Springbuck Safari,
20 Days (Namibia)
Safari visiting the Skeleton Coast, Damaraland, Kaokoland, Etosha National Park and the edge of the Kalahari.
Day 1 : Arrival at the Hosea Kutako International Airport, Windhoek in beautiful Namibia. Here your guide welcomes you, or you pick up your rented 4x4 vehicle. Drive to the charming Namibian capital Windhoek and overnight in an elegant room at Hotel Heinitzburg.
Day 2 : After breakfast drive through the mountainous Khomas Hochland, down the steep Bosua Pass into the Namib Desert. You reach the Welwitschia plains and the Moon Landscape in the Namib-Naukluft Park. In the late afternoon you arrive in the charming coastal town of Swakopmund. Overnight here in a room at The Stiltz Hotel.
Day 3 : Choose to explore the lagoon of Walvis Bay or historical Swakopmund. Accommodation as on the previous day.
Day 4 : After breakfast, drive along the coast via Henties Bay and visit the seal colony at Cape Cross. Continue inland through the Namib Desert via Uis and through the stunning landscapes of Damaraland to see the age-old rock engravings at Twyfelfontein, a world heritage site. Overnight here in a luxury tent with en-suite facilities at the beautifully situated Mowani Mountain Camp.
Day 5 : Visit the Petrified Forest and then drive through the beautiful scenery of Damaraland either via Khorixas, Fransfontein and Kamanjab or via Palmwag to the stunning setting of the Grootberg Lodge on the Grootberg pass in the Damaraland-Kaokoland frontier. Overnight here in a chalet.
Day 6 : Spend the day with the offered scenic drives or guided walk in this magnificent mountainous world. Accommodation as on the previous day.
Day 7 : Today's long drive means an early start. Kaokoland road and track conditions make for slow going. Drive north via the Khowarib Gorge and Warmquelle to Sesfontein. Continue north-west through the Giribes plain to Puros. Overnight here in the stylish chalet at the Okahirongo Elephant Lodge on the bank of the Hoarusib River.
Day 8 : Your hosts will invite you for a visit to the Ovahimba people. You will learn about their traditions, their way of living and the problems they face in a rapidly changing environment. It is respect - and not the demands of the tourist's tight schedule - that will determine these meetings with the people of one of the last nomadic tribes in Africa. The offered game drives are in search of the elusive desert elephants. Accommodation as on the previous day.
Day 9 : As on the previous day.
Day 10 : Today's long drive means an early start. Kaokoland road and track conditions make for slow going as you drive on the edge of the Namib Desert and the Skeleton Coast via Orupembe and Red Drum (Rooidrom) into the picturesque Marienfluss Valley and down to the Kunene River. Here you find the Okahirongo River Camp by the Kunene River. Overnight in a luxury tent with e-suite facilities. You are now in the heart of the wild Kaokoland.
Day 11 : Your hosts will invite you for a visit to the Ovahimba people. You will learn about their traditions, their way of living and the problems they face in a rapidly changing environment. It is respect - and not the demands of the tourist's tight schedule - that will determine these meetings with the people of one of the last nomadic tribes in Africa. Also visit the rapids where you might spot a crocodile. Accommodation as on the previous day.
Day 12 : After an early departure, drive through the Marienfluss valley, the red drum and via Orupembe and Kaoko Otavi through ever-changing and beautiful landscapes to Opuwo, the "capital" of Kaokoland. Overnight in a room at Opuwo Country Hotel.
Day 13 : Today, drive in northerly direction to the magnificent Epupa Falls on the Kunene River. Overnight in the permanent tents with en-suite facilities of Epupa Falls Lodge, situated on the river bank. Spend the afternoon here with your hosts.
Day 14 : Spend the day with your hosts and the activities on offer at Epupa. Accommodation as on the previous day.
Day 15 : Drive via Opuwo to the Hobatere Lodge, situated in a privately-owned game conservancy near the western border of the Etosha National Park. Overnight here in a chalet.
Day 16 : Spend the day viewing the abundance of game. Accommodation as on the previous day.
Day 17 : Drive via Kamanjab into the central-western area of Etosha National Park. Game drives in the park until just before sunset. Overnight in a chalet at the Ongava Game Lodge, which is situated just outside the park in a private game reserve.
Day 18 : Own or guided game drives in the central-western part of Etosha. Large numbers of antelope, giraffe and zebra - and the predators that stalk them, and huge, dusty elephants against the backdrop of the vast Etosha Pan are characteristic of the days in the park. Accommodation as on the previous day.
Day 19 : After breakfast, drive via Outjo, Otjiwarongo, Okahandja and the capital Windhoek to the Eningu Clay-House Lodge, which is situated on the edge of the Kalahari not far from the airport. Overnight in an unique clay house.
Day 20 : Drive to the Hosea Kutako International Airport, where your guide will bid you farewell or return your rented vehicle here. Flight home.