Namibia Discovery Adventure (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 drive to the Kalahari Desert, via the small town of Rehoboth, a community that still lives according to their paternal laws dating back to 1872.

The Kalahari Desert is not a desert in the strictest sense of the word, as it receives too much rainfall. It’s only the vast expanses of sand, through which precipitation filters rapidly, leaving nothing on the surface, that have made the Kalahari into the ‘thirst land’ that early European settlers described. Explore the Gondwana Kalahari Park on the sunset drive and celebrate life atop a red Kalahari dune. Drink in the beauty of the Kalahari where gemsbok flourish and sociable weavers build gargantuan nests atop camelthorn trees.

The optimum time to experience the Kalahari colours is when the sun dips in the late afternoon and lights up the sand as if glowing from an inner fire. Don’t miss this time of day when the Earth seems to pause for Kalahari magic. Providing an oasis in the desert for groups, individual travellers, Kalahari Anib Lodge is a relaxed and down-to-earth stopover for a taste of Kalahari. Enjoy a scenic, sunset nature drive in an open safari vehicle before dinner

After breakfast, drive through the Kalahari region and visit the Quiver Tree Forest near Keetmanshoop. The forest was declared a national monument of Namibia and comprises of about 250 specimens of Aloe dichotoma, which the San people used to make quivers. A short stop will be made in Keetmanshoop, with lunch en route.

Resembling a roadhouse of old, the lodge is a veritable treasure-trove and a ‘must-do’ stop when visiting the canyon. The outside area hints of the wonderland interior with its rusty old Chevys and Fords from a bygone era, adorned with corky quiver trees and desert flora. Park your vehicle and step inside.

As if you have entered an Aladdin’s cave, the large doors open onto an International truck serving as the reception desk, a ‘pompstasie’ (filling station) bar and an assortment of classic vehicles and transport paraphernalia assembled with an innovative and creative flair – and a good deal of humour! Restaurant tables are placed in between and the cabs of several cars serve as zany fireplaces in the chilly winter months. After check-in, relax for a while and then depart to the main view point of Fish River Canyon for sunset viewing.

This morning we travel to the spectacular Fish River Canyon for sunrise viewing. The Fish River Canyon is the largest Canyon in Africa and second largest in the world after the Grand Canyon in USA . It features a gigantic ravine, in total about 160km long, up to 27km wide and in some places 550m deep. After breakfast we depart to the charming coastal town of Lüderitz.

The drive today takes you southwest to Lüderitz area, it has a fine collection of graceful buildings dating back to the German era. Set against the background of black rock and the sparkling blue waters of the bay, this architectural heritage gives Lüderitz its special charm. Our journey continues to Lüderitz and we make a stop in the little town of Aus for lunch in a restaurant. Arrive in Lüderitz town and after check-in the hotel you either relax at the hotel or you take a stroll to experience this remarkable town.

Today you rise early before sunrise to join an optional extra excursion, a trip on the Zeepard which is a catamaran. We take a cruise around Lüderitz bay and if weather permits, to Halifax Island to see the Jackass Penguins and flamingos. If the weather conditions are suitable, we may also see some heavy side dolphins, which are endemic to this part of the Atlantic Ocean.

Straight after the boat trip we will drive out to Kolmanskop, a desert ghost town about 20 km out of Lüderitz. It was built in the 1920’s during the diamond rush and was abandoned when bigger and better diamonds were found further along the coast. The area is still abandoned and the desert has encroached over the entire town, giving an eerie feeling and real meaning to the word “ghost”.

During the middle of the day there is time to explore Lüderitz Town with its traditional German architecture. Later we will take a drive out to Diaz Point to see the bird life, hopefully a few seals, and the stone cross replica, originally erected by the Portuguese mariner Bartholomew Diaz.

After breakfast we depart Lüderitz town to Sesriem Area. Along the route you will experience ever-changing vistas of the desert landscapes driving along the most beautiful district road of Namibia, the D707 (road conditions permitting). Visit Duwiseb Castle, a grand medieval fortress, built in the hills of the semi-arid Southern Namib region. Learn more about the Castle’s fascinating history, before continuing to your lodge, arriving in the early afternoon.

