The journey
Overview
Picturesque towns, prolific wildlife and stunning landscapes reveal the beauty and variety of Namibia. Ancient petroglyphs, local crafts and long-held customs uncover the culture, from Sossusvlei’s dunes to the Skeleton Coast, Damaraland, and Etosha National Park. An enthralling blend of extraordinary landscapes, heritage sites, colonial towns and a conservation ethos, Namibia counter-balances its sparsely spread population with an abundance of wildlife; not only in the National Parks but also in the unfenced miles between them, where local conservancies form pockets of sanctuary on public and private land. This tour is a journey through all the country’s aspects, from eye-opening cultural sites to jaw-dropping scenery. It starts in the strollable streets of Windhoek, the cosmopolitan capital, before a stark change of scene and tempo in Sossusvlei. This is the Namib Desert, its other-worldly topography teaming bleached-white saltpans with rust-red sand dunes, and a dome of bright blue sky. From here the tour traverses lunar landscapes along the Gaub Pass, twisting around the rock formations of Kuiseb Canyon, enroute to Swakopmund, where German colonial houses meet Atlantic surfing beaches on the Skeleton Coast. Mountains hem Damaraland, the site of the world’s oldest rock-art, and still home to the animal species depicted in the carvings; and the waterholes of Etosha Reserve bring birds and beasts in abundance, to deliver a feast of up-close wildlife-watching.
Unforgettable moments
Highlights
01
Climb the iconic Sossusvlei dunes
02
Wildlife watching at Etosha NP
03
Visit the photogenic Deadvlei
04
Optional cruise at Walvis Bay
05
Admire Twyfelfontein’s rock art
06
Learn about big cats conservation
Your itinerary
Day by day
- Day1
Join tour at Windhoek Airport, drive through the capital with a barbecue dinner+
The tour starts today at Windhoek Airport (WDH).
Our Tour Guide will meet you at 2.30pm in the arrivals hall and we aim to depart no later than 3pm.
This evening, we enjoy a tapas-style ‘braai’ (barbecue) and settle into the 3-star Windhoek Gardens Boutique Hotel for an overnight stay.
(D)
- Day2
Travel to the Sossusvlei area, with the afternoon at leisure+
Travel by road (5hrs) to the Sossusvlei area, in the southern Namib Desert. Its landscape is a huge, gleaming ‘vlei’, a clay and salt pan, encircled by enormous wind-sculpted ‘star dunes’, and forming a fantastically photogenic arena. Two nights at the Hammerstein Lodge, or similar. Afternoon at leisure to enjoy the lodge facilities.
(B, D)
- Day3
Visit the Namib-Naukluft National Park+
Drive into the Namib-Naukluft National Park to visit ‘Dune 45’, perhaps the most photographed dune on Earth, the colour of its 85m-high sands mutating from red to rust and gold with the day’s changing light; continue to Dead Vlei, with long-dead, pitch-black thorn trees rising from a salt-white floor; and visit the deep cleft of Sesriem Canyon, its soaring rock walls indented with caves.
(B, D)
- Day4
Travel through Kuiseb Canyon to Swakopmund+
Travel (5hrs) through the dramatic Kuiseb Canyon, and along the sweep of Walvis Bay to coastal Swakopmund, with its palm-lined streets, half-timbered houses, and iconic lighthouse. Afternoon at leisure to explore the charming town. Two nights at the Swakopmund Hotel, or similar, a short walk from the shore.
(B)
- Day5
Relax or join our optional Walvis Bay excursion and coastal flight+
A day at leisure to stroll ‘the Mole’ seawall and elegant avenues; or join our optional tours, a morning cruise at Walvis Bay, to see the marine and birdlife (pre-booking essential); and a flight over the Skeleton Coast, for a bird’s eye view over its shipwrecks, and the Namib Desert (bookable locally, weather permitting).
(B)
- Day6
Travel to Twyfelfontein valley and the Petrified Forest+
Travel (5hrs) to Damaraland’s Twyfelfontein valley, to visit Namibia’s first UNESCO World Heritage site, its gallery of ancient rock-art lauded as Africa’s largest collection of petroglyphs; and the Living Museum of Damara, a unique project aiming to revive the ‘lost culture’ of the Damara people. Continue to the Petrified Forest, where perfectly preserved, petrified tree trunks, millions of years old, are thought to have been carried downriver to this spot in the thaw of one of the Ice Ages. Overnight at the 3-star Damara Mopane Lodge, or similar.
(B, D)
- Day7
Explore Etosha National Park on a game drive+
Drive (3hrs) to Etosha National Park, home to well over a hundred mammal species and three times as many bird types. Explore the park with an open-vehicle game drive. Two nights at the 3-star Etosha Toshari Lodge, or similar.
(B, D)
- Day8
Enjoy a full day game drive through the park+
In the country known as the ‘cheetah capital of the world’, Etosha gives you a good chance of seeing them, sharing the saltpan and plains with lions and leopards, both black and white rhinos, the tallest African elephants, and huge herds of antelopes. Enjoy a full-day of wildlife-viewing with an open-vehicle game drive.
(B, D)
- Day9
Visit Okonjima and continue to Okahandja+
Journey south to Okonjima, the enclosed nature reserve and visit the Cheetah Conservation Fund, who work to protect cheetahs in the wild through conservation, research and education. Continue (3hrs) to Okahandja and visit its famous wood-carvers market. Overnight at the 3-star Okahandja Country Hotel, or similar.
(B, D)
- Day10
Tour ends in Windhoek+
The tour ends this morning after breakfast.
(B)
Peace of mind
What's included
- ✦9 nights’ accommodation
- ✦Meals Included: breakfast daily, 7 dinners
- ✦Itinerary as described
- ✦Services of guides and local representative
- ✦Interested in adding flights to this tour?
- ✦Find out more
- ✦.
- ✦- Travel Guide -
- ✦You can find out more about the country on the travel guide.
- ✦Flights from the UK can be added — ask your adviser