Namibia Untold Safari By World Journeys

Namibia Untold Safari By World Journeys

10 Days / 9 Nights from $10,180 Price Per Person

Sales from 01 January 2024 to 31 December 2025

**Day 1: Windhoek**
Upon your arrival in Windhoek, Namibia, you will be met and transferred to your hotel. The remainder of the day is yours to enjoy at your leisure.

**Day 2: Windhoek > Etosha National Park **
This morning you will depart Windhoek with fellow guests for Etosha National Park, entering through the southern Anderssons Gate.

Etosha National Park covers 22,270 km² including the vast Etosha Pan, a saline desert in its own right, having dried up when the Kunene River changed course. In the late dry season animals congregate in their hundreds around the water sources, queuing to quench their thirst. When the rains arrive the area is transformed, bringing a plethora of birdlife that comes to take advantage of ideal feeding conditions. Thousands of flamingos and other water birds descend to the flooded salt pans to take advantage of this time of plenty.

Enjoy a picnic lunch in the park and visits to various waterholes in the afternoon, before heading on towards tonight’s destination, Etosha Private Heights. Sharing a border with Etosha National Park, Etosha Heights is one of the largest private reserves in Namibia, offering 60,000 hectares of unspoiled wildlife, landscapes, and tranquility; truly a place to reconnect with nature and escape the modern stresses of life. Wildlife-wise, you’ll find lion, cheetah and many of Namibia’s fascinating desert species, but the reserve is probably most famous for its strong population of both black and white rhino.

Arrival will be in the late afternoon or early evening, with time to freshen up and enjoy the tranquility of the Etosha Heights.

**Day 3: Etosha National Park**
Today you will enjoy an exciting morning guided game drive with your local ranger on the Etosha Heights Reserve, to see the wide variety of game and bird species that are to be found there before returning to the lodge in time for lunch.

The Etosha landscape is dominated by vast, flat savannah interspersed with thickets of mopane woodland, riverine forest, and scattered salt pans. The dolomite hills offer cover for elusive mountain zebra, kudu and lion – make sure to have your cameras ready! – and the numerous waterholes attract large numbers of game and their feathered counterparts. The reserve is also home to numerous species of antelope including sable and black-faced impala, as well as giraffe and other plains game. In winter, aardvark and elephant sightings are not infrequent.

There is then time to relax by the refreshing swimming pool before you head out on another afternoon game drive on the private game reserve.

**Day 4: Etosha National Park > Damaraland **
This morning after breakfast you will continue your safari to the heart of Namibia, Damaraland, travelling through farmlands and the small towns. Damaraland is typified by displays of colour, magnificent table topped mountains, rock formations and bizarre-looking vegetation. The present-day landscape has been formed by the erosion of wind, water and geological forces which have formed rolling hills, dunes, gravel plains and ancient river terraces. It is the variety and loneliness of the area as well as the scenic splendour which will reward and astound you, giving one an authentic understanding of the word ‘wilderness’.

You enjoy a delicious picnic en route and arrive in time in time to enjoy fireside sundowners at Camp Doros. Please note that today is a long day of travelling, rewarded with another 3 night stay at Camp Doros.

Camp Doros is perched on a high bank overlooking a (generally) dry riverbed and groves of Mopane trees in the heart of Damaraland. Protected from the prevailing winds, the camp carries arguably the lowest environmental footprint of any camp in Namibia. Being located in a core area for desert adapted black rhino, activities here are largely focused on tracking black rhino with an experienced and qualified Rhino Ranger team.

**Day 5: Damaraland **
Today you will spend an exciting and memorable morning out rhino searching with the assistance of local trackers. It is worth noting that these black rhino form part of one of the only free-roaming black rhino populations in Africa and searching for animals in an unfenced and uninhibited environment is an absolute privilege. You will return to camp for a freshly prepared lunch and with time to relax at camp during the heat of the day.

Later in the afternoon you head out again for a scenic nature drive or walk. Camp Doros works together with the Save the Rhino Trust (SRT) – an NGO that has been instrumental in the preservation of the rare, endangered, desert adapted black rhino.

Namibia is home to the larger of two subspecies of the black rhinoceros found in southern Africa. The only population that remains in the wild, unfenced and outside reserves occupies an arid range in the western Kaokoveld. Their preferred habitat is the mountainous escarpment, but they follow ephemeral rivers into the northern Namib as well, especially when conditions are favorable after rains. They are the only black rhinoceros in Africa that are internationally recognized as a “desert group”. Like desert-adapted elephant, they cover great distances.