Arrive at the your overnight accommodation. The Lodge is overlooking the highest dunes in the world. Le Mirage Resort & Spa is a unique establishments in the Sossusvlei area. It is situated 21 km from the Sesriem gate to Sossusvlei. This makes it one of the lodges closest to the Sossusvlei and the ideal place to stay when you want to visit the highest dunes in the world.

This morning you will need to rise early for a magical excursion with your guide in the Namib Naukluft National Park, normally setting off before 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 then return to a nearby restaurant at Sesriem gate for lunch, with the option to visit Sesriem Canyon after lunch.

Sossusvlei: This most frequently visited section of the massive 50,000 km² Namib Naukluft National Park has become known as Sossusvlei, famous for its towering apricot coloured sand dunes which can be reached by following the Tsauchab River valley. Sossusvlei itself is actually a clay pan set amidst these star shaped dunes which stand up to 300 meters above the surrounding plains, ranking them among the tallest dunes on earth. The deathly white clay pan contrasts against the orange sands and forms the endpoint of the ephemeral Tsauchab River, within the interior of the Great Sand Sea.

The river course rises south of the Naukluft Mountains in the Great Escarpment. It penetrates the sand sea for some 55 km before it finally peters out at Sossusvlei, about the same distance from the Atlantic Ocean. Until the encroaching dunes blocked its course around 60,000 years ago, the Tsauchab River once reached the sea; as ephemeral rivers still do in the northern half of the Namib.

Sand-locked pans to the west show where the river previously flowed to before dunes shifted its endpoint to where it currently gathers at Sossusvlei. Roughly once a decade rainfall over the catchment area is sufficient to bring the river down in flood and fill the pan. On such occasions the mirror images of dunes and camel thorn trees around the pan are reflected in the water. Sossusvlei is the biggest of four pans in the vicinity. Another, famous for its gnarled and ghostly camel thorn trees, is Deadvlei which can be reached on foot over 1 km of sand. Deadvlei’s striking camel thorn trees, dead for want of water, still stand erect as they once grew. They survived until about 900 years ago when the sand sea finally blocked the river from occasionally flooding the pan.

Sesriem Canyon: Sesriem Canyon has evolved through centuries of erosion by the Tsauchab River which has incised a narrow gorge about 1.5 km long and 30 meters deep into the surrounding conglomerates, exposing the varying layers of sedimentation deposited over millions of years. The shaded cool depths of the canyon allow pools of water to gather during the rainy season and remain for much of the year round. These pools were a vital source of water for early settlers who drew water for their livestock by knotting six (ses) lengths of rawhide thongs (riems) together, hence the canyon and surrounding area became known as Sesriem.

Please Note: Option to include a sunrise balloon flight before you depart for Swakopmund (optional extra at additional cost). Please note that if making use of this offer, it will need to be booked exclusively with Nali Safaris in order to fit in with other timings for this day.

The fascinating drive today takes you northwest through awesome and ever changing desert landscapes of the Namib Naukluft National Park, including the impressive Gaub and Kuiseb canyons. You will meet the coast at the port town of Walvis Bay and then continue north to Swakopmund where you can enjoy the pleasant seaside location and cooler coastal air for your next two nights. There will be time this afternoon to explore the town and wander along the waterfront on foot, before heading off for dinner at a popular restaurant which specializes in locally harvested seafood.

Swakopmund: 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 harbor 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 an asphalt road opened between Windhoek and Swakopmund. This made reaching the previously isolated town quicker and easier and it 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.

Today is a free day. The idea is to allow time for everybody to do their own thing. Swakopmund is a very pleasant seaside town with lots of shops, a good stretch of beach (although the Atlantic here is quite cold) and an open-air curio market. There is also a very good museum and the Namibian National Marine Aquarium is located in Swakopmund.

Alternatively, there are various optional activities that can be arranged. These include airplane and microlight flights over the desert, scenic drives, fishing trips (both from the beach or in a boat), four-wheel motorcycle (quad bike) trips into the desert and over the sand dunes around Swakopmund, sand boarding trips (also in the dunes), skydiving, surfing, bird-watching and many other activities are available. Your tour guide will discuss all the possible options with you before you reach Swakopmund and will offer to make bookings in advance of your arrival.

In addition to this, you can opt for the memorable excursion of the Full Day Shipwreck Sandwich Harbor Excursion (activity on own account). You check in at the office located at Walvis Bay Waterfront at 08h00 for a departure shortly thereafter.  After a short break at the Walvis Bay Lagoon to see masses of flamingos, the drive initially takes us through our exclusive Concession area to the Kuiseb river delta, a dry riverbed where the odd springbok may still be seen.

We proceed on a route through the dunes and along the beach, stopping at various spots along the spectacular Sandwich Harbor lagoon.  We drive southwards on narrow stretches of beach where the majestic dunes of the Namib Desert roll into the sea. We will arrive at the Shawnee ship wreck late morning.  Namibia’s coast’s rough seas, roaring winds and strong ocean currents are primarily responsible for a number of shipwrecks strewn along the Namibian coast.  One of these is the Shawnee, a transport tug that ran aground in mysterious circumstances on 6th February 1976.   Now wedged on a narrow stretch between the ocean and the dunes, it is home to a variety of seabirds and black-backed jackal.

You will be served with lunch on the spectacular beach at the wreck, consisting of a selection of fresh Namibian oysters paired with crisp sparkling wine; meat and fish platters with Namibian beer, an assortment of cool drinks and bottled mineral water. We proceed over some exhilarating dunes and you will experience some of the area’s typical fauna and flora.

Animals which have developed ways to adapt to the desert include the black-backed jackal, fog-basking beetle, dancing spider (‘white lady of the Namib’), golden mole, shovel-snouted lizard, palmato gecko, springbok, oryx, brown hyena and ostrich.  Endemic to the central Namib Desert, the !Nara plant has adapted well to the desert.  Its tap root can reach more than 15m into the ground to reach water resources. Passing a stretch through the Kuiseb Delta, we will be back at the Waterfront at around 17h00. Your tour guide will be waiting to pick you up back to Swakopmund.

Enjoy the splendors and many attractions of Swakopmund. There is a possibility of meeting fellow travelers at dinner that will be joining the tour in Swakopmund.  Swakopmund is one of those great traveler way stations along the African road. At once Namibia’s adventure capital and a surreal colonial remnant, part destination in its own right and part launch pad for an exploration of the Skeleton Coast and Namib Desert, this is a city with as much personality as it has sea frontage.

Like Lüderitz on the south coast, with its half-timbered German architecture, seaside promenades and pervasive Gemütlichkeit (a distinctively German appreciation of comfort and hospitality), Swakopmund, especially out of season, can feel like a holiday town along Germany’s North Sea and Baltic coasts transplanted onto African soil. But the city is also thoroughly African and its multidimensional appeal means that most people end up staying longer than they planned.

After an early morning breakfast, we depart to southern Damaraland in Twyfelfontein area. Twyfelfontein (meaning “doubtful fountain”), is a massive, open air art gallery. With over 2,000 rock engravings, Twyfelfontein represent one of the largest and most important rock art concentrations in Africa. In June 2007 this striking natural red-rock gallery of tumbled boulders, smooth surfaces and history etched in stone was awarded World Heritage Site status, making it Namibia’s first and only UNESCO World Heritage Site to date.

The engravings are estimated to be up to 6,000 years old, and it is believed by many that their creators were San medicine people or shamans, who created their engravings as a means of recording the shaman’s experience among the spirits while in a trance. Among the most celebrated of the rock engravings at Twyfelfontein are a giant giraffe, a “lion man” with a hand at the end of its tail, and a dancing kudu.

Damaraland: The breath-taking mountainous region of Damaraland is home to an assortment of desert-adapted wildlife such as elephant, rhino, zebra and lion, which eke out an existence in this near-barren landscape. A not-to-be-missed attraction is the picturesque Brandberg, Namibia’s highest mountain, which is home to thousands of ancient rock paintings – most notably the White Lady.

The rocky outcrops of Twyfelfontein feature exceptional Bushmen engravings, which are considered to be some of the best-preserved etchings on the continