Tour Overview
Spot wildlife in Namibia's prime national park. An evening at a floodlit waterhole may reveal rhino, lion, elephant, leopard and cheetah.
Namib desert dunes
Drive through towering sand dunes as the rising sun causes them to change colour. Climb a dune for amazing views over the desert at Sossusvlei and visit Sesriem Gorge.
Ombili Bushmen project
Learn about the traditions and life of the bushmen, one of Namibia's main ethnic groups, during a visit to the Ombili Bushmen self-help project.
Collection Extras
Your stay at Fish River Canyon includes a day trip to the canyon. 4WD vehicles take you to the bottom where you can hike and take in the grand scale. During your trip you will stay in several lovely family-run properties, and a maximum group size of 12 means you will enjoy a personal experience.
Responsible Travel
You will have the chance to visit the OmbiliBushmen self-help project whose mainobjective is to provide a school and educationfor the local children.
Day by Day Itinerary
Clients travelling Land Only (i.e. not on our group flights from London) should let us know where they stay in Windhoek so you can be collected in Windhoek (day two of the itinerary). You will receive full details of exactly where to meet your Group Leader on the Joining Instructions which will be sent to you 2-3 weeks before your trip starts.Day 1 / 2: Depart London
Fly overnight from London to Windhoek. On arrival you will transfer to your hotel for your first night. Hotel/Pension - 1 night
Day 3: Kalahari Desert
This morning you will leave Windhoek and head south, descending the country's broad highland plateau to the low-lying Kalahari Desert. On arriving at your desert lodge there is an afternoon game drive. Local species include oryx, springbok, zebra, giraffe and even blessbok (recently introduced from South Africa). You spend the night in the beautiful and peaceful surroundings of the Kalahari Desert. (Driving: 350km, approx.8 hours with stops) Lodge or fixed Camp - 1 night (BLD)
Auob Lodge - a fine lodge in the heart of the Kalahari with comfortable rooms and a swimming pool or similar, Anib Lodge
Day 4: Fish River Canyon
Continuing the journey south, you visit Namibia's renowned Quiver tree forest. Although they give the impression of being trees, these giant plants are actually a member of the Aloe family and grow together in a large group just north of the town of Keetmanshoop. Later you arrive at Vogelstrausskluft Country Lodge, situated near the upper part of the Fish River Canyon. After checking into your lodge, the afternoon is free to relax or take a walk in the area, or if you are more adventurous, there is an afternoon game drive that can be taken at no extra charge.
(Driving: +/-400km approx. 6 hours) Lodge - 2 nights (BLD)
Vogelstrausskluft Country Lodge: The lodge is surrounded by a 26,000 hectare expanse of natural, ever-changing landscapes and is home to a large number of fauna and flora. Tastefully decorated in Namibian style and using natural materials, all rooms are comfortably fitted with air-conditioning and have en suite bathrooms. Rooms also have a little balcony that peers out over the impressive surroundings.
Day 5: Fish River Canyon; trip into canyon
Rising early and after a hearty breakfast, you set out for a full day's adventure of the Fish River Canyon. You traverse alongside the escarpment of the Canyon and stopping at several view points, you eventually descend into the Canyon via a steep and rugged road. From the top of the look-out point the view is breathtaking as you peer into the depths of the Fish River Canyon from the steep edge of the high ground. On clear days the view goes deep into the canyon and far beyond the Klein Karas Mountains.
Once at the foot of the Gorge, surrounded by rock formations and sand dunes, you now have the opportunity to explore the beauty of this natural environment along the banks of the Fish River while your guides prepare you a delicious bush lunch. After lunch you amble back along the scenic Gorge pass and Canyon Plains before heading back to the lodge. There is time to relax and enjoy a well-deserved sun-downer on the pool deck or at the bar before dinner is served. (BLD)
Day 6: Namib Desert
Today is a full driving day (550km, approx. 5-6 hours). The scenery changes throughout the day as you leave the dramatic landscape of Fish River Canyon and commence the gradual climb northwards. Finally, crossing the Tsarisberge Mountains you enter an area of mountain desert, which then gives way to dunes. Unbelievably, this beautiful but waterless environment is home to many different animals and birds. Although no rain falls, thick sea mists, which can penetrate over 100km inland, help to sustain a remarkable variety of life. Your destination is in the Sesriem area, gateway to the highest sand dunes in the world. Sunsets here are fantastic, and nightfall brings the emergence of a billion stars in the clear desert sky. Lodge - 2 nights (BLD)
Solitare Guestfarm - a family-run lodge with character, a pool to relax in and great views over the Namib Desert.