**Day 6: Damaraland **
Today you continue your adventures exploring Damaraland, enjoying the freedom to discover the fascinating landscapes with your private naturalist guide both by vehicle and on foot. Damaraland is a surprising refuge for desert adapted wildlife that may include elephant, giraffe, oryx, springbok and even some predators such as lion. However, as with any wildlife sightings in Namibia, this depends on many factors including seasonality so specific sightings are never guaranteed.

The wildlife roams large tracks of unfenced desert landscapes and finding game can be challenging, but this is all part of the adventure. Today’s focus will be largely on searching for the elusive desert adapted elephants in the ephemeral river systems, an activity which will mean spending most of the day out. Your guide will take along a delicious picnic lunch and you will return to camp in the late afternoon.

**Day 7: Damaraland > Swakopmund **
After an early breakfast and departure, today’s drive takes you south past Namibia’s highest mountain, the Brandberg, which peaks at 2,573m above sea level, and west to meet the coast at Henties Bay. You then continue south to the coastal town of Swakopmund where you can enjoy the pleasant seaside location and cooler coastal air for the night. You stay on the eastern outskirts of the town, overlooking the Swakop River valley and desolate desert dune landscapes. Tonight includes dinner at a popular restaurant which specializes in locally harvested fresh seafood as well as other local and international dishes.

Swakopmund resembles a small, German coastal resort nestled between the desert and the sea. It boasts a charming combination of German colonial architecture blended with modern hotels, shops, restaurants, museums, craft centres, galleries and cafés. Swakopmund had its beginnings as a landing station in 1892 when the German Imperial Navy erected beacons on the site. Settlers followed and made attempts to create a harbour town by constructing a concrete Mole and then an iron jetty – which attempts were ultimately unsuccessful. The advent of World War one halted developments, and the town sank into decline until half a century later when infrastructure improved and the town prospered once again to become Namibia’s premier resort town. Although the sea is normally cold for swimming there are pleasant beaches and the cooler climate is refreshing after time spent in the desert.

**Day 8: Swakopmund > Sossusvlei**
After an early breakfast, depart on a fascinating drive taking you south-east through ever-changing desert landscapes. Travel via the impressive Gaub and Kuiseb canyons, meeting the dunes at the settlement of Solitaire. A picnic lunch will be had en route before arriving at the Namib Tsaris Conservancy. Here you will spend your final two nights at Camp Sossus.

Arrival should be in the mid to late afternoon with enough time to acquaint yourself with the camp and enjoy a hot bucket shower before dinner. Located on the private 24,000ha Namib Tsaris Conservancy and nestled between the Nubib and Zaris Mountains, this unique camp is a mere thirty minutes’ drive from the Sossusvlei gate, the gateway to the Great Namib Sand Sea which has recently been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

**Day 9: Sossusvlei**
This morning you will need to rise early for a magical excursion with your guide in the Namib Naukluft National Park, arriving at sunrise to capture the dunes whilst the light is soft and shadows accentuate the towering shapes and curves. This area boasts some of the highest free-standing sand dunes in the world and your guide will give you an insight on the formation of the Namib Desert and its myriad of fascinating creatures and plants that have adapted to survive these harsh environs.

Once you have explored Sossusvlei, Deadvlei and surrounding dune fields to your heart’s content, you can enjoy a relaxed picnic brunch in the shade of a camel thorn tree. You will return to camp for a late freshly prepared lunch with time to relax at camp during the heat of the day. Later in the afternoon you head out again for a scenic nature drive or walk to explore this vast and astounding ecosystem and to enjoy a magnificent final safari sundowner.

**Day 10: Sossusvlei > Windhoek **
After a leisurely breakfast, depart Sossusvlei and return to Windhoek, driving northeast up the Great Escarpment and through the scenic Khomas Hochland highlands. A tasty picnic lunch will again be served en route and arrival in Windhoek should be by the mid-afternoon. Here you will be transferred to your accommodation of choice, or to the airport for your onward flight.

Small group tour: Travel with a group of no more than 7 guests, and a professional guide, on a journey through Namibia. Let us tailor-make further travel arrangements before and/or after this journey.

Inclusions

• • 9 nights’ accommodation
  • 9 breakfasts, 9 lunches, and 8 dinners
  • Local alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks at the lodges
  • Mineral water onboard the safari vehicle
  • Shared transfer from Windhoek Hosea Kutako International Airport to hotel
  • English-speaking naturalist safari guide
  • Transportation in an air-conditioned 4×4 safari vehicle
  • Entrance fees and excursions as per the itinerary
  • Limited laundry at Camp Doros