On arrival you will be met by the car rental company representative and transferred to their offices in Windhoek to complete all rental procedures. Once done, we'll arrange for you to meet with our meet and greet representative to hand over your travel documents and travel package including your map.
We start your Namibian adventure with an easy 300 kilometer drive, the majority of this is on good tarred road to Kalahari Anib Lodge.
Wake up early and leave your lodge, heading for the Sesriem entrance gate to the Namib Naukluft Park. This gate only opens at sunrise, so there is no point arriving earlier, but driving the 60 kilometers from Sesriem through the dunes towards Sossusvlei while the sun rises is a real pleasure. The first major dune you will encounter goes by the imaginative name of Dune 45 - many people choose to stop and climb this dune but we suggest you continue onwards towards Sossusvlei. Park at the the 2x4 car park (unless you have a 4x4 vehicle this is as far as you can drive), Sossusvlei is a further 4km from here but you are already amongst fairly large dunes. The walk along the dry river bed into Sossusvlei is lovely but for the very unfit or terminally lazy there are 4x4 shuttles from the car park to Sossusvlei. Deadvlei, so named because it is a large pan with sculptural dead trees, is close by and definitely worth a visit.
The fascinating drive today takes you northwest through awesome and ever changing desert landscapes of the Namib Naukluft National Park, including the impressive Gaub and Kuiseb canyons.
Stop in Solitaire to refuel. The bakery is pretty good too.
There are a host of adventure activities to participate in while in Swakopmund. These range from sandboarding through quad biking to sky-diving. No activities are included in this package but they can be pre-arranged when you book this itinerary or left for you to arrange on arrival is Swakopmund. Being a German inspired town good food and beer is never hard to find, so we are sure you will find something productive to do!
If you are looking to completely blow your budget you could consider joining a balloon flight over Sossusvlei this morning.
Continuing on your safari today, the road takes you north and east into the wonderful and diverse region of Damaraland. You pass Namibia’s highest mountain, the Brandberg which peaks at 2,573 m above sea level, and take time to view game and absorb the vastness of the scenery along the way. Damaraland is typified by displays of colour, magnificent table topped mountains, rock formations and bizarre-looking vegetation.
Book an activity with the lodge to search for the elephants. They know the area well, when last the elephants were spotted and where.
Today you have the choice of exploring the sites of Damaraland in your own vehicle to your next destination Palmwag Lodge. Your lodge for tonight, where the flat-topped Etendeka mountains and the carpet of rich red rock greet the tributaries of the Uniab River.
The drive to Etosha National Park is a scenic few hours through more of Damaraland's singular beauty. The Anderssons Gate is much closer to Damaraland and will take about three hours.
ETOSHA PARK
It is really worth waking early and heading out on your game drive as soon as the gates open at sunrise. Animals are most active in the cool of the day (early morning & late afternoon) and in order to maximise your chances of good viewings it is worth imitating their behaviour. The roads in Etosha are unsealed gravel roads but are in reasonable condition - and the general tourist behaviour is to drive between various waterholes searching for animals. As the day gets hotter head for shade, and lunch, at one of the parks three camps, Okaukuejo, Namutoni or Halali. When things start to cool down again head out for another game drive.
With a long day of game driving ahead of you it is best to pack up early and get into the swing of things as soon as the gates open at sunrise. The gravel roads are usually in a decent condition, an advantage as you head from waterhole to waterhole in search of mammals all the way west to Halali.
Hopefully by now you will have seen everything the park has to offer and are ready to move on to Mushara Lodge for a relaxing and pampering afternoon around the Pool and shipping a cocktail.
Your destination is Okonjima and the AfriCat foundation. Apart from the beautiful location, stunning accommodation and wonderful meals the main reason for visiting Okonjima is to view cats. Activities here centre around viewing leopard & cheetah, visiting a night hide and generally learning about what the AfriCat foundation is doing to preserve these wonderful animals. Activities are not included in the package.
Depart Okonjima drive via Okahandja to Windhoek. In Okahandja you can stop over at the Kavango woodcarvers market, have a look around or buy some last souvenirs. You will arrive in Windhoek at around noon. After check in you have some time to do some shopping in the city centre.
