The 14 day Namibian Experience is a combination of two of our most popular safaris, the 7 day Northern Adventure and the 7 day Southern Swing, and offers an extremely comprehensive safari tour of Namibia.
Depart from Windhoek and continue to the Kalahari area, from the Kalahari our journey takes us to the mighty Fish River Canyon and through the stark and tortured beauty of the Southern Namib and to the tiny fishing centre of Luderitz. Continue to the Namib Desert where you spend 2 nights at Sesriem and Sossusvlei. Here you will stroll among the world’s highest sand dunes in the world’s oldest desert. We return to Windhoek for one night and then on the second half of the trip where the 7th night is included in the price in a quality Windhoek guest-house.
You will then meet close-up-and personal the Big Cats at Okonjima, the amazing wildlife in Etosha National Park and have first hand experience of the Stone Age culture of the Himba Tribes. Namibia’s highest mountain in beautiful desert Damaraland is next and then on to Namibia’s premier seaside town, Swakopmund on the Skeleton Coast before returning to Windhoek.
This tour departs on every Friday from Windhoek.
No combinations are possible, however the trip can be run as a privately guided or self-drive tour.
We start our journey south on the main highway, travelling through the thin strip of Kalahari Desert that protrudes onto the eastern side of Namibia. Stopping at small towns along the way including Rehoboth, traditional home of the Baster people and on to Kalkrand where you bid the main road farewell and head off into the Kalahari.
The Kalahari Desert often surprises people when they first see it. It is very different from the Namib. First of all, remember that the Kalahari is not a desert. It receives more rain than a true desert should. The Kalahari is a fossil desert. Don’t expect to find tall Sossusvlei-style dunes devoid of greenery here. The Kalahari’s dunes are very different. They are often equally beautiful, but usually greener and less stark – and with this vegetation comes its ability to support more flora and fauna than a true desert.
There is time to join an optional extra excursion, a marine trip., take a cruise around Luderitz bay and, weather permitting, to Halifax Island to see the Jackass Penguins. N.B: The boat cruise is subject to availability and, if undertaken, will be for the clients own risk and expense. Time to explore Luderitz Town with its traditional German architecture and later we will take a drive out to Diaz Point to see the bird life, hopefully a few seals and the stone cross replica, originally erected by the Portuguese mariner Bartholomew Diaz.
Traversing this bleak yet beautiful landscape, the terrain begins to change and we cross some open grass savannah and farmlands before the terrain begins to give way to the immense red sand dune desert of the Namib. We aim to arrive at our camp during the late afternoon and watch the colours glow and change on distant mountains to the east.
A pre-dawn start is essential this morning as we want to catch the soft light of the sunrise on the desert. After passing through Sesriem, the gateway to the dunes and driving into the heart of the dune field, we reach Sossusvlei itself by walking the last 5 km through the dunes. The walk is like nothing else, in the cool of the morning, with soft sunlight just beginning to play over the dunes creating a sharp light and shadow contrast across the whole desert.
Ancient mineral pans, stunted camel thorn trees and the chance of seeing a gemsbok or maybe an ostrich make the photo opportunities perfect.
We spend the morning in and around Sossusvlei, also visiting dune 45, and as the day wears on we return to Sesriem for lunch to escape the heat of the afternoon. As the day cools off in the late afternoon we will take a short excursion to the Sesriem Canyon.
We are due back into the city in the late afternoon / early evening and you will be dropped off at your accommodation on our return.
We will travel north, stopping at small towns along the way including Okahandja, where we have time to visit Namibia’s largest wood carving market. The market is operated on a local co-operative basis and is one of the best places to shop for truly Namibian souvenirs. Continuing north, passing through farmland, we aim to arrive at Okonjima during the middle afternoon, giving us time to set up our camp and to relax in the shade for a while before heading out on to the property to take part in the afternoon’s activity.
Okonjima is the home of the Africat Foundation, a specialist conservation concern that centres its operations on the African Big Cats, particularly cheetah. This afternoon you will be taken on a tour during which you will be able to meet, close-up-and-personal, some of the cheetah that are going through the Africat rehabilitation programme. Most of the animals currently living at Okonjima have been rescued from various desperate situations, being orphaned or caught in a trap, and the aim of the rehabilitation process is to attempt to re-introduce them into the wild.
An early start and continuing north we pass through some small towns, making short stops for fresh supplies and fuel. Continuing on to our East Etosha, Namutoni region camp we again aim to arrive in time for lunch, giving us time to relax before heading into the park during the cool of the late afternoon for our first game drive.
From here we turn directly west and cross the gravel plains on our way to the Atlantic Ocean and the SkeletonCoast. Meeting the ocean at HentiesBay, we first head north along the coast to visit the seal colony at CapeCross. At certain times of the year as many as 100,000 Cape Fur seals congregate.
The next destination is Swakopmund, following the Skeleton Coast into Namibia’s premier seaside town. We aim to arrive in the late afternoon giving us time to explore the town on foot before sunset.
This is the last day of our trip and after lunch we will transfer you back to the capital city where you will be dropped off at your accommodation in the late afternoon / early evening.