Meraviglie Della Namibia

Day notes

Arrival at the Windhoek International Airport and transfer with an English speaking driver to Avani Hotel

Rest of the day at leisure to visit the city

Windhoek is located in a basin between the Khomas Highland, Auas and Eros Mountains.  It is 1,680m above sea level.  Whether due to pure luck or a brilliant stroke of Germanic planning, the city is situated in almost the countries epicenter.  Windhoek is the social, economic, political, and cultural center of the country.  Nearly every Namibian national enterprise, governmental body, educational and cultural institution is headquartered here.  Central Windhoek is a surprisingly modern, well-groomed city where office workers lounge around Zoo Park at lunchtime, tourists funnel through Post St Mall admiring African curios and taxis whizz around honking at potential customers.  In fact, first impressions confirm that the city wouldn’t look out of place in the West.  It’s not a big city and is eminently walkable; add to this a mixed population, a pedestrian-friendly city center, a relaxed, relatively hassle-free pace and an utterly cosmopolitan outlook and Windhoek makes for a very pleasant exploration indeed.  Neo-baroque cathedral spires, as well as a few seemingly misplaced German castles, punctuate the skyline, and complement the steel-and-glass high-rises.  Of course that’s only part of the story; a trip into Katutura, the once-ramshackle township on the outskirts of the city, now just another outer suburb, gives insight into the reality of most people’s lives within the boundaries of the capital.  Windhoek makes a great place to begin or break a journey through Namibia. The accommodation choices, food variety, cultural sights, shopping and African urban buzz give it an edge not found anywhere else in Namibia.

The heart of Namibia, Windhoek, possesses a unique charm due to its harmonious blend of African and European cultures and the friendliness of its people.  It serves as a strategic point from which to conduct business, or to embark on your Namibian adventure.  It provides an efficient infrastructure and easy access to tourist destinations in neighboring countries, such as the Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe, the Okavango Swamps in Botswana, and Table Mountain and various game parks in South Africa.  It therefore serves as an ideal gateway to southern Africa.  For the business traveler, Windhoek offers all modern amenities such as conference facilities, commuting services, corporate accommodation and catering venues.

Overnight at AVANI HOTEL on a Dinner, Bed & Breakfast Basis. Lunch and drinks not included 

Day notes

After breakfast you will meet your Italian speaking Guide and immediate departure to the Kalahari Desert to reach the Kalahari Anib Lodge.

The Kalahari Desert is a large semi-arid sandy savanna in southern Africa extending 900,000 square kilometers (350,000 sq mi), covering much of Botswana, parts of Namibia (known as South-West Africa from 1894 to 1990), and regions of South Africa.  The Kalahari Desert came into existence approximately 60 million years ago along with the formation of the African continent.  A semi-desert, with huge tracts of excellent grazing after good rains, the Kalahari supports more animals and plants than a true desert, such as the Namib Desert to the west.  There are small amounts of rainfall and the summer temperature is very high.  The Kalahari is home to many migratory birds and animals.

The Kalahari Desert is not a desert in the strictest sense of the word.  The Kalahari sand dunes, some of which stretch west to the Namib Desert, compose the largest continuous expanse of sand on earth. Derived from the Tswana word Kgala, meaning "the great thirst", or Kgalagadi, meaning "a waterless place", the Kalahari has vast areas covered by red sand without any permanent surface water. Drainage is by dry valleys, seasonally inundated pans, and the large salt pans of the Makgadikgadi Pan in Botswana and Etosha Pan in Namibia.

After lunch you will join a sundowner drive on open 4x4 vehicles in the Anib Lodge property to search for the local fauna with a snack on one of the red dunes at the end of the excursion

Overnight at KALAHARI ANIB HOTEL on a Lunch, Dinner, Bed & Breakfast basis and a PM Sundowner included. Drinks not included. 

Day notes

Departure to the Namib Desert, the oldest in the world, through the scenic Zaris Pass. 

