You arrive at Windhoek’s Hosea Kutako Airport where you will be met by our car hire representative and driven the short distance to the city depot where you will be given a comprehensive introduction to your 4x4 vehicle. You will be covered automatically for standard insurance, further insurance options to cover your excess are available upon request.
From here you drive the short distance to your overnight accommodation, Hotel Thule where you can relax on your first night. The hotel sits high on a hill overlooking Windhoek and the view from the restaurant terrace of the lights below makes for a perfect first night before your adventure begins the following day.
Vehicle hire in Namibia - your vehicle is key to your enjoyment of your self drive adventure. The Namibian roads are generally very good but 90% of them are gravel and some are quite corrugated with loose surfaces so care must be taken at all times.
This is why we always recommend a suitable vehicle. You need good ground clearance and chunky tyres to ride the bumps and then you can enjoy your adventure without worrying about the roads. Our vehicles have long range fuel tanks, 2 spare tyres and a compressor just in case.
An early start for you this morning heading south on the main tar road before turning off onto the gravel and over the mountain passes towards the Namib Desert.
The Elegant Desert Eco Camp is situated less than an hour from the entrance to Sossusvlei and nestles into the Tsarisberg Mountains amidst stunning scenery. Here you will spend two nights enjoying the wide vistas from your camp as well as visiting the nearby National Park to marvel at the world's highest sand dunes at Sossusvlei and Dead Vlei.
Highlights: dramatic desert scenery, high mountain passes, the world’s highest sand dunes. Oryx, ostrich, springbok, black backed jackals, dune lark, sociable weavers.
An early start for you today to drive to the national park for dawn to spend the day amongst the sand dunes at Sossusvlei. The ever-changing features of this unique desert landscape captivate people and throughout the day the shifting sands change colour under the Namibian sun.
Later in the afternoon there will be time for you to trek down the Sesriem Canyon with its narrowing sides and rock pools just perfect for cooling off.
The often overlooked area south of Sossusvlei is beautiful in its own right with the Namib Rand Nature Reserve a particular highlight. The Tsarisberg Mountains are beautiful at sunset and the eco lodge has a a high viewing platform designed for sundowners, perfect sunsets and crystal night skies.
A long drive today but an interesting one, over the Tropic of Capricorn and on through the Kuiseb Canyon until you eventually reach the coast at Walvis Bay. From here it is just a 40 km drive along the Atlantic to Swakopmund. This quirky seaside town is Namibia’s adventure capital and over the next two days your choices of activities range from sky diving or sand boarding to quad biking. Our personal favourites are spending time on the ocean on a seal and dolphin tour where the cape fur seals often join you on the boat for a close up and personal encounter, and an adventure down to Sandwich Harbour 50 km south through the Namib where the mighty Atlantic crashes directly onto the dunes.
Highlights en route: Tropic of Capricorn, Canyons, Hartmaan’s Mountain Zebra.
Highlights at the coast: Cape Fur Seals, Flamingos, Dolphins, Mola Mola, Whales,
Desert dwellers including Namaqua Chameleons and Sand Diving Lizards.
Action packed activities, great restaurants and shopping opportunities.
As well as having some of Namibia’s best restaurants and interesting shops, Swakopmund is a perfect stop over between the desert landscapes of Sossusvlei and the wildlife rich areas in the north.
Two full days on the coast gives you ample time to enjoy some of the varied activities on offer locally.
Swakopmund restaurants - there is a wide choice of places to dine in Swakopmund. Our personal favourite is the Tug which sits right on the beach but there will be a restaurant in town to suit all tastes
A third night in Swakopmund gives you the opportunity to enjoy both the ocean and the coastal sand dunes. For keen ornithologists Walvis Bay lagoon has a wealth of bird species including flamingos and pelicans and a trip out into the dunes with local experts can reward you with many of the Namib Desert's rare species of reptiles.
Weather - the locals joke that Swakopmund can have 4 seasons in one day and it is true that early mornings can be foggy and cool on the coast but 1km into the dunes it will be hot and sunny.
After a hearty breakfast you take the salt road north before turning inland at Henties Bay onto the gravel road east past Namibia’s highest mountain, the Brandberg. Here you will head for the White Lady Lodge, a rustic but simple place to stay right at the foot of the mountain and famed for occasional visits by Namibia’s desert elephants.
Brandberg Highlights: Charming rustic cottages at the foot of the Brandberg Mountain. The lodge has swimming pools and lovely gardens that attract a myriad of birdlife. Activities include guided dune buggy drives and visits to the famed White Lady Rock Engraving. At certain times of year desert elephants browse between the cottages.
The drive from Brandberg to Etendeka is arguably one of the most stunning in Namibia. Your journey takes you over mountain passes and through sandy riverbeds before you reach the Palmwag Wildlife Concession. Here you will leave your vehicle and be met by the camp’s guide who will drive you the final 18 km into the middle of one of the most remote and beautiful areas in Namibia. Etendeka is a legendary Eco camp, here you can enjoy the total solitude, the magnificent scenery and with luck Damaraland’s famous desert lions, elephants and black rhinos along with many of Namibia's other species. Your days will be spent in search of wildlife on foot and by vehicle and your evenings will be around the campfire discussing the highlights of the day before a million stars come out.