Day 7: Sossusvlei dunes & Sesriem Canyon
Starting very early today you drive as the sun rises, into the heart of the desert to witness an incredible sight. In the morning light the desert flushes with colour that deepens and changes as the sun's rays strike the quartz sand from an ever-higher angle as the sun rises. The spectacle is breathtaking. The endless expanse of the legendary wind-sculpted 'walking dunes' has to be seen to be believed. Far from all looking alike, dunes of different areas have distinctive shapes and characteristics. Your guide will explain about the curious mechanics of this unstable landscape and discover the natural world living within and around it. At the end of an ancient river course lies Sossusvlei - a clay pan set amidst red dunes - where if you are lucky you may spot a striking gemsbok. It is well worth the stiff climb to the top of one of the 300m high dunes (reputedly the highest on earth) for the view. Equally impressive is the silence and the tremendous sense of isolation. As the temperature rises it forces you out of the desert and back to Sesriem. Here you have lunch, can rest or make use of the swimming pool. We visit the Sesriem Gorge, a wonderland of rock formations where the desert floor has been cut by the force of water, and drive back to the lodge where you can relax for the rest of the afternoon. (Driving 280km, approx. 4 hours) (BLD)
Day 8: Swakopmund; Walvis Bay
The horizon is studded with massive granite kopjes as you descend to the seemingly endless lunar landscape of the Namib Desert. After visiting Walvis Bay with its flamingos and pelicans, you finally reach Swakopmund; set on the Atlantic coast this is Namibia's second city. Tonight you have the opportunity to dine in a restaurant - an ideal opportunity to savour fresh seafood from the Atlantic or even enjoy a Black Forest gateau! For any that have missed the trappings of city life, there is even a casino. (400km, approx. 6 hours plus stops) Hotel / Guesthouse - 2 nights (BLD)
Swakopmund Beach Lodge - A small lodge situated right on the beach.
Hotel Garni Adler - A small, friendly hotel at the beach with en-suite rooms.
Day 9: Swakopmund; free day
When Namibia was declared a German protectorate in 1884, the new colonial masters needed a site for their principal port and capital city. The most obvious choice for a deep-water port was Walvis Bay but the British had annexed this some years earlier. Indeed, Walvis Bay remained a British, and later South African enclave even up until Namibia gained independence in 1990. Due to the abundance of fresh water and a chance landing by a German gunboat, this site at the mouth of the Swakop River, just 30km north of Walvis Bay was settled and developed throughout years of German administration. Today Swakopmund has a pleasant seaside feel and the German architectural influence is found everywhere. This is the closest Namibia has to a 'resort' with international visitors attracted as much by the wide range of adventure activities on offer as by the ocean. Today is essentially a free day to explore the town, its museums and galleries or, to try some of the more energetic activities on offer such as dune-boarding, quad-biking, horse riding, camel riding and even tandem sky-diving. There are also some excellent scenic flights available including those over the Namib Desert dunes and the Skeleton Coast; the latter can be combined with a flight to Kaokoland to visit the fascinating Himba people and see something of their highly traditional lifestyle. (B)
Day 10: Twyfelfontein; via Cape Cross seal colony
Heading north by road you follow the Skeleton Coast - so named by mariners who saw many whale bones strewn on its inhospitable shores. Soon you stop to visit Cape Cross Seal Reserve which protects up to 250,000 Cape Fur Seals (a species of sea-lion). After crossing the gravel plains of the Namib Desert you skirt the granite massif of Namibia's highest mountain, the 'Brandberg' (2573m) which glows a spectacular deep red colour at sunset. En route, watch out for the extremely elusive desert elephants. It's hard to imagine that these animals can live in such a harsh environment. Springbok also inhabit the plains, while the more rocky areas attract klipspringer and mountain zebra. Leopard and black-backed jackal also live here but are seldom seen because of their nocturnal behaviour. After checking into your lodge you can spend the afternoon seeking out the many prehistoric rock paintings and engravings found around the rocky slopes of the ancient valley of Twyfelfontein. The name means 'doubtful fountain' and was so called because the first white settlers considered the local spring water insufficient to support much life. Over 2500 petroglyphs, some of which date back over 6000 years to the Early Stone Age, depict a variety of animals, including some no longer found in the region. You will walk to see the finest examples where you can imagine how life must have been thousands of years ago. (450km, approx. 7 hours with breaks) Lodge - 1 night (BLD)
Twyfelfontein Country Lodge - situated in the heart of the Twyfelfontein Uibasen Conservancy, the utmost care was taken to reduce the visual impact on the environment and to blend into the mountainside with the use of thatch roofs and natural stone. The result is a stylish and comfortable lodge with a swimming pool.
