Travelling in a safari truck we explore deep canyons, perfectly-formed sand dunes and tribal settlements in the Namib desert. We spend time in Etosha National Park in search of its prolific wildlife, walk in the mountains of the Waterberg Plateau and discover tribal rock art in Damaraland. Nights are spent under canvas as we camp along the route.
Itinerary
[+] Detailed Itinerary
Day 1:
Join tour Windhoek
Arrive Windhoek and check-in to hotel. The day is free to explore the city.
Overnight Standard Hotel (H+)
Day 2:
Drive to Sesriem
Departing Windhoek, we spend the day driving south-west into the Namib Desert to the edge of the Namib-Naukluft National Park and our campsite at Sesriem. The Namib is the oldest desert on Earth and is distinguished as being home to some of the strangest flora and fauna on the continent.
Overnight Standard Camping (C+)
Included meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 3:
Exploring Sossusvlei and Sesriem Canyon
Today we drive further into the Namib-Naukluft National Park and travel down the Tsauchab Valley to Sossusvlei to watch the sun cast its shadows over the red dunes. Sossusvlei has some of the world’s most spectacular sand dunes. The area itself is a vast depression or clay pan towered over by sand dunes up to 300m high. In the early morning, the first rays of the sun light up the dunes with a deep orange glow – a photographer’s delight! It is a wild, beautiful and romantic spot with sparse vegetation edging a few water courses which flow in from the Tsauchab river. We’ll also explore the cool passageways of the Sesriem Canyon on foot. The canyon is small but very picturesque. Many plants grow in the shade and shelter offered by the canyon and water pools attract several species of birds and animals. Sesriem means ‘six thongs’; which refers to the six lengths of rawhide rope (from a wagon) needed to make a line long enough to lower from the rim of the gorge to the stream below in order to haul up a bucket of water. It may also be possible to climb Elim Dune for sunset this evening.
Overnight Standard Camping (C+)
Included meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 4:
Drive to Swakopmund via Walvis Bay
An optional early morning balloon ride is an excellent way of gaining a unique perspective of the vast desert landscapes of this stunning region of Namibia. Drifting silently over the dunes, keep your eyes open for desert wildlife foraging for food. Travelling via Solitaire and through the Kuiseb Canyon, we then pass through awe-inspiring landscapes as we head across the Namib gravel flats to Walvis Bay. Here a large spit forms a natural deep-sea harbour that attracted the first navigators in the late 1400’s. The shallows, located where the spit joins the mainland, are home to a diverse collection of birds, the most spectacular being flamingos and pelicans that feed here seasonally (May to November usually). It’s a short drive from here to the coastal town of Swakopmund.
Overnight Standard Camping (C+)
Included meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Day 5:
In Swakopmund
Today there is time to visit this old German influenced town’s excellent museum and hopefully watch the sunset at the nearby coastal dune belt.Like any port town has a colourful past. Today there may be time to visit the town’s excellent museum, or visit a local township, participate in one of the numerous activities on offer, or just relax!
Overnight Standard Camping (C+)
Included meals: Breakfast
Day 6:
Drive via Cape Cross Seal Colony to Aba-Huab in Damaraland
Travelling north towards the Namibian ‘Skeleton Coast’ we visit the memorable Cape Cross Seal Colony where between 80,000 and 100,000 Cape fur seals bask in the sun or swim playfully in the cold waters of the Atlantic Ocean. The seals are natural indicators of fish stocks in the ocean. If the fish stocks are healthy, then the seal numbers are high. If the fish stocks are poor, then the seal numbers will be low. The seals are big. An average male weighing-in at anything up to 187kg (501 lbs.). The females give birth to a single pup around late November to early December. After our visit we head inland passing the majestic Brandberg Mountain (2,573m and the highest point in Namibia) as we enter the southern part of Damaraland. We overnight at a rustic campsite on the banks of the Aba- Huab River. This afternoon we see the Bushmen paintings and engravings at Twyfelfontein. The massif of Twyfelfontein contains a spectacular record of the rock art of the Khoisan people, painted and incised into the sandstone of the mountain over a thousand years.
Overnight Standard Camping (C+)
Included meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 7:
Visit Petrified Forest; drive to Anderson's Gate
This morning we will travel to the extraordinary Petrified Forest, with its huge fossilised tree trunks it was declared a National Monument in 1950; it is estimated to be about 200 million years old, and both the bark and the tree rings are perfectly preserved. This afternoon we will drive to the perimeter of Etosha National Park. It offers, arguably some of the best game viewing in Africa.
Overnight Standard Camping (C+)
Included meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 8:
Drive to Okaukuejo; game drives
Today we commence our safari through Etosha National Park. Etosha is an immense, saline desert, covering over 12,400 square miles, and the habitat for 114 species of animals and 340 species of birds. It has been described as the best game reserve on the African continent. We may see elephant, rhino and hopefully lion. The terrain ranges from dense bush to large open plains where animals roam freely. We drive along the network of gravel roads that criss-cross the Park visiting the various viewpoints and the permanent waterholes around which animals congregate. There is something enigmatic in the vast silent grey-white pan that covers the reserve. Numerous waterholes and underground springs attract large herds of animals including springbok, oryx, zebra, wildebeest and giraffe. Tonight we camp at Okaukuejo where can spend some of our evening at a floodlit waterhole watching the animals quench their thirst after a hot, dusty day.
Overnight Standard Camping (C+)
Included meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 9:
In Etosha N. P.
At the very heart of Etosha National Park is the Etosha Pan. Geologists believe was formed some 12 million years ago from an inland lake about the size of Holland. Shrunk to its present dried-up size, it is now a gigantic depression in the ground – flat, saline and silvery. It is a mysterious place of mirages and dust-laden images. During our time in Etosha we will visit this area. While in Etosha, you may want to try a night drive in the area surrounding either camp.
Overnight Standard Camping (C+)
Included meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 10:
Drive to Waterberg Plateau Park
We leave Etosha and travel south to the Waterberg Plateau National Park. En route we will make a visit to CCF. Namibia has the largest population of wild cheetahs in the world and today at the Cheetah Conservation Fund we’ll spend time learning about the world’s fastest land animal (which can reach speeds of up to 70 mph) and meet a few of the residents. This is an internationally recognised centre of excellence in research and education on cheetahs and their ecosystems with an extensive visitors’ centre, which encourages visitors to learn more about these beautiful cats. We will then continue on to Waterberg in the afternoon.
Overnight Standard Camping (C+)
Included meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 11:
At Waterberg
The Waterberg is a sandstone mountain that towers over 400m dominating the surrounding plains and is Namibia’s only mountain game park. Geologists believe that the oldest rock is 850 million years old and has seen the likes of dinosaurs tread across it. The Waterberg has also been home to the San people who have left evidence of their passing in the form of rock paintings. It is said that a small band of San still lived their traditional lifestyle on the plateau until the late 1960’s! Waterberg was also the site of the last and greatest battle of the Herero people against the German Colonial forces at the beginning of the 20th century. The graves of German soldiers who lost their lives at Waterberg can still be viewed near the Bernabe De La Bat rest camp attest to this great battle. Due to its inaccessibility, the park supplies other Namibian parks with rare and endangered animals. Today there are several trails to follow in this dramatic place and take in the awesome scenery, or you may want to take an optional game drive while you are here.
Overnight Standard Camping (C+)
Included meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 12:
Drive to Windhoek; where tour ends
Today we head south and return to Windhoek. Tour ends Windhoek.
Included meals: Breakfast