Etendeka Highlights: A beautiful eco camp in an area of stunning scenery. 18km off the nearest gravel road a stay at Etendeka really does give you a feeling of peace. The wildlife is also a huge bonus as desert adapted lion, elephant and black rhino are often seen here and the star studded sky is like nowhere else on earth.
After an early morning breakfast and before the day becomes too hot you set out on foot with your guide on a slow and informative walk through Etendeka’s unique landscapes. Upon your return you will enjoy lunch and a relaxed afternoon before you set off for your sundowner drive into one of the most remote areas in Africa in search of Namibia’s desert adapted wildlife.
Dinner at Etendeka is a convivial affair with everyone eating together with the hosts under a star studded sky.
Etendeka gives you the opportunity to totally relax in one of the most pristine and remote areas on earth. The landscape dwarfs you and guests often describe it as a humbling experience. The scenery is breathtaking, the wildlife runs wild and free and the hospitality genuine and warm
A long drive today, but an interesting one, try and leave the lodge as early as possible and drive over the Grootberg Pass to the one horse town of Kamanjab where you can refuel and have a spot of lunch before heading back onto the tar road to the Andersson Gate in Central Etosha to begin your safari in this world famous wildlife sanctuary. This huge park is home to an amazing diversity of wildlife and the area around Okaukuejo 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.
Please note: Whilst the Camps within Etosha National Park give additional opportunities for wildlife viewing with early morning access to the reserve and floodlit waterholes by night the service at the lodges outside the park is generally of a higher standard. Please ask for alternative accommodation options if smaller, more personal lodges are an important part of your holiday experience.
Okaukuejo Area Highlights: the camp’s own floodlit waterhole is a real highlight which has nightly visits by black rhino and elephant. The whole area is dominated by vast open plains where large herds of herbivores graze. The Okondeka waterhole on the pan’s edge is often frequented by one of the largest lion prides in the area and to the east of the camp are three further productive waterholes known for elephants, lion, leopard, spotted and brown hyena, zebra, gemsbok, springbok, wildebeest, ostrich and occasionally aardwolf. The open plains are also good for the larger birds of prey such as vultures, several eagle species and peregrine falcons.
Finding the wildlife - make sure you check the sightings books in the camps'receptions regularly to give you an idea of the best areas for wildlife. People are in the park for the same reason as you are so you'll find you will be flagged down often to be told of good sightings. We will also send you a copy of Kathryn's book "The Photographer's Guide to Etosha National Park" which will help you find the hot spots
You leave the open plains surrounding Okaukuejo this morning and head east 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.
Namutoni Area Highlights: within a few kilometres from camp there are several excellent waterholes and two in particular are productive all day. There is a very large hyena clan near one of the waterholes and the members are often seen returning to their den early in the morning. All the main carnivores are often spotted in this area and cheetah are often seen hunting around Fischer’s Pan. Good area for lion, hyena, leopard, cheetah, elephants, black rhino, damara dik-dik, all plains game, warthogs and mongooses. Flamingos and pelicans can be seen in Fischer’s Pan after the rains
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.
Evening drives are best spent at two productive waterholes,: Chudop is good both early morning and all day for herbivores, especially giraffe. For the last hour Klein Namutoni waterhole is often very rewarding and has perfect photographic light and offers the added bonus of a perfect African sunset on the way back to camp
After a final game drive, you leave the peace and quiet of Etosha and head south on the tar road until you reach the gates to Okonjima. The lodge lies a further 24 km into the middle of the mountains and it is here you will spend your last night searching for some of Africa’s biggest carnivores. Activities in the game reserve include tracking leopard and hyena from an open vehicle with the aid of a telemetry and visiting the Africat Foundation. With its magnificent rooms, excellent cuisine and genuine conservation story, Okonjima is always a highlight of any trip to Namibia.
Okonjima is not only a luxury lodge and a wonderful place to spend your last night in Namibia it is also home to the AfriCat Foundation.
Africat is a non-profit organisation set up to support conservation through education and to help secure the future of Namibia's endangered carnivores.
With opportunities to track leopard in the 54,000 acre reserve and the new Endangered Wildlife Trail. Okonjima gives you chances to see some of Africa's rarely seen animals such as brown hyena, aardwolf, aardvark and pangolin
Whilst staying at the lodge you will be able to actively observe part of this programme and understand how Africat aims to protect and rehabilitate these endangered carnivores.
At the Carnivore Care Centre you will have the opportunity to photograph cheetah in their natural habitat within their large enclosures while your guide explains in detail how the programme works.
After Breakfast you return to Hosea Kutako International Airport for your onward journey or your return flight home.