The name Namib is of Nama origin and means "vast place".  According to the broadest definition, the Namib stretches for more than 2,000 kilometres (1,200 mi) along the Atlantic coasts of Angola, Namibia, and South Africa.  The desert geology consists of sand seas near the coast, while gravel plains and scattered mountain outcrops occur further inland.  Fogs that originate offshore from the collision of the cold Benguela Current and warm air create a fog belt that frequently envelops parts of the desert.  Coastal regions can experience more than 180 days of thick fog a year.  While this has proved a major hazard to ships—more than a thousand wrecks litter the Skeleton Coast—it is a vital source of moisture for desert life.  Owing to its antiquity, the Namib may be home to more endemic species than any other desert in the world.  Most of the desert wildlife is arthropods and other small animals that live on little water, although larger animals inhabit the northern regions.  Further inland, the Namib-Naukluft National Park, the largest game park in Africa, supports populations of large mammals. Although the outer Namib is largely barren of vegetation, lichens and succulents are found in coastal areas, while grasses, shrubs, and ephemeral plants thrive near the escarpment.  A few types of trees are also able to survive the extremely arid climate.  The Namib-Naukluft National Park that extends over a large part of the Namib Desert, is the largest game reserve in Africa and one of the largest of the world.  While most of the park is hardly accessible, several well-known visitor attractions are found in the desert.

The Namib Desert is commonly referred to as the world’s oldest desert as it has been around for about 43 million years.  The name Namib is of Nama origin and means "vast place".  According to the broadest definition, the Namib stretches for more than 2,000 kilometres (1,200 mi) along the Atlantic coasts of Angola, Namibia, and South Africa.  The desert geology consists of sand seas near the coast, while gravel plains and scattered mountain outcrops occur further inland.  Part of the desert, towards the centre, incorporates the Namib Naukluft Park, which is the largest park in Namibia and also the third largest in Africa.  The park these days, is a combination of the Namib Desert Park and the Naukluft Mountain Zebra Park as well as sections of the Diamond Area.  The combination of all these areas adds up to about 50 000 square kilometres.  The Naukluft Mountain area was initially created as a sanctuary for the Hartmann’s mountain zebra.  In 2013, a large part of the desert became a Unesco World Heritage site under the name of “Namib Sand Sea”.

Lunch en-route 

Arrival at the Lodge in the afternoon and time for leisure 

Overnight at DESERT HILLS LODGE on a Dinner, Bed & Breakfast basis. Drinks not included 

Day notes

After breakfast departure to the coastal town of Swakopmund 

Sights en Route from Sossusvlei to Swakopmund:

Solitaire - This remote settlement, at the edge of the Namib-Naukluft National Park, has been a welcome desert stopover for more than 60 years. It’s not a town, it’s a state of mind.

Enjoy fresh baked goods and espresso, the famous apple pie, plus take-away sandwiches, fresh meat pies and cool drinks on the shaded patio. 

The landscape changes on this route in several places. At the beginning you go through a kind of steppe landscape. Later, one is reminded by the red sand dunes, that one travels along the border of the Namib Naukluft Park.

Soon after Solitaire you reach the Gaub Pass. A smelting landscape whose rock layers range from brick red to black like slate to sandstone. On this plateau you can feel yourself in an inhospitable lunar landscape. After the Gaub Pass towards Walvis Bay, the Kuiseb Pass has to be crossed. There you find an area whose rocks consist of glitter slate. The rock formations were formed by shifts of the Congo and Kalahari continental plates millions of years ago. After the Kuiseb Pass you arrive shortly before Walvis Bay again in a sandy desert landscape. Kuiseb Bridge Camp is located directly on the C14, where the bridge leads over Kuiseb. An ideal resting place under large Anabäumen. It is possible to hike directly into the canyon through the dry riverbed.

The Kuiseb River in Namibia flows from the Khomas highlands west of Windhoek to Walvis Bay.  The Kuiseb is an ephemeral river with a mean run-off of roughly 20 million cubic metres per annum.  It is bordered on one side by some of the tallest sand dunes in the world, and on the other by barren rock.  The red sand dunes south of the river reach heights over 150 meters.  The prevailing winds blow the dunes northward, but their movement is blocked by the river.  In the process, so much sand and silt is deposited in the Kuiseb that it only reaches the sea while it is in flood. 

You will also visit the Moon Landscape

Lunch en-route 

Arrival in Swakopmund in the afternoon and time for leisure to explore the town. 

Swakopmund, known as Swakop, is in the Erongo region of Namibia. It is the country's biggest coastal town and a resort for Namibians on holiday. The city's German origins are quite pronounced in beautiful old German colonial buildings throughout the city, making an even starker contrast for this town sitting at the edge of the Namib Desert. Swakopmund is like a German North Sea town with an African flair.

Swakopmund has a mild desert climate, with the temperature varying little during the year. The town sees only about 20 mm of rain around the year; instead thick fog is a frequent occurrence. This is also why the Namibian coast is infamous for its shipwrecks. In addition to bringing needed moisture for the vegetation, the fog is also liable to lower the temperature to below +10°C in the winter.

Overnight at HANSA HOTEL on a Bed & Breakfast basis. Dinner and drinks not included 

Day notes

Today you will departure toward the harbor town of Walvis Bay, from where your tour with Sandwich Harbour 4x4 departs. 

The scenic drive from Swakopmund to Walvis Bay takes about 45 minutes.  Don’t forget to take your camera equipment, a hat, sunscreen and a warm jacket along.

Sandwich Harbour, part of the Namib Naukluft Park, is a place many have heard of but very few have ever visited.  Giant sand dunes run straight into the ocean, creating breathtaking sceneries and unique landscapes, just waiting to be discovered.

The lagoon, salt pans and the bird sanctuary, which form the Walvis Bay Wetlands, are rightly heralded as the single most important coastal wetlands of Southern Africa. It is one of five Ramsar sites in Namibia.

After a short break at the Walvis Bay Lagoon to see flamingoes, you proceed to the Kuiseb river delta, a dry riverbed where the odd springbok may be seen.  Beautiful dunes have to be crossed to get to Sandwich Harbour.  If weather and tides allow it, you will drive right to the Sandwich Harbour Lagoon, one of Southern Africa’s richest and unique wetlands.

Wedged between the sea and the Namib Dunes, potable water seeping from the underground aquifer sustains the freshwater vegetation at the base of the dunes.  If the vehicles cannot drive all along the beach to get to Sandwich Harbour because of the tides, you will get a chance to see the lagoon area from one of many beautiful lookout spots and will have the time to walk and explore.  There will be time to stop along the way for photography. When it becomes time to enjoy something to eat, your guide simply finds a suitable place to stop and serve a selection of savoury and sweet snacks, sparkling wine, oysters and drinks.

The route homewards will take you past the area’s typical fauna and flora back to Walvis Bay.  Return to Walvis Bay at approx. 16h00.

Walvis Bay lies some 30 kilometres south of Swakopmund.  Although Walvis Bay had already been discovered by Diaz as early as 1487, it was only founded in 1793 by the Cape Dutch.  Two years later it was annexed by the British. In 1910, Walvis Bay became - like the entire Cape Colony - part of the South African Union.  After Namibia's independence, the only deep-sea harbour on the Namibian coast remained under South African rule and only in 1994, did the former South African president F.W. de Klerk agree to return it to Namibia.  The special attraction of Walvis Bay is the huge natural lagoon with its overwhelming abundance of seabirds. 120.000 birds were counted lately in the lagoon, innumerable flamingos and pelicans among them.  Every year they are joined by 200,000 migratory birds.  On a clear day one can see the black-and-white lighthouse at the northwest of the lagoon.

Overnight at HANSA HOTEL on a Bed & Breakfast basis and Sandwich Harbour excursion (that include a light lunch). Dinner and drinks not included

Day notes

After breakfast departure to the Damaraland. 

Along the rout you will visit the Cape Fur Seal colony before leaving the coast. 

The coastline of Southern Africa is the only place in the world where you can find the Cape fur seal.  They fight, mate, reproduce and fish in the Cape Cross Seal Reserve, home to the largest breeding colony of these seals on the planet, with at times up to 210,000 seals present during November and December.  A point of interest driving towards the seal colony on the left of the road, is an unnatural, curved line running between a granite outcrop and the edge of a saltpan.  The line is in fact the remains of the first railway track in Namibia, all 21km of it, used to transport guano and seal skins to ships in the bay. Guano, dried bird manure, used as fertilizer and in manufacturing explosives, was discovered at Cape Cross towards the end of the 19th century.  Guano is an Inca word for a mix of eggshell, feathers, decayed corpses and bird excrement.  It became so valuable, that it was called 'white gold' and to this day is harvested from platforms off Namibia's coast.

You will also admire the majestic Brandberg.

