Explore Namibia on a guided private safari staying at excellent value-for-money lodges and guesthouses that give you little extra comfort on your travels. Transport is in a comfortable 4x4 safari vehicle, with an experienced guide doing all the driving so you can sit back and enjoy the journey. This Private Namibia Safari is ideal for small groups or couples who want to experience Nambia at a good price without roughing it.
From Windhoek, you'll travel into the ancient Namib Desert to see Sossusvlei, Deadvlei and Sesriem Canyon, then on to Swakopmund to explore and do optional activities, before driving inland to Brandberg and Damaraland. After meeting the traditional Himba you'll head to Etosha National Park for some of the best game viewing in Africa. Lastly, visit a cheetah centre and the Waterberg Plateau, home to rare and endangered animals and birds, before completing your roundtrip back in Windhoek.
Welcome to Windhoek, Namibia's capital. This modern city lies in the middle of the country and serves as its main cultural, political and economic centre.
Your safari guide will collect you from your pre-tour accommodation in Windhoek this morning. Leaving the city we drive southwest to the small town of Solitaire where we stop for lunch (own expense). This quirky hamlet is located on the fringes of the Namib Desert, close to the Namib-Naukluft National Park.
After lunch in Solitaire, we head to the guesthouse where we spend the first two nights of our Private Namibia Safari. The guest farm borders the Namib-Naukluft Park and hosts a variety of animals and desert-adapted plants. This afternoon you are free to explore the farm and look for resident wildlife, such as gemsbok, wildebeest and giraffe. Take a dip in the pool and enjoy sundowners while you soak up the desert scenery from this oasis-like retreat.
This morning you'll wake up to the still desert landscape and set off for the nearby Namib-Naukluft National Park. Entering the park we drive to the famous Sossusvlei dunes and on to the saltpan of Sossusvlei. Here we take a walk in the desert to explore the Sossusvlei and Deadvlei pans. These bleached pans are scattered with tree skeletons and surrounded by tall, orange sand dunes creating some of the most striking desert scenes on the planet.
After visiting the towering dunes of the ancient Namib Desert we take a walk in Sesriem Canyon where the Tsaucab River has revealed layer-upon-layer of sedimentary rock through ages of erosion. Enjoy the light filtering down into the canyon to create a warm glow and deep shadows. Then we return to our remote guest farm and spend the afternoon unwinding.
This morning we make our way towards the coast, travelling through the arid Namib Desert. Our drive takes us via the Kuiseb Canyon, home to two Germans and their dog for two years during World War 2. Then we visit the Walvis Bay lagoon, famous for its abundance of flamingos and other waterbirds.
From Walvis Bay, it is on to nearby Swakopmund where we stay for the next two nights. Spend the afternoon resting or take a walk along the beachfront to the jetty. Lunch and dinner can be enjoyed at one of Swakopmund's excellent coffee shops, delis and restaurants.
Today there are no set activities planned, leaving you free to choose optional activities and explore Swakopmund at leisure. Spend some time walking around the friendly town and browsing the market and curio shops.
Local attractions include the Crystal Gallery, museums and Aquarium which you can visit on foot. Take a dolphin cruise in Walvis Bay, go sandboarding or quad biking in the desert dunes or take a scenic flight to get an aerial view of where the desert meets the Atlantic Ocean. For adventure seekers, skydiving over the desert is a memorable highlight. Some activities include lunch, otherwise, Swakopmund has a few great coffee shops and restaurants where you can enjoy lunch and dinner.
On day five of this Namibia Private Safari, we leave the cool Atlantic Ocean behind and head inland towards Namibia’s highest mountain, Brandberg. Along the way, we stop at Hentiesbaai (Henties Bay) to visit the Cape Cross seal colony. The breeding colony at Cape Cross numbers between 200,000 and 250,000 Cape fur seals!
Then we proceed to Branberg Mountain which has one of the richest collections of rock paintings in the world (over 43,000). The paintings, discovered in 1917, adorn an overhang in the Tsisab Ravine on the north-eastern side of the mountain. This afternoon we visit the best-known rock art in the area, the famous White Lady painting.
