This epic, privately guided road trip uncovers the most captivating corners of this unique desert country. On the journey, you will view the mighty Fish River Canyon, experience different areas of the Namib desert, and enjoy exceptional game viewing in Etosha National Park.
Safari Ref. Code
Starting Date
Starting Point
Ending Point
Customizable
Type
Accommodation Level
Countries Visited
Distance
Itinerary
FlightsGuests are met and welcomed in Johannesburg by their African Sky guide. After completing formalities, the party boards a regional flight to Windhoek in Namibia. On arrival, your guide will finalize vehicle arrangements, after which the party will travel to their overnight accommodations in the city. The remainder of the day is spent leisurely in Namibia’s capital city.
Distance
Itinerary After breakfast, the tour departs Windhoek and travels south to the Fish River Canyon, Namibia's second-most popular tourist attraction. As we travel, the countryside morphs from wooded grassland into desert scenery. Not long after passing the rural town of Keetmanshoop, we say goodbye to paved roads and head out into the Namib Desert, finally arriving at our overnight accommodations around mid-afternoon. After check-in and some time allowed for relaxation, a visit is made to the Fish River Canyon near Hobas.
The canyon is the second largest in the world and the largest in Africa. It was formed over millions of years due to ongoing geographical processes. Once a moist, well-wooded landscape, today's canyon is a barren, stony, and sparsely vegetated environment with hardy drought-resistant plants. Sunsets from the Hobas viewpoints are spectacular. The sun sets due west over the canyon, lighting up the stony canyon walls with myriad golden orange and red hues as the sun descends to the horizon.
Distance ItineraryAfter a late breakfast, a quick stop - if required - is made again at the Fish River Canyon before traveling north to the national B4 road. Once we reach this paved road, we turn due west towards Namib-Naukluft Park and the Sperregebiet, the restricted diamond area, where your overnight accommodations are conveniently located.
After some time relaxing in this surreal environment, guests will enjoy a guided sunset drive into the desert near the lodge, where they may see the famous desert wild horses and the unique desert ecology at close quarters. Later, you can enjoy a delicious dinner at the lodge as they witness another spectacular sunset over the Namib Desert.
Distance Itinerary The ‘ghost town’ of Kolmanskop is located about ten kilometers from the coast amongst a sea of rock and dune and was once a thriving mining settlement with opulent luxuries found in every prominent household, all imported at great expense from Europe. Near this settlement in 1908, a laborer found the first diamond, which led to the realization that the area was rich in these precious stones. The German government quickly declared the area a prohibited or ‘sperregebiet’ and immediately began exploiting its mineral wealth. Today, the area is approximately 10,400 square miles in extent and occupies three percent of Namibia’s land mass.
After a guided tour of Kolmanskop, we travel to nearby Luderitz on the coast. After lunch, we explore this small seaside village by vehicle. The tour then returns to your overnight accommodations in the late afternoon.
Distance ItineraryFrom the tiny village of Aus, the tour heads north. To the west, the Namib-Naukluft Park provides spectacular backdrops with rocky outcrops, beautiful desertscape scenery, and wide-open plains. Several stops are made en route. As we approach Sossusvlei, the famous red dunes of the Namib - the world's oldest desert - become visible in the distance.
Sossusvlei is a mud pan created by the Tsauchab River, which flows through the Namib only once every five to ten years. Even in very wet years, the river does not reach the Atlantic Ocean; instead, it drains into the Sossusvlei dunes. 'Sossus' means 'place of no return.' The Namib - known as 'the living desert' - is a world of vast space, endless horizons, dramatic desert landscapes, and jagged mountain heights. The late afternoon is spent relaxing in this stunning environment.
Distance ItineraryIn the morning, we visit Deadvlei, where centuries-old petrified trees stand in stark contrast to the surrounding red dunes and the salt pan of Sossusvlei. The adventurer can hike to the top of 'Big Daddy,' one of the world's highest dunes, offering spectacular views of the surrounding desert landscape.
In the afternoon, the tour travels to Sesriem Canyon, a unique geological feature carved over millennia by the Tsauchab River. As you descend the narrow gorge, you will be surrounded by touring rock walls. A short nature drive follows the visit to Sesriem, where you might spot Gemsbok or Springbok en route to the overnight destination.
Distance Itinerary After breakfast, the tour departs Sossusvlei and travels westwards towards the coast via the Kuiseb Pass. En route, several stops are made where guests can experience the sweeping views and the variety of geographical rocks and formations typical of Namibia. Closer to the coast, the temperatures cool, and the landscape becomes barren, flat, and featureless.
In mid-afternoon, we reach the village of Swakopmund, an oasis in a never-ending desert. Established in 1892, Swakopmund is a quaint and picturesque seaside town with a vibrant history. We travel to our overnight accommodations, where we spend the rest of the day relaxing.
Distance ItineraryYour excursion today is dependent on the tide and weather. From Swakopmund, we'll follow the coastal road to Walvis Bay, pass the salt production plant, and head out into the vast Namib dune sea. Finally, the sandy 4x4 track reaches the coast as we continue southward along the beach en route to Sandwich Harbor, about 60km (37 miles) from Walvis Bay.
Alternatively, if the swells are too high, the weather is generally poor, and the track along the coast is considered unsafe, we'll view Sandwich Harbor from the top of the surrounding high dunes. Sandwich Harbor – a saltwater lagoon designated a 'Wetland of International Importance,' and some 40,000 birds - 34 different species in total- were recorded in the area during recent surveys. Take a leisurely walk around the lagoon, an official marine sanctuary, and you might also see seals, dolphins, and even whales. A lunch stop is included before returning to Swakopmund, where you may spend the remainder of your time at leisure.
Distance Itinerary After a last breakfast in Swakopmund, we say goodbye to civilization as we travel north on the coastal ‘salt road’ towards the Skeleton Coast. This northern coastal region of Namibia is one of the most remote locations on the planet. While the landscape is barren and almost devoid of features, the adjacent cold Atlantic Ocean is rich in nutrients and supports diverse wildlife.
Our first stop en route is at Cape Cross. The Portuguese navigator-explorer Diogo Cão, in his search for a sea route to India and the Spice Islands, placed a stone cross here in the 1480s. Today, a replica of the cross is on display at this location. Cape Cross is a protected area and home to one of the largest colonies of Cape fur seals on the African continent, numbering at least 80,000 individuals. After viewing the seals, the tour continues northwards along the coast before heading inland to Bergsig. As we leave the coast behind, signs of vegetation begin to appear, and sightings of common animals like springbok, gemsbok, and kudu are possible. We reach our overnight accommodations at Palmwag in Damaraland during the late afternoon.
Distance ItineraryAfter breakfast, the tour continues eastwards through an increasingly wooded environment and big-sky country, heading towards Etosha National Park, where we enter the park at Anderson's Gate. Etosha is a place of contrast, appearing completely different after heavy summer rains and attracting impressive flamingo migrations.
The dry, brittle vegetation turns a soft green, the animal breeding season begins, and for a few months, the flat landscape the Ovambo people call the 'place of great white spaces' sheds its arid image. The park is dry for the remainder of the year, with thousands of zebra, springbok, and an impressive variety of species concentrating around a handful of permanent waterholes. The following two days are devoted to safaris surrounding Dolomite Camp.
Distance Itinerary Your days are devoted to game drives in the Okaukuejo and Namutoni regions of the park. Due to the predictability of game concentrations, Etosha is one of the most popular parks in Southern Africa and has an exceptionally high proportion of predators to herbivores. Etosha offers visitors an excellent chance to witness thrilling confrontations between lion and zebra, springbok, impala, and wildebeest.
During the evening, guests can sit along the fence line overlooking the lighted waterhole. From here, many animals, most notably black rhinos, are frequently viewed as they visit the waterhole during the hours of darkness.
Distance Itinerary
FlightsAfter a last morning game drive in Etosha, the safari departs via the park’s eastern boundary gate and travels south to Windhoek. On arrival in Windhoek, guests will board a regional flight to Johannesburg, bringing to an end a memorable safari tour in Namibia.
Plan
