The essence of Namibia

Trip Description

Accomodation

Stay program

• day 1

  ARRIVAL - WINDHOEK

  

  Arrival in Windhoek according to the flight schedule selected in the program. Go through police and customs formalities, collect your luggage. Meet and greet by our representative at the airport, assistance with signing the vehicle rental contract, and taking charge of your vehicle. Drive to Windhoek, hotel check-in, and receive your roadbook with a detailed map of the country. Review and practical information about your day-to-day itinerary with our representative. Dinner at your leisure and overnight at the Heinitzberg hotel or similar.

• day 2

  WINDHOEK - REHOBOTH - MARIENTAL (Kalahari)

  

  Breakfast at the lodge, Departure heading south of the country, through vast and increasingly colorful savannah landscapes. Encounter with the first animals (antelopes, zebras), often present along the track. Then, around midday, arrival in the Mariental region. You are at the gateway to the Kalahari Desert, a vast, colorful, and vegetated semi-desert where you will spend the night. Lunch on your own. Afternoon walk in the reserve to observe the Kalahari Desert, its dunes, and the animals (ostriches, oryx, big cats, meerkats, etc.). Possibility of a walk and a cultural encounter with the Bushmen. The Kalahari or Kgalagadi Desert, known as the "great thirst" in Botswana, stretches over 500,000 km² in Namibia, Botswana, and South Africa. The semi-desert part of Namibia is made up of parallel red dunes, dotted with grasses and greenery. With annual rainfall exceeding 250 mm, the Kalahari is home to a significant fauna composed of mammals, reptiles, and birds. It is also the ancestral land of the Bushmen or San, the first inhabitants of southern Africa. Dinner included and overnight at Intu-Africa Suricate Lodge or similar.

• day 3

  MARIENTAL (Kalahari) - MALTAHÖHE - SESRIEM

  

  Breakfast at the lodge, Departure for Sesriem National Park via the town of Maltahöhe. Information: Sesriem, entrance to the Namib-Naukluft National Park, southern section. The Sesriem Canyon was a vital place for the Nama, Herero, and Damara peoples. This 50 m deep gorge was carved by the Tsauchab River. Today, mainly inhabited by birds, the spring and the canyon are a popular excursion spot. Sesriem is the entrance to the Namib-Naukluft National Park. The Sesriem Canyon was a vital place for the Nama, Herero, and Damara peoples. "Sesriem" means 6 straps, which was what was needed to pull up buckets of water from the gorge. The presence of a permanent spring has, over the centuries, attracted the interest of these different peoples. In the late afternoon, you can go for a walk of about 2 hours around ancient fossilized dunes. Prepare to be amazed by the late afternoon light across the red dunes, true natural masterpieces. From the crest of the dunes, where the sand begins to glow red, a magnificent view opens up before you, stretching from the gentle dunes to the riverine trees and the purple-blue mountains, then return to your accommodation before sunset. Dinner included and overnight at The Elegant Desert Lodge or similar.

• day 4

  SESRIEM - DUNE 45 - BIG DADDY - PETRIFIED FOREST - SESRIEM CANYON

  

  Takeaway breakfast, Departure at dawn to reach dune 45. Climb the dune to watch the sunrise and admire the view as well as the extraordinary colors of the desert. On the way down, have your takeaway breakfast at the foot of the dunes. Continue the visit to discover Dead Vlei, which is certainly the most famous place in Namibia, with its famous dunes, dried-up lakes, and standing dead trees; it is a true postcard landscape that evokes strong emotions. Then, we explore the site of Sossusvlei and its giant dunes. At Sossusvlei, you will discover the highest dunes in the world (over 300 meters) in the oldest desert on the planet. This park is also the kingdom of the oryx, a very beautiful antelope that has adapted to the extreme conditions of the desert. The most athletic can climb to the top of Big Daddy and admire the view of the sea of dunes stretching to infinity (don't forget to bring water and good sun protection). Visiting this site is preferable in the morning thanks to the play of light on the dunes. Free lunch, then an afternoon walk in the Sesriem canyon, dazzling. Dinner included and overnight at The Elegant Desert Lodge or similar.

• day 5

  Sesriem - Solitaire - Kuiseb Canyon - Swakopmund

  

  Breakfast at the lodge, Drive towards the Atlantic coast via the town of Swakopmund, with a mandatory stop at the small town called Solitaire. A gas station is set up there for motorists to refuel, overlooked by old abandoned car wrecks, a reminder of the region that recalls the Bagdad Café. Also enjoy the best pastries in the region. Next, crossing the Tropic of Capricorn, an imaginary line that separates the equator from the southern hemisphere. Continue crossing the Gaub and Kuiseb passes. A geological formation with folded schists, through which the Kuiseb River has carved an impressive canyon. This river marks the boundary between the vast rocky plains of the north and the sea of sand that joins the Orange River. Free picnic lunch. Dinner at your leisure and overnight at Swakopmund Sand Hotel or similar.

• day 6

  SWAKOPMUND - WALVIS BAY - SWAKOPMUND

  

  Breakfast at the lodge, Transfer at 7:30 am to Walvis Bay for a boat cruise (catamaran) or kayaking, to discover this famous bay inhabited by flamingos and colonies of fur seals. This excursion is suitable for all levels, even if you have never kayaked and cannot swim! In fact, excellent supervision, good equipment, a mandatory life jacket for kayaking, as well as a champagne cocktail are provided during or after the activity. Lunch and afternoon at leisure. You can therefore take the opportunity to go on an excursion of your choice at your own expense. Options include: scenic flight over the coast, 4x4 excursion to Sandwich Harbour, quad biking, skydiving, sandboarding, guided city tour, etc. You can also simply go shopping, stroll around the city or along the shores of the lagoon. Dinner at leisure and overnight at Swakopmund Sand Hotel or similar.

• day 7

  SWAKOPMUND - CAPE CROSS - TWYFELFONTEIN

  

  Breakfast at the lodge, Drive to Cape Cross National Park, along the Skeleton Coast Park, where you will have the opportunity to visit a stone cross erected by Diego Cao, a Portuguese explorer, in 1486 to mark the southernmost point ever reached by Europeans in Africa, as well as a gigantic beach that is home to the largest of the 15 Cape fur seal colonies. A colony can have around 100,000 members. After this visit, drive to Twyfelfontein passing through the small town of Uis, not far from there, with a distant view of the highest point in the country, called Königstein, in the Brandberg, peaking at 2,573 m in altitude. Continue to the Twyfelfontein site, an archaeological site in Namibia, listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2007. There is a significant concentration of petroglyphs, with nearly 2,000 recorded figures, 6,000 years old. The site consists of a valley flanked by sandstone mountains that receive very little rainfall and have a wide range of daytime temperatures. The classic walk is done with an English-speaking local guide and allows you to discover, on the rock walls, the countless representations left by the first Bushmen. Made in red sandstone and remarkably well preserved, they depict animals: seals, lions, giraffes, elephants, rhinoceroses, antelopes... Other sites are worth a visit in the surroundings of Twyfelfontein. You could also linger at another curiosity: Burnt Mountain, a volcanic chain that seems to have been devastated, and Organ Pipe, a basalt wall 100 m long and 4 m high. The Petrified Forest is another geological wonder with conifer trunks 30 m long and 6 m in diameter, fossilized in the sandstone and estimated to be about 260 million years old. Dinner included and overnight at Twyfelfontein Country Lodge or similar.

• day 8

  TWYFELFONTEIN - KHORIXAS - KAMANJAB - ETOSHA NATIONAL PARK

  

  Breakfast at the lodge, Departure towards Etosha Park via Kamanjab, with the possibility of a wonderful cultural encounter with the Himba people at Otjikandero Orphan Village, to discover the lifestyle of these nomadic people with animist beliefs. The Himba people, who are part of the Herero ethnic group, are mainly concentrated in the desert and inhospitable region of Kaokoland, in the northwest of Namibia. This people of herders with ancestral customs have benefited from the inaccessibility of their territory for decades to preserve traditions that have disappeared elsewhere in the world. Fewer and fewer of them remain nomadic, constantly searching for new pastures. The encounter is subject to certain moral rules of respect. Continue to Galton Gate, the western entrance of Etosha National Park. Lunch or picnic on your own. Afternoon safari, at the best hours of the day, when the animals, overwhelmed by the heat and sun, finally start to become active again. Scenes unfold between cohorts of animals heading to waterholes, dust in the setting sun, and dazzling landscapes. Exit Etosha National Park through Anderson Gate and check in at your lodge. Dinner included and overnight at Toshari Lodge or similar.

• day 9

  ETOSHA NATIONAL PARK

  

  Breakfast at the lodge, Departure for a full day safari in Etosha National Park to admire African wildlife roaming free in its natural environment. An exciting day exploring all the tracks, from waterhole to waterhole, to spot animals coming to drink. Lunch at your leisure. The safari continues in the afternoon until sunset. Return to the lodge via Anderson Gate. Dinner included and overnight at Toshari Lodge or similar.

• day 10

  Etosha National Park

  

  Breakfast at the lodge, Departure for a second full day of safari in Etosha National Park to admire African wildlife roaming freely in its natural environment, crossing the park on its eastern side towards the Von Lindequist Gate. You have time to explore all the tracks, from waterhole to waterhole, to spot animals coming to drink. Lunch at leisure at Halali Camp or picnic. Continue the safari in the afternoon until sunset. Dinner included and overnight at Onguma Bush Camp or similar.

• day 11

  ETOSHA - OTJIWARONGO - AFRICAT FOUNDATION

  

  Breakfast at the lodge, Drive to the town of Otjiwarongo, which in Otji-Herero means "Beautiful place." An agricultural town located on the road axis that runs through the northern regions of Namibia and on the Trans Namib railway line. Continue south of Otjiwarongo. 60 km away is the AfriCat Foundation reserve, whose mission is the conservation and protection of Africa's endangered big cats. As wild spaces are reduced by human activity, some species such as leopards and cheetahs now find themselves on commercial farm territories and come into conflict with farmers. The foundation tries to find solutions for coexistence between farmers and predators and fights against the abuses of captivity. Their program, combining research and education, reintroduces injured or displaced animals into the wild. Dinner included and overnight at Okonjima Plain Camp or similar.

• day 12

  RETURN OTJIWARONGO - OKAHANDJA - AIRPORT

  

  Breakfast at the lodge, Departure to the city of Windhoek with a stop at Okahandja to visit the craft exhibition market. Continue to Windhoek, return your rental vehicle to the rental agency and be transferred to Windhoek International Airport for your return journey. NB: Plan to be at the airport 2 hours before your flight time.