(4 nights accommodation,
8 nights camping)
Safari Tour Details
Day 1
Depending on arrival times there will be time to relax in your room or by
the pool.
(Also depending on arrival times), this
afternoon you will be taken on a "Katutura Township Tour".
Katutura was, during the apartheid years, the original Windhoek workers
"township" and is still today the largest suburb in Windhoek.
The atmosphere is truly African and we will visit all the areas of local
interest including markets and a local bar to try out the traditional
drinks and food.
Dinner this evening in not included in
the price of the safari and will be for the client's own account.
Day 2
We will travel north, stopping at small
towns along the way including Okahandja, where we have time to visit
Namibia's largest wood carving market. The market is operated on a local
co-operative basis and is one of the best places to shop for truly
Namibian souvenirs.
Continuing north, passing through
farmland, we aim to arrive at Okonjima during the middle afternoon, giving
us time to set up our camp and to relax in the shade for a while before
heading out on to the property to take part in the afternoon's activities.
Okonjima is the home of the Africat
Foundation, a specialist conservation concern that centers it's operations
around the African Big Cats, particularly cheetah. This afternoon specialized
guides will take you on a tour during which you will be able
to meet, close-up-and-personal, some of the cheetah, and other Big Cats,
that are going through the Africat rehabilitation programme.
Most of the animals currently living at
Okonjima have been rescued from various desperate situations, being
orphaned or caught in a trap, and the aim of the rehabilitation process is
to attempt to re-introduce them into the wild.
After our educational tour we will return
to camp and prepare for dinner under the African stars.
Day 3
Heading north on the main road and
passing through small towns along the way. We will make a short stop for
fresh supplies in the northern community of Outjo where we can also get
coffee and sticky cakes at the local bakery, before continuing on to
Etosha's premier resort, Okaukuejo.
We have time to make our camp and to
relax in the shade by the swimming pool before heading out into the park
in the cool of the late afternoon on our first game drive. Etosha forms
the main game viewing section of our safari and the Okaukuejo area offers
us some of the best waterholes in the park and the best chance to see some
Big Game.
Game driving is not the only way to see the
African wildlife at Okaukuejo. Located right on the boundary of the camp
and within easy walking distance there is a floodlit waterhole for
"after hours" game watching. Okaukuejo is famous for its
waterhole, it has been described as one of the "best game viewing
opportunities in Southern Africa" and black rhino, elephant, lion and
numerous species of antelope are usually seen.
Day 4
Okaukuejo is our first two-night stop and
we go straight out on an early morning game drive. We visit some of the
numerous waterholes in the area hoping to catch some of Etosha's Big Game
out for an early morning drink. The game drives around the Okaukuejo area
are some of the best in the park and we cover several different terrains
this morning, from wooded areas to open savannah and in the rainy season,
wetland.
Back to Okaukuejo in the late morning and
after lunch there is time once again to relax during the heat of the day.
The pool area here is very good, shaded by palm trees and within easy
walking distance of the waterhole.
As on day three, we take a shorter game
drive in the late afternoon, often driving out to one of the waterholes
popular with game and waiting for the animals to come to us.
The Okaukuejo waterhole "Game
Show" is scheduled to start again at sunset.
Day 5
Leaving early we continue with our Namibian wildlife experience today,
driving westward through Etosha and entering the restricted "West
Etosha" zone. West Etosha is a huge area of the National Park that
has been set aside for wildlife research and to allow the animals to breed
without the intrusion of game drive vehicles.
With special permission we are allowed to
transit through this special area of the park, stopping on the main road
for any special animals, however our permit does not allow us to leave the
main road or to make too many stops along the way. We should be lucky
enough to see many elephants as they abound in this area and we also keep
a sharp lookout for Hartmann's Mountain Zebra, a different species of
"stripy donkey" that does not usually occur in the main tourist
areas of Etosha.
We exit Etosha at the far western gate
called Otjovasondu and find ourselves, by way of our shortcut through West
Etosha, in northern Damaraland.
Hobatere is a private concession area
that is designed to offer sanctuary to wildlife but also to benefit the
local communities through environment management training, game management
skills and revenue through tourism.
The campsite here is rustic but excellent
with good views across the surrounding terrain and shaded areas for the
heat of the day. The campsite is in an unfenced wilderness area and
parental control of children whilst at Hobatere is essential.
Day 6
Leaving Hobatere we begin our journey south with a relatively short drive
to the small town of Kamanjab. We will make a short stop here before
continuing on to find the Oase Himba village, located about 20 km from
Kamanjab. (The exact location of the site varies as the Himba occasionally
roam to a new location).
Oase is a "living village",
meaning that the inhabitants permanently reside here and live according to
their traditional lifestyle. In the 21st century this is pretty unique and
Oase is in fact the only traditionally functioning Himba community outside
the far north Kaokoland region of Namibia.
We will meet a specialized guide before
being invited into the village to meet the inhabitants. Our guide will be
able to translate for us and we will learn about marriage customs,
traditional food, traditional medicine and the mysteries of the ancient
religion, "Holy Fire".
From Oase we will travel to the west,
heading deeper into the desert and passing through beautiful Damaraland
scenery as we traverse the small "Groot-Berg" mountain range and
we head down to the Palmwag Oasis.
Located on the banks of a dry river, the
Oasis is shaded by huge makalani palm trees and water comes from a rare
desert spring that attracts a wide variety of wild game, including the
rare and elusive desert elephant and rhinoceros.
There is a swimming pool where you can
cool off and chill out or a self guided sunset walking trail if you are
feeling energetic.
Day 7
Damaraland is probably Namibia's most beautiful area and we drive
through the heart of the region today. Giant granite "koppies"
and open grassland make up the terrain with rare and unusual flora species
dotting the landscape.
Our first main stop today will be the Twyfelfontein valley to visit the
Bushman rock engravings or petroglyphs. Ancient artisans used tools made
from quartz to leave modern generations with the gift of a fascinating
open air museum. The art is carved into the flat surfaces of a ruined
petrified sand dune and a local guide will introduce us to this important
site.
From here we head deeper into the desert and on to Namibia's highest
mountain, The Brandberg, (2573 m). Brandberg Mountain is another ancient
Bushman spiritual site and tonight we will sleep in a community campsite
under the shadow of this giant granite monolith.
Day 8
Starting early to enjoy the cool of the
morning we will hike, "into" the mountain with our guide to see
the world famous "White Lady" rock painting. Attributed to the
Bushman artists, the white lady panel is believed by some to be in excess
of 20 000 years old.
Back on the road and more beautiful
Damaraland scenery this morning, we make our first stop in the small town
of Uis, an old mining town, and one of the best places to buy
semi-precious stones, for which Namibia is famous. Here, rough Amethyst,
Tourmaline etc can be found at bargain prices.
From here we turn directly west and cross
the "gravel plains" on our way to the Atlantic Ocean and the
Skeleton Coast. Meeting the ocean at Henties Bay, we first head north
along the coast to visit the seal colony at Cape Cross where at certain
times of the year there can be as many as 100,000 Cape Fur Seals in
attendance.
The next destination is Swakopmund,
following the Skeleton Coast into Namibia's premier seaside town.
The Swakopmund section of the trip is
designed to allow people to relax either with the group, or on their own.
Only breakfast is provided to allow you to plan your time here with as
much flexibility as possible and not to be tied to group meal times. It
also gives you the chance to sample some of the excellent local cafes and
restaurants. The seafood in Swakopmund is superb and your guide will offer
to organize a group meal in a local restaurant for this evening.
Dinner this evening in not included in
the price of the safari and will be for the client's own account.
Day 9
Today is a free day. The idea is to allow
time for everybody to do their own thing. Swakopmund is a very pleasant
seaside town with lots of shops, a good stretch of beach (although the
Atlantic here is quite cold) and an open-air curio market. There is also a
very good museum and the Namibian National Marine Aquarium is located in
Swakopmund.
Alternatively, there are various optional
activities that can be arranged. These include airplane and micro light flights over the desert, scenic drives, fishing trips (both from the beach
or in a boat), four-wheel motorcycle (quad bike) trips into the desert and
over the sand dunes around Swakopmund, sand boarding trips (also in the
dunes), skydiving, surfing, bird-watching and many other activities are
available.
Your tour guide will discuss all the
possible options with you before you reach Swakopmund and will offer to
make bookings in advance of your arrival.
(N.B. All extra activities and excursions
in Swakopmund are subject to availability and are made at the clients' own
risk and expense and dinner this evening is not included in the price of
the safari and will be for the client's own account.
Day 10
We first make a stop at Walvis Bay,
situated about 40 km south of Swakopmund. South of the town there is a
large marine lagoon which is home to a vast array of marine bird-life, in
particular flamingos.
We will make a short visit to the lagoon to see the birds and a short
visit to Walvis Bay to collect any last minute supplies before once again
heading out into the desert.
The second part of our journey today
takes us across more of the seemingly endless Namib gravel plains. Then
the landscape suddenly changes and we are into the mountain desert.
We traverse both the Kuiseb and Gaub
passes, driving both times to the river beds at the bottom of the canyons
and then climbing the long steep road to the top and the spectacular
panoramas the mountains give us. Again the scenery changes as we make our
way down to the Namib Desert.”
“We cross some open grass savannah and
farmlands before the terrain begins to give way to the immense Naukluft
Mountains of the Namib and from here it is only a short distance to our
next stop, the tiny town of Solitaire. We will stop here for some
refreshments before continuing on through stunning desert scenery.”
We aim to arrive at our camp during the
late afternoon and watch the colors glow and change on distant mountains
to the east.
Day 11
A pre dawn start is essential this
morning as we want to catch the soft light of the sunrise on the desert as
we drive in. After passing through Sesriem, the gateway to the dunes, we
drive into the heart of the dune field.
To reach Sossusvlei itself we walk for
the last 5 km through the dunes. The walk is like nothing else, in the
cool of the morning, with soft sunlight just beginning to play over the
dunes creating a sharp light and shadow contrast across the whole desert.
Ancient mineral pans, stunted camel thorn
trees and the chance of seeing a gemsbok or maybe an ostrich make the
photo opportunities perfect.
We spend the morning in and around
Sossusvlei, also visiting "Dune 45", and as the day wears on we
return to Sesriem for lunch and to escape the heat of the afternoon. As
the day cools off in the late afternoon we will take a short excursion to
the Sesriem Canyon.
Day 12
After breakfast we begin our
journey, over the mountains and along scenic roads, back to Windhoek. We
will travel over the Naukluft Mountains and also the Khomas Hochland
range, through beautiful Remhoogte Pass on our way back to civilization.
Passing through Windhoek we will drive a
little further to Daan Viljoen Nature Reserve located about 20 km from the
city center. Daan Vilogen is a small but interesting reserve with several
bush walks that your guide will be able to introduce you to.
Tonight we are staying in small bungalows
and we aim to arrive in time to explore the area on foot or to relax by
the pool.
Day 13
Depending on departure times, there is the option this morning to stay and
explore or use the swimming pool at Daan Viljoen or to go into Windhoek
City with your guide. The shopping in Windhoek is interesting and
this is an excellent opportunity to check out the markets for last minute
gifts and souvenirs.
