You arrive today at Namibia's Hosea Kutako Airport where you will be met by Karen and your guide who will drive you the short distance to the city and your first accommodation, the lovely Hotel Thule which sits high on a hill overlooking the city.
The hotel has a very good restaurant and dinner can be taken al fresco on the terrace while the lights of the city come on.
We leave the city after breakfast and head north on the tar road heading for Etosha National Park. By early afternoon we will arrive at the Andersson Gate where we begin your safari in this world-famous wildlife sanctuary. This huge park is home to an amazing diversity of wildlife and the Okaukuejo area is known for its open plains and wide vistas where vast herds of herbivores trek endlessly to the camp’s floodlit waterhole followed by the ever present carnivores looking for their next meal.
During the afternoons at Okaukuejo waterhole there is a constant stream of herbivores coming to drink. Sometimes the pressure of huge numbers causes the wildlife to spook making for good photographic subjects.
At night the waterhole takes on an almost theatrical appearance with black rhino dominating throughout the night along with some of the bigger carnivores who can be heard roaring in the distance
Your accommodation is a waterhole bungalow overlooking the floodlit waterhole
This morning we travel into the wooded area surrounding Halali Camp. Along the way we visit the nearby Nebrowni and Olifantsbad waterholes before leaving the central plains behind and heading into the wooded area around Homob. This double waterhole has a huge reed bed and is in a natural bowl. It is very scenic and often produces interesting sightings.
The floodlit waterhole is a real highlight of this camp with black rhino and huge herds of elephants often seen along with porcupines, honey badgers and even the ever elusive leopard.
We head east once more today towards Namutoni Camp and the wildlife rich acacia woodland around Fischer’s Pan. Not only is this area home to some of Etosha’s largest lion prides, cheetah sightings here are frequent, this area is home to the majority of the park’s giraffe and it is one of the best places in Africa to see the world’s smallest antelope, the diminutive Damara Dik-Dik.
There are many key waterholes within a few kilometres of Namutoni Camp so we can spend our game drives looping back to camp for quick comfort breaks before we head off again to other areas.
The camp has a lovely pool area that sells lunchtime toasties and beers and the evening restaurant has an outside seating area and good food.
A slow morning drive to Twee Palms waterhole to the east of camp often rewards with good cheetah sightings as they hunt along the edges of Fischer's Pan.
For our sundowner drive we concentrate on Chudop and Klein Namutoni just a few kilometres from camp which optimises our time out in the park
After a final game drive we leave the peace and quiet of Etosha and head south on the tar road until we reach the gates to Okonjima. The lodge lies a further 24km into the middle of the mountains and it is here we will spend our last night searching for some of the Africa’s biggest carnivores. On our game drives out in the 54,000 reserve we will have the opportunity to track leopard and pangolin with the aid of a telemetry and walk with white rhino alongside the rhino guardians.
With its magnificent rooms, excellent cuisine and genuine conservation story, Okonjima is always a highlight of any trip to Namibia
After a final morning trail and a hearty breakfast we will drive you back to Windhoek for your final night in Namibia or you can extend your stay and set off with Karen for the Kalahari and Namib Desert wildlife extension