The name Brandberg is Afrikaans, Dutch and German for Fire Mountain, which comes from its glowing colour which is sometimes seen in the setting sun.  The Damara name for the mountain is Dâures, which means 'burning mountain', while the Herero name, Omukuruvaro means 'mountain of the Gods'.  The Brandberg is a spiritual site of great significance to the San (Bushman) tribes.  The main tourist attraction is The White Lady rock painting, located on a rock face with other art work, under a small rock overhang, in the Tsisab Ravine at the foot of the mountain.  The ravine contains more than 1 000 rock shelters, as well as more than 45 000 rock paintings.  The Brandberg Massif or Brandberg Intrusion is a granitic intrusion, which forms a dome-shaped massif, with its highest point, the Königstein (German for 'King's Stone'), standing at 2573 m above sea level and located on the flat Namib gravel plains, on a clear day 'The Brandberg' can be seen from a great distance.

Arrival at the Lodge for lunch

Just after lunch you will join an excursion to search the Desert Adapted Elephant on a open 4x4 vehicle guide by the rangers of the EHRA project. 

Elephant-Human Relations Aid (EHRA) Namibia has helped build peaceful relationships between free-roaming desert elephants and local communities in Namibia, Africa since 2003. Conflict exists due to shared land, resources and an ongoing drought in the region, which leaves communities and animals without much food or water. Elephants, livestock and humans are sharing the same waterpoints, which not only sparks conflict, but also results in human and elephant fatalities.

EHRA’s mission is to implement practical solutions that help combat elephant-human conflict, and thereby secure a future for Namibia’s desert elephants. We do this through building protective walls around waterpoints, educating locals on conflict mitigation tactics and continuous monitoring of the different elephant herds. Please help us fund our conservation work so that we can continue monitoring elephants and helping rural communities.

Overnight at OZONDJOU TRAILS on a Fully Inclusive basis. 

Day notes

After breakfast departure to Kamanjab where you will visit the Himba Village of Otjikandero. 

The beginning

The Otjikandero Himba Orphan Village Project was started in 1999 when Jaco Burger moved to Kaokoland to work and live with the local Himba tribe.  He had met Mukajo there previously.  As a result of leukaemia she could never have children, but as the last queen in her blood line of the Ovahimba’s and considering her great love for children she was desperate. Jaco and Mukajo came together for the Himba Orphan project and had a traditional Himba marriage.  Women are not allowed to have children in the Ovahimba tradition unless they’re married.  Jaco decided to live with the Ovahimba’s in Kaokoland and he was adopted by the Ovahimba’s as well as the Chiefs.  He also has a Himba mother with whom he lived for a couple of years, which enabled him to learn their language.

The traditions

The Himba is one of the last tribes in Africa (besides the rare bushman) living strictly within their tradition.  In Angola there are Ovahimba’s that have never even seen a white person before.  In the Ovahimba Tribe, when you have more than 10 children and you can afford your first and second wife, you must take a third wife.  This is the tradition and rules are stipulated by the head Chiefs in Kaokoland.  Everything is overseen by the chiefs and heads of the families in order to keep the people’s traditions alive.  All first marriages are arranged, but you are more than welcome to live with your real love, remembering that the first wife is still head of the family!  No jealousy in the Himba tribe!  That would be akin to breaking the law.

The village

At this stage Jaco has three wives and 39 children with 16 Himba volunteer women (including their own children, between 4 & 8 children per Himba volunteer woman) from Kaokoland which the chiefs send to assist for the children during a certain period.  They stay in the village with their families and the kids for 3 to 6 months (sometimes even longer) before returning to Kaokoland.  The Himba women from Kaokoland come to live there to assist with the raising of the children.  These women are usually family relations of the children and they ensure that the children get raised in the traditional fashion.  Six of the children in the village attend the local primary school, but because of this the children become somewhat westernized. 
 

The beneficiaries

The money received for tours to the Himba Project goes into a Trust which is mainly used for food and other necessities.  When the residents of the village fall ill and their traditional medicine fails to work we send them to a private general practitioner.  The children are seen by a doctor almost every month and sometimes receive inoculations against western diseases, considering the amount of contact they have with westerners.  In addition, the project supports Himba families related in the community who are struggling due to problems with livestock.  The project assists in payment of transport fees and other expenses that may arise.  These families also get support in the form of meat & maize flour, especially if there are funerals or any other family occasions in Kaokoland.  We currently provide around 10 families in Kaokoland, between 15 & 20 volunteer women with their children, 34 orphan children and the local schools around Kamanjab with food and clothes/ blankets every year. 

After the visit lunch en-route 

You will proceed then to the Etosha Heights Private Reserve where your next Lodge is situated. 

Overnight at ETOSHA MOUNTAIN LODGE on a Dinner, Bed & Breakfast basis. Lunch not included 

Day notes

Today you will depart early from the Lodge to cross the whole Etosha National Park for a full day safari with your vehicle to reach the eastern part where your next Lodge is situated. 

The name Etosha can have a few meanings; from Ndonga word meaning "Great White Place" referring to the Etosha pan.  Alternatively, it is also thought to mean "Place of Emptiness"(for the salt pan), or "Lake of Mother's Tears"(referring to grief of a Hai//om mother when her infant died), or "to run falteringly across" (referring to the fatigue an early hunter felt attempting to cross the pan).  The Hai//om called the pan Khubus which means "totally bare, white place with lots of dust".  For most of the year a vast shallow pan, which was once a lake the size of Holland, shimmers a glaring bright white from crystallized salt across its entire surface.  Surrounding the pans is a variety of grass and woodlands amongst which live a wonderful variety of animals and birds, insects and reptiles.

Lunch en-route in one of the resorts inside the Park

Etosha has dozens of waterholes, some are natural while others are artificially fed from boreholes.  During the dry season, staking out a position at a waterhole viewpoint is a rewarding way to watch game without moving from one spot.  A veritable 'Noah's Arc' of species queue up to take a drink, with elephants hogging the lion's share! Normal game such as zebra, wildebeest, giraffe, springbok, impala and eland abound in great numbers on the grasslands and congregate at waterholes in the dry season.  Herds of fifty elephants are not unusual and often walk right down the middle of the road giving people in cars an incredibly close and thrilling encounter.  Lions and hyenas must be searched for, but silver-backed jackals trot around almost oblivious to you.  The desert dwelling oryx, upon which the mythical unicorn must surely be based, will certainly be seen here along with the impressive curly horned kudu.  Etosha also contains endangered black rhino and unusual species like the black faced impala - a larger and darker subspecies found only in southwestern Angola and northwestern Namibia.

Overnight at ETOSHA KING NEHALE on a Dinner, Bed & Breakfast basis. Drinks not included

Day notes

After breakfast you will drive south towards the capital for the overnight in a Lodge situated not far from Windhoek.

Along the route you will pass next to the Waterberg Plateau.

The Waterberg Plateau and 41,000 hectares of surrounding land was declared a Nature Reserve in 1972.  The striking sight of Waterberg Plateau's brick-red sandstone crowned with lush vegetation has supported a wide diversity of flora and fauna for thousands of years.  Rising to 420m in places and enveloped by Namibian savannah, the untouched fortifications of this unmistakable feature have provided nature with the perfect wildlife sanctuary.  It lies between 1,650 and 1,700 m above sea level and is an erosion relic of a sandstone casing which covered large parts of Namibia millions of years ago.  The sandy soils of the plateau have a low water retention capacity, and consequently rainwater flows down seams which have formed in the Etjo sandstone.  When water reaches the impermeable mudstone band of Omingonde Formation, it is forced to the surface at the base of the cliffs to emerge as springs.

If time allows you can stop at the wood craft Market in Okahandja

OKAHANDJA WOOD CRAFT MARKET

Okahandja is located on the B1 and is about 70 kilometers from Windhoek in a northern direction. Tourist attraction is the large woodcarver market. Here beautifully processed wood carvings of good quality are offered for sale. There are 2 markets, one at the entrance and one at the exit. On the more southern market there are more carvings from Namibia. On the northernmost you will find more imported goods from Zimbabwe, Malawi and Tanzania. However, one should not be blinded by the mass of goods and think that it is favorable. Negotiate for the price!

Lunch en-route

Arrival at the Lodge in the afternoon and time for leisure 

Overnight at OKAPUKA SAFARI LODGE on a Dinner, Bed & Breakfast basis. Drinks and extra activities not included. 

Day notes

Departure to Windhoek International Airport on time for your flight