Amazing 10-Day Self Drive Tour of Namibia
We started planning this trip rather last minute, only four weeks from our departure. After being a bit overwhelmed by all the choices, we opted to have Wayfairer Travel handle all the arrangements and bookings. We gave them a budget and they took it from there. We couldn't have been happier with the results. Every detail was taken care of and even though this was a self-drive tour, we were well taken care of along the way.
The accommodations were very high end and very comfortable, especially the Doro Nawas Lodge in Damaraland and the Ongava Lodge near Etosha. The food and service was top notch with all the meals being tasty and well presented. We were in Namibia in January which is their summer and the wet season. Not the best time we were told to see wildlife in places like Etosha, because the animals are spread out throughout the park and don't need to rely on the waterholes for their water. Despite that being the case, we saw elephants in Damaraland, lions in Ongava, Rhinos in Waterberg Plateau and most of the more common animals as well. No cheetahs or leopards, but we will have to save that for next time.
The highlights have to be the dunes in and around Sossusvlei (we spent an evening watching the sunset from Dune 40 all to ourselves). Everyone else goes to Dune 45 so it is full of footprints, but Dune 40 was untouched. Watching the sunrise from Deadvlei. Finding about 20 of the rare desert-adapted elephants in Damaraland along with a 3 week old calf, and watching about 10 lions in Ongava lounging around and playing with their cubs. Overall an amazing trip.
Wonderful 2 weeks in Namibia
We had a fantastic time in Namibia. The tour organized by Wild Wind Safaris was nicely organized and fully met our expecations. All of the lodges we stayed at were good and the food nice. The different landscapes were stunning and the wildlife is beautiful. The price you pay for seeing all this is that you are spending a lot of time in the car on the road but this you know in advance as the country is big and there a many gravel roads where you cannot drive very fast. We had a really excellent guide who shared a lot of information with us and gave us many insights about the country, the people and the different tribes.
Wonderful wilderness
We loved Namibia, it was so remote in places we felt like we had the country to ourselves on the road and it has not been spoilt yet by tourism. The wildlife in Etosha was great, we had some lovely sightings. The campsites could be improved (some staff were a bit rude and toilet paper kept running out!) but the sites were lovely. The weather was lovely and warm with some rain overnight. Sussouvlei was amazing, Ive never seen a landscape like it and we loved the long drives through the remote mountain passes. We already miss this beautiful country.
Email Stefan | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Just a beautiful place to travel to and you can find anything from desert to bush safari.
Email Matt OZW | 65+ years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Namibia is a safe country to visit and contains a variety of stunning scenery from desert and sand dunes at Sossusvlei, mountains, coastal towns with old German colonial architecture such as Swakopmund, great game reserves like Etosha and Daan Viljoen and others. Bird life is exceptional as are the animals. It is sparsely populated and the people are friendly.
We have seen a lot of animals and spectacular scenery
We have booked two different tours:7 days Etosha Explorer Tour (Wild Wind Safaris) and 4 day Swakopmund and Sossusvlei Adventure with Chamelon safaris.Weather was very good,dry and a lot of sun, no clouds.Our guides (Leslie Joseph and Griffith) were excellent.We have seen a lot of different animals, the accommodations have been very confortable and the food delicious.We will recommend these safaris to our friends and family.
AT
Email Sterna999 | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
It is just great. Great animals (big, small, reptiles, ... and of course: birds! great mountains and rock formations, and the clouds added a lot of atmosphere - see my photos to know what I mean!
Email DSNam | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
For the nature lover there isn't many other destinations that provide it all - wildlife, birding, scenic beauty and the bush experience. A vast country with arid landscape of the Namib, forested areas in the northeast and the unique bush experience of the Kalahari.
CH
Email mymaroundtheworld | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Namibia was incredible, the nature is nothing short of spectacular. We loved Etosha National Park and, quite a bit farther south, Walvis Bay, but there's so much more to see. The infrastructure in general is great for Africa, so if this is your first time on the continent, this is a great place to start.
US
Email Jill Scoby | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
An incredible wild, rugged country. It felt like it was not particularly well known to American, European or Asian tourists (except Germans!), so each of our experiences was blessed by a lack of crowds, groups, tour buses, etc. The country is huge, so three weeks seemed like almost too short of a time to see all that we had on our itinerary -- I would LOVE to return and spend more time at each one of the places we visited. I will say that Etosha National Park and the San Bushman immersion experience at Fiume Bush Camp were truly the pinnacle of a trip that had nothing but highlights!