This morning we travel to the town of Kamanjab, stopping to see the Petrified Forest - a collection of fossilized trees that turned into stone 260 million years ago. We also view the strange Welwitschia plants, the oldest plants in the world, in this area. In the afternoon we visit a Himba village, to experience the last traditional tribe of Namibia. The Ova-Himba tribe still practices some of its old rituals and wears traditional dress, which makes for an interesting cultural encounter.
Day seven sees us driving to Etosha National Park, Namibia's premier safari destination. Etosha Park incorporates some 22 270 km² of wilderness, dominated by the Etosha Pan which gives the reserve its name. The salt pan spans an area of about 4760 km² creating a vast expanse of arid plains which come to life after the rains. The name Etosha is an apt description translating as 'Great White Place'.
This afternoon we enter Etosha and embark on the first game drive of our Private Namibia Safari. Keep an eye out for the surprising abundance of animals found in Etosha, including elephants, lions, rhinos and all kinds of antelopes. We overnight at Okaukuejo or Halali camp, both of which have floodlit waterholes for 24-hour game viewing.
A full day of game-viewing adventures lies ahead today! We're up early to get out into the bush while the animals are at their most active. Our game drive takes us northeast through the park, along the southern fringes of Etosha Pan. As the sun reaches its peak the mirages dance up over the shimmering pans and we stop for lunch and a rest in the shade.
En route to our next overnight camp, we stop at watering holes to see the animals and birds that gather at these life-giving oases. Keep your eyes peeled for wildlife as the day begins to cool down and the animals and birds become more active again.
Tonight we gather around the campfire and enjoy a barbecue (braai), swapping tales from our wildlife adventure in Etosha.
Please note: We will only partake in a barbecue (braai) whilst staying at Okaukuejo or Halali.
Our the second-last day of our private safari in Namibia, we travel southeast to the Waterberg Plateau Park. En route, we visit a non-profit organization called the Cheetah Conservation Fund. We take a short tour of the centre to learn more about cheetahs and the conservation work being done to protect these graceful big cats.
Then we continue to the Waterberg Plateau which rises some 200m above the surrounding plains. This unusual park is home to some rare and endangered animals and birds which we hope to encounter on an afternoon hike. Inhabitants include the elusive black rhino, rare sable and roan antelopes and endangered Cape vultures. Stop to take in the beautiful views over the surrounding wilderness from the elevated plateau before settling down for our final night on safari in Namibia.
On our last morning, we have breakfast and take it easy, before leaving the Waterberg Plateau. On our way back to Windhoek we stop in Okahandja to visit the well-known craft market of the town. Arriving back in Windhoek this afternoon your guide will drop you off at the airport or your post-tour accommodation concluding your private tour of Namibia.
Transport on this private tour is in a 4x4 safari vehicle. For small tours with 2 guests a Toyota Hilux is used and for groups of 4-6 guests, a Toyota Landcruiser with a pop-up roof is used. The Toyota Landcruiser vehicles used for 4-6 passengers have been specially designed and customised for the rough roads of Namibia. The vehicles are fitted with six comfortable seats ensuring a window seat for every guest. Large sliding windows provide optimal views for wildlife photography and taking in the scenery. There is a bar fridge onboard to keep drinks cold as well as electric sockets for battery chargers.
This guided Private Namibia Safari includes all breakfasts and some dinners as per the itinerary. Lunches are not included in the tour price. All meals not listed on the itinerary as included will be for your own account. You will either be able to buy a lunch pack from the guesthouses/lodges that we stay at or your guide will take you to a deli, bakery or shop where you can buy lunch. A budget of about N$300 per person should suffice for the own-expense dinners in Swakopmund and Etosha.
This private tour of Namibia stays at mid-range lodges, guesthouses and hotels. Namibia has a good tourism infrastructure and relatively high standards of service in general, providing plenty of good quality options. All of the stays on this tour offer clean and simple, yet comfortable accommodations in twin, double or single rooms with en suite facilities.
If one of the establishments specified on the itinerary is not available, accommodation of similar standards will be used. Although every effort is made to use substitute accommodation of the same standards, it may sometimes be necessary to use accommodation of a higher standard (at a small extra cost) when availability is an issue.
For up-to-date and confirmed pricing info for optional items, please drop us an enquiry.
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