east into the desert, first we cross the Namib gravel plains then we have two mountain passes to traverse this afternoon. We climb up from the banks of the river and over the pass, travelling through the mountain peaks and on to the second, smaller canyon of the Gaub River, a tributary of the Kuiseb. We emerge from the mountains onto a flat road and almost immediately we cross the Tropic of Capricorn at 23.5 south degrees. There is a signpost at this auspicious spot and we stop for photos. Onwards again to our destination for today, the gateway to the dunes and Sossusvlei at Sesriem. We make our campsite under a huge, ancient camelthorn tree from where we can, in anticipation of our day tomorrow, glimpse the towering red dunes of the world’s oldest desert.
Driving time: ~5 hours.
- Main Destination:
- Sesriem (Town)
- Accommodation:
- Budget camping
- Meals & Drinks:
Day 5
Sossusvlei
Sossusvlei
Sunrise in the dunes is the name of the game and that means a pre-dawn start. Our first stop will be at dune 45, so named because it is 45 km from Sesriem. The best time to photograph the dunes is around sunrise and sunset. There is a 4x4 shuttle service that will transport us through the sandy terrain of the river-bed. We have time to explore the area on foot and to climb one of the highest dunes in the world, some towering 300 m above us, the views are breath taking and justly famous. We drive back to Sesriem for lunch and perhaps a dip in the swimming pool and in the afternoon we take a short excursion to see the Sesriem Canyon. In the late afternoon there is one further option with which to close our time in the world’s oldest desert. A short drive will take us to Elim Dune, for the best golden light before sunset. From here, if you would like to, it is a relatively short walk back, through the desert, to our camp.
- Main Destination:
- Namib-Naukluft National Park (Namib Desert)
- Accommodation:
- Budget camping
Wildlife in Namib-Naukluft NP
- Meals & Drinks:
Day 6
Sesriem to Aus
Sesriem to Aus
We have a scenic drive through the ever changing desert, mountains and open grassland. We continue our long drive south and our destination is Aus, located in the Aus Mountains above the plains of the Namib Desert. Aus was formally the site of a prisoner of war camp set up by the South African army to house German prisoners during the second world war. Our actual destination today is Klein Aus Vista located just outside Aus and just inside the private Gondwana Sperrgebiet Rand Park. We aim to arrive in the early afternoon and set up camp, giving us time to stretch our legs on the un-guided hiking trails on the property. The landscape is wide open vistas and we are hoping for a spectacular sunset.
Driving time: ~5 hours.
- Main Destination:
- Aus (Town)
- Accommodation:
- Budget camping
- Meals & Drinks:
Day 7
Kolmanskop and Luderitz
Kolmanskop and Luderitz
We start early and travel through grasslands and wide open desert scenery on our drive towards the ocean. Desert-adapted horses run wild in this area and we need to keep a good look out for them. We are en-route to the ghost town at Kolmanskop. We will stop at Kolmanskop for a guided tour and the opportunity to photograph this unique and interesting site. On departure we quickly cover the last few kilometres to Luderitz itself, well known for its unique and colourful colonial-style buildings. We drive out on to the Luderitz peninsula and enjoy the scenery on way to the historical monument at Diaz Point. As at Cape Cross, the first sign of European interest in this land was from the Portuguese and in this case it was the navigator Bartolomeu Diaz who landed here in 1487 and caused a stone cross to be erected. We head back to our accommodation at Klein Aus Vista, taking a second opportunity to see the desert horses and arriving in time for a sundowner.
Driving time : ~ 3 hours return.
- Main Destination:
- Aus (Town)
- Accommodation:
- Budget camping
- Meals & Drinks:
Day 8
Aus to Keetmanshoop
Aus to Keetmanshoop
A long drive today but we take advantage of the tar road for the first part of the morning. We are heading east but we will soon turn south again to complete our traverse of Namibia’s southern region. Our first main stop this morning will be the incredible Fish River Canyon located in the /Ai-/Ais Richtersveldt Transfrontier National Park. We enter the park at the Hobas gate and from there it is only a short drive to the main lookout point over the Fish River Canyon. It is hard to leave such an impressive sight but we journey onwards, turning our heads to once again to the north as the canyon marks the end of the southern leg of our trip. We are en-route to Keetmanshoop, the main commercial and political centre of Namibia’s south. A short stop here and then on to our overnight camp at the Quiver Tree Forrest. This is the last night of our safari and time to reflect on our amazing adventure as we sit around our camp-fire one last time.
Driving time: ~6 hours.
- Main Destination:
- Keetmanshoop (City)
- Accommodation:
- Quiver Tree Forest Rest Camp
- Meals & Drinks:
Day 9
Keetmanshoop to Windhoek
Keetmanshoop to Windhoek
We head north today and we have the luxury of the main tar road for our whole journey, no gravel road ‘African Massage ’to contend with, as we head back to Windhoek. Namibia is so rich in interesting things that it is impossible drive for any great distance without passing places of interest and there are several worth mentioning along the way today. Still heading ever north our journey today takes us through the small centres of Mariental and Rehoboth and we will stop along the road today for a light lunch. We aim to be back in Windhoek in the late afternoon. You will be dropped at your accommodation within the Windhoek City limits or the airport.
Driving time: ~5 hours
We recommend that departure flights are not scheduled for today.
- Main Destination:
- Windhoek (City)
- Accommodation:
- No accommodation (End of tour)
- Meals & Drinks:
