Bushman (SAN) Tribe Cultural (High Season) Accommodated Tour

This morning, A Tour Guide from Nali Safaris will collect you from your various accommodation establishments or from the Windhoek International Airport (assuming you land before 08h00). You then depart Windhoek in your safari vehicle with your private guide and head north via Okahandja town for a short visit to a local market, to shop for woodcarvings and curios. The local community operates the stalls on a co-operative basis and the market is a perfect place to do last minute shopping for truly Namibian souvenirs. Another short stop for  lunch in the town of Outjo en-route to Etosha National Park.

You arrive late afternoon in Etosha National Park at your accommodation of Okaukuejo Wildlife Resort and you will stay here for one night whilst you explore the remarkable sights Okaukuejo area. If there is still time today, your guide will take you to nearby wildlife waterholes to begin your wildlife viewing experience. However, if you prefer, you can just relax and soak in the scenic and tranquil surroundings at the Resort.

After sunset floodlights illuminate the waterhole. This is the best time and place to see the endangered black rhino. This archaic mammal can often be seen drinking alongside lion and elephant. The number and interaction of the animals is the major drawcard of Okaukuejo Rest Camp in Namibia.

This morning you will need to rise early for a magical wildlife encounter’s experience with your guide in the famous Etosha National Park, normally setting off before sunrise with luck on your side, you will observe nocturnal animals in the early mornings. Today you will spend a full day in this world-class game park in your touring vehicle, visiting a number of waterholes to observe the wildlife. Etosha translated, means ‘The place of dry water’ and here we get our first view of the magnificent salt pan.

We spend a full day in this world-class game park, visiting a number of waterholes to observe the wildlife. Etosha, translated, means ‘The place of dry water’ and here we get our first view of the magnificent pan. Etosha National Park is unique in Africa. The park’s main characteristic is a salt pan so large it can be seen from space. Yet there is abundant wildlife that congregates around the waterholes, giving you almost guaranteed game sightings. At the same time Etosha National Park is one of the most accessible game reserves in Namibia and Southern Africa.

The abundance of game in Etosha National Park is somewhat unexpected, showcasing some of the most common and rarest wildlife species. The areas with thicker vegetation are home to elephant (some of the largest in Africa due to the vitamins and nutrients found in the ground), the endangered black rhino and even leopard. Lions are camouflaged in the pale- golden colour of the grasslands, while giraffes rise- high above most of the dry vegetation.

Etosha National Park is home to 114 different mammal species including zebra, springbok, eland, oryx, kudu, giraffe and the all-important big four: the lion, the leopard, the elephant and black and white rhino.  The wide variety of animals guarantee impressive game viewing.  Etosha is also a bird watchers’ paradise, with more than 340 bird species recorded in the park.

**Memorable Moment: The Etosha Pan is a vast, bare, open expanse of shimmering green and white that covers around 4 800km², almost a quarter of the beautiful Etosha National Park.  At 130 km’s long and up to 50km’s wide in places, it is comfortably the largest salt pan in Africa and is the park’s most distinctive and dramatic feature, visible even from space.**

You then make a lunch stop at Halali Wildlife Resort located in the middle of the park. After lunch you proceed with game viewing on your way to overnight accommodation, Namutoni Wildlife Resort. The rest of the remainder of the afternoon is at your leisure (from experience, this is usually welcomed after an exhilarating full day game viewing seated in the vehicle).

After an early morning breakfast, we depart for Tsumkwe the capital of the San (Bushmen). The San, the original inhabitants of Namibia, also called Bushmen, have been living in Southern Africa for more than 20,000 years. The region belongs to the former Bushmanland, appointed homeland to the Bushmen by the former South African administration.

The Bushmen established the Nyae Nyae Conservancy, a game reserve of about 30 x 35 km around a pan (Nyae Nyae Pan), which turns into a lake after good rainfalls. In this regoin the Bushmen can be seen in their natural habitation and one can even partake in a hunt or a nature walk. It is estimated today that about 30,000 San are living in Namibia, of which about 2,000 still have a traditional way of live.

Renowned as great storytellers, the San express themselves eloquently in prose, music, mimicry and dance. Their simplest instrument is the hunter’s bow, strung with animal hair and played with a hollowed-out melon or an empty tin can as a sound box. Moth cocoons filled with stones or seeds are attached around their ankles to provide rhythm while they dance.

The San are divided into three groups: the Hai||om (who traditionally inhabited Etosha) in the northern districts of Otavi, Tsumeb and Grootfontein; the Qgu (!Kung) and Ju/’Hoansi in Bushmanland and the Gobabis District; and the Khoé or Mbarakwengo in West Zambezi.

We rise early this morning for a day which is sure to prove most memorable. The cultural and environmental tours offer a wide range of experiences that allow guests to meet the remarkable Ju/’hoan people and experience their unique culture as it exists today and from their ancient past. Knowledgeable and experienced guides are members of the local community and can answer questions about their culture, the flora and fauna of the Eastern Kalahari and the life of San people in modern Namibia.

Take part in the following optional excursions: Bush walk with snaring, tracking, and collecting bushfood; Craft making in the village. Create your own bow, learn the technique of “fire sticks”, how to set a snare, demonstration of the art of beading and shaping ostrich eggshell; Experience traditional dance & songs around the campfire, join in if you want; Traditional hunt for meat and other food sources and Prepare and taste the bushfood San collect from the wild. Compact – Half day activity for groups or guests with limited time combine all the activities listed above, except for the hunting activity.

After breakfast we depart to the Kalahari’s Table Mountain. Waterberg is one of the greatest attractions in the northern central of Namibia, 50 km long and 16 km wide Table Mountain rising from the plains to a height of up to 200 meters. Fascinating geological genesis, perennial springs on the south-eastern slopes, one of the most diverse flora area in southern Africa (500 species). The Plateau declared as a national park in 1972, it is home to rare game such as sable, buffalo, and black and white rhino.

We arrive in the afternoon at the lodge, you can opt to join an optional afternoon excursion like: Plateau Hike: tour onto the table mountain (no park entrance fee), Rhino Drive: rubbing shoulders with rhinos, giraffes and other game, Rhino tracking: tracing rhinos on foot, Cultural Tour: Everyday life of the Herero tribe, Hiking trails with “botanical garden”, History Path to sites of Herero history, Valley with spring, lush vegetation and over 200 bird species.

After breakfast and after you are done with optional morning activities, we depart to Windhoek via the town of Okahandja. Expect to arrive in the city at around 12:30, although please note that times may vary.