This morning your journey takes you to Swakopmund, an idyllic coastal town wedged between the Atlantic Ocean and the Namib Desert. En route you can visit the Okahandja Cultural Centre where you will receive a brief insight into the different cultures of Namibia. Swakopmund prides itself as being one of the most exciting activity centers in Southern Africa and will definitely spice up your first two days on vacation!
Today is your day at leisure. You can spend your time shopping, walking, taking in the sight or opt for the numerous activities available in Swakopmund or Walvis Bay. Activities in Walvis Bay include amongst others marine cruises, kayaking, birding and wind surfing, whilst Swakopmund offers quad biking, desert tours, dune boarding, scenic flights and also township tours.
On your way to the Damaraland you can visit the largest fur seal colony in southern Africa at Cape Cross. Your lodge for the evening is situated in the heart of the Damaraland, one of Namibia’s most geographically diverse areas, where game such as rhino, desert elephant and kudu roam freely. A visit to the Burnt Mountain and the Organ Pipes is particularly rewarding in the later afternoon. Very close to your lodge you can visit a traditional Damara village. These indigenous people were, together with the Bushman, the first inhabitants of Namibia and have lived in the Damaraland area for thousands of years.
After breakfast visit Twyfelfontein, a World Heritage Site where over 2500 rock engravings and rock paintings cover the eroded surface of a pre-historic desert. On your way to your lodge visit the Petrified Forest interspersed with Welwitschia Plants, the oldest living desert plant on Earth. After the visit you continue your journey north into the Kaokoland, entering areas that are still very untouched and more known as being the home to one of Namibia’s well known cultures – being the Himba.
With a network of dry riverbeds and interspersed acacia plains, this area is the preferred habitat of the desert elephant and the rare black rhino. Join the guides at your lodge on an optional experience of a lifetime, when they track these rare animals in the Hoanib River bed. Other options include a scenic walk or a nature drive in the area.
This morning you travel into the rugged and unspoilt Kaokoveld, a land marked by undulating hills and open plains inhabited by the Ovahimba. These proud and statuesque people still adhere to their traditional values and cultures; over the next few days enjoy marvelous opportunities to visit one or more of the inhabited villages.
On a day excursion you travel further north, you may encounter springbok, ostrich, kudu and huge Baobab trees that stand like giants in the midst of the Mopane savanna. Once at the spectacular Epupa Falls, this water wonderland in an arid environment will have you gasping in awe. The Falls delve into a 35 meter gauge and create one of Namibia’s most celebrated pictures. Optional activities include scenic walks and excellent birding opportunities.
After breakfast you travel west and enter the area locally known as the region of the four O’s. It is characterized by interspersed clumps of real fan palm trees and inhabited by the Ovambo, the largest ethnic group in Namibia. Attractions on your way include a giant baobab tree in Outapi as well as a Royal King’s Homestead in Tsandi. Staying alongside an active Owambo Homestead (or Village) you have the opportunity to experience to the traditional lifestyle of our Owambo people. Participate in the preparation and making of local traditional drinks and meals, discover the art of basket weaving and pottery and explore the beauty of this region.
As you head to the Etosha National Park, your time will be devoted purely to the abundant wildlife. The park surrounds a parched salt desert known as the Etosha Pan, and is home to 4 of the Big Five - elephant, lion, leopard and rhino. The park’s waterholes support a diversity of mammals and birds, including species such as black-faced impala, cheetah, and Namibia’s smallest antelope, the Damara dik-dik. The following two days are spent at a camp inside the park.
You have the entire day available for extensive game viewing experiences. No game drive is the same; all waterholes hold new surprises and attract different animal species that you may not have seen on previous game drives. Tonight is again spent inside the park, where you have the opportunity to view game species at the flood-lit waterhole at any time during the night.
Shortly after sunrise the gates to the park open, allowing you to experience the conundrum of animals and birds greeting the new day. You have the morning available for extensive game drives, and have ample time available to wait at a selection of waterholes for different game species coming to the water to quench their thirst. In the early afternoon you travel to your lodge, situated in the region of Grootfontein.
You have the option (not included) of taking part in an excursion into the Bushmen land and experience a true glimpse into the lives of this ancient civilization. Guests can expect the most informal, liberating learning experience about these people, their history, lifestyle and culture. What to look forward to: Bush walk, village life, making of tools, jewellery and weapons. The San will teach how to start a fire, how and what to use as medicines and the different roles of men and women in the community.
After breakfast you travel south towards the vast bush veld of the central Namibian region. Here you will find a veritable treasure trove of African wildlife that boasts a variety of some 25 game species. Here is truly a place where tranquillity and wildlife meet. Experience a romantic sundowner, walking trails, game drives and bird-watching.
Depart back to Windhoek for your return flight / last overnight (not included) or continue your journey into the rich water world of the Bwabwata National Park.