Day 11: Etosha National Park
On leaving Twyfelfontein you drive through picturesque farm country via Damaraland and its capital, Khorixas. Stopping en route at a petrified forest where trees date back 260 million years, you can see the prehistoric Welwitschia mirabilis, a plant which has mysteriously adapted to life in the desert with such success that it lives for over a thousand years! Finally, you arrive in Etosha National Park in time for a short game drive. Namibia's highly-renowned premier game park is huge - almost the size of Belgium - with excellent facilities. You stay first in Okaukuejo. Once the site of a fort, it's now the administrative headquarters of the park and the views at sunset from the top of its circular tower are renowned; it's possible to see as far as the unpronounceable Ondundozonananandana Mountains! However, the highlight of your first night in Etosha is an evening spent at the floodlit waterhole, where you have an excellent chance of viewing the rare black rhino and other animals not usually seen by day. (350km, approx. 6 hours with breaks) Bungalows - 2 nights (BLD)
Okaukuejo Camp - One or two bedroom bungalows with kitchen, barbecue area and air-conditioning - most have private facilities but you may have to share between rooms in the two bedroom bungalows.
Day 12: Etosha NP; game viewing
Early in the morning, you will go in search of a multitude of animals and birds. At the park's heart is the enormous Etosha Pan, a shallow, salty depression that once may have been a lakebed, but now only fills with shallow water in exceptionally wet years. Around its perimeter, numerous perennial waterholes attract great concentrations of wildlife. Four endangered species live here: black rhinoceros, black-faced impala, Hartmann's mountain zebra and the tiny damara dik-dik. Returning to camp during the heat of the day, you can spend the afternoon relaxing in the shade or at the waterhole. As it begins to cool off you head out again to add to your growing list of species spotted: elephant, giraffe, zebra, springbok, blue wildebeest, red hartebeest, gemsbok, kudu, eland, plus the carnivores: lion, cheetah, possibly leopard, spotted and brown hyena, and black-backed jackal. The long bird list includes more than 320 species - from ostrich and flamingo to the rare Wahlberg's eagle, and the Klaas' cuckoo. It is always a treat to watch sunset and enjoy supper under the stars. (BLD)
Day 13: Etosha National Park; Namutoni
As you head off across Etosha, more and more animals and birds appear and soon it is time for lunch at Halali, another camp within the park, set in a unique area of rocky limestone outcrops. Here you rest for a few hours before carrying on to the eastern camp at Namutoni. The whitewashed ramparts of Namutoni's old German fort - originally built to control and subdue the Ovambo people, but now restored - are an evocative reminder of Namibia's past. Namutoni also has a floodlit waterhole that allows you to view game during the evening and late into the night if you choose. Bungalows - 1 night (BLD)
Namutoni Camp - One or two bedroom bungalows with kitchen, barbecue area and air-conditioning - most have private facilities but you may have to share between rooms in the two bedroom bungalows.
Please note: Night stops in the Etosha National Park may alter depending on game concentrations and local conditions
Day 14: Tsumeb; bushman community
You will perhaps have time for one last early morning game drive before saying your final farewell to Etosha National Park. Your drive today heads out across a flat, dry landscape and ends near the town of Tsintsabis at Ombili - a remote community well off the normally travelled routes (100km, approx. 1 ½ hours). Any roadmap of Namibia shows a vast blank area in the east of the country. This is home to the San Bushmen - an ethnically and linguistically distinct group who are generally held to be the earliest inhabitants of Southern Africa. Many Bushmen still live the traditional nomadic hunter-gatherer lifestyle though many more now live in permanent or semi-permanent settlements. On arrival your hosts greet you and a local guide leads you around the village to meet some of the inhabitants and explain the background to the project. Persistent government pressure on bushman lands in recent years has led to several worthy self-help projects being initiated as a means of curtailing the degradation of this ancient and unique culture. A small donation is appropriate in such circumstances. In the afternoon you drive to your lodge near the Otavi Mountains. (approx. 2 hrs) Lodge - 1 night (BLD)
Ghaub Lodge, just south of Tsumeb, in the Otavi Mountain Range is a lovely secluded lodge with a large pool and peaceful walks in the surrounding hills.
Please note - during school holidays the village may not be open to visitors.
Day 15: Drive to Windhoek; fly To London
Today you drive south on a flat, well-surfaced road to Windhoek (500km, approx 6 hours with stops). During your drive you cross the heartland of the Herero-speaking people and make a stop in Okahandja where there are some excellent wood-carving markets. Hotel/Pension - 1 night. (BL)
Day 16:
The trip ends for Land Only clients and those on group flights to the UK transfer to the airport for your flight to London. (B)
Day 17: Arrive London
Arrive London
