For most visitors to Namibia the easiest and most practical way of seeing the country is to hire a car. Roads in Namibia are well maintained and clearly signposted ensuring a hassle-free holiday.
Accommodation on this 11 day self drive holiday is top end and takes guests to the Namib Desert, the coastal town of Swakopmund, Damaraland with its wealth of rock engravings, excellent game viewing in and the AfriCat Foundation.
DETAILED ITINERARY
Day 1: Windhoek
On arrival at the Windhoek International Airport you will be welcomed by a company representative and who will assist you with completing your rental car formalities. After a comprehensive self drive holiday briefing, you depart for the Hotel Heinitzburg in Windhoek. The remainder of the afternoon will be at leisure in Windhoek to view the historical landmarks of this cosmopolitan city or to do any last minute shopping for your tour.
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Day 2: Sossusvlei
After an early breakfast you depart from Windhoek on route towards the southern Namib Region. Today's journey takes one over the Kupferberg Mountain Pass before crossing the Khomas Hochland Highland Region towards the small farming community of Nauchas and down the Spreetshoogte Mountain Pass. Spreetshoogte is one of Namibias highest and most spectacular mountain passes and provides exceptional views over the central Namib Desert.
Your next stop is at Solitaire where you can refuel and visit the small shop, which sells, soft drinks, snacks and basic supplies. The name Solitaire is derived from the lone dead tree standing next to the service station.
From here the route runs parallel to the Namib Naukluft Park for most of the way except for a short corridor, which joins the plains of the Namib Desert to the Naukluft Mountain Range. This serves as a migratory corridor for the Oryx Antelope which migrate between their summer and winter feeding grounds.
Arrive at Kulala Desert Lodge in time for a late afternoon guided nature drive.
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Day 3: Sossusvlei
This morning you will go on a guided excursion into the Namib Desert to the Namib Sand Sea and the Sossusvlei Dune belt. Sossusvlei is a word from Nama descent, which directly translated means a place with many endings. Many visitors to Namibia say that no part of the desert is more stunning than Sossusvlei, with its monumentally high dunes, the shadows of their sinuous crests continually changing as the day waxes and wanes. A picnic breakfast will be served under the spreading camel thorn acacias in Sossusvlei before returning to the Kulala Desert Lodge by midday.
During the afternoon you may want to join the nature drive activity on the property, taking in the desert scenery with its unique fauna and flora. This is not a game rich area due to the harsh environment, however, what game is seen is interesting and dramatized by the contrast between the desert and the magnificent animals like Springbok, Oryx and Ostrich who survive and eke out an existence on these arid plains.
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Day 4: Swakopmund
Return to Solitaire; follow the gravel plains of the Namib Desert through the spectacular Gaub and Kuiseb Canyons before crossing the Namib Desert on route to the commercial harbor town of Walvis Bay. The road from Walvis Bay to Swakopmund leads between the coast and the dune belt to the coastal resort town of Swakopmund.
Swakopmund is considered as Namibia's premier coastal resort and is a popular destination with Namibian's as a welcome respite from the heat of the interior. The town is also noted for its Old World charm and relaxed atmosphere. The town offers a good selection of restaurants and coffee shops selling traditional German cakes and pastries, while the coastline and the desert respectively offer many options for adventure or relaxation.
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Day 5: Swakopmund
Today can be spent at leisure exploring Namibia's premier coastal resort or the Namib Desert and coastal region. Optional excursion can also be included into the Namib Naukluft Park to view and experience the ancient 'Welwitschia Mmirabilis' plants, the 'Lichen Fields' found on the gravel plains and the erosion feature of the 'Moon Landscape' in the Swakop River bed.
An optional excursion may also be included to the harbor town of Walvis Bay to visit the lagoon or to participate in a Dolphin Cruise excursion. This excursion departs from the Walvis Bay Yacht Club in the morning.
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Day 6: Damaraland
An early morning departure from Swakopmund in a northerly direction passing through the National West Coast Recreational Area on route to Henties Bay. An optional excursion which can be included on route today includes a visit to the Cape Fur Seal Colony at Cape Cross.
Shortly after Henties Bay you will travel in an easterly direction crossing the gravel plains towards the abandoned mining town of Uis. The large-scale mining of tin began in Uis during 1951 but due to the mine no longer being profitable it was closed down in 1990.
From Uis pass Namibia's highest Mountain Range, the Brandberg is 2573m at its highest point and renowned for the famous work of bushmen art, the White Lady.
After passing the Brandberg Mountain Range and crossing the Ugab River, you will enter the Kunene Region and continue on to Twyfelfontein.
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Day 7: Damaraland
While in the Twyfelfontein area optional excursions can be conducted to visit the Twyfelfontein Rock Engravings, one of the richest areas of rock engravings and Bushmen paintings in Namibia, and the geological formations of the Burnt Mountain and the dolomite columns known as the Organ Pipes. Optional extra guided excursion along the dry watercourses of the Aba-Huab and Huab Rivers can be conducted in search of the desert adapted Elephant.
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Day 8: Damaraland to Etosha
After breakfast depart in an easterly direction on route towards the Etosha Region. An optional excursion on route can be conducted to the Petrified Forest, with approximately 50 examples of petrified trees dating back some 260 million years.
From Khorixas continue towards the small town of Outjo. An optional excursion on route includes a visit to the Vingerklip or Rock Finger formation in the Ugab River Valley located approximately 20 km from the main road.
In the late afternoon will arrive at Ongava Lodge. This afternoon you will have the option of either participating in a late afternoon guided nature drive activity on the Ongava Reserve or relaxing at the lodge. In close proximity to the lodge is a waterhole, which is frequented by a diversity of game species.
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Day 9: Etosha
While at Ongava Lodge your scheduled excursions will include late afternoon and early evening nature drives in open safari vehicles on the Ongava Game Reserve and include game viewing of introduced species like, Black Rhino and Waterbuck.
Morning guided game viewing excursions in open safari vehicles are also included into the Okaukuejo Region of the Etosha National Park.
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Day 10: Etosha to Okonjima
After breakfast depart Ongava Lodge traveling to the small town of Otjiwarongo via Outjo. Continue south from Otjiwarongo to Okonjima Bush Camp which translated from the Herero language as 'place of the baboons' is situated on the Omboroko Mountains.
Afternoon activities include an introduction to work conducted by the AfriCat Foundation. This unique program will enable you to learn more about Namibia's most beautiful cats and is also renowned for the excellent opportunities for viewing and photographing both leopard and cheetah. An evening activity to the local viewing hide provides the ideal opportunity to view some of the more elusive Namibian nocturnal mammals.
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Day 11: Windhoek
Your scheduled morning activities while at Okonjima will commence with a light breakfast served at the Lion Lapa before continuing on a guided nature walk. This walk is an interpretive introduction into the lives of the Bushmen and provides explanations and examples on fire making, hunting skills and the manufacturing of rope and ornaments.
After a late breakfast you will drive via the town of Okahandja to Windhoek where you will return your rental car at the airport and board your onward flight.
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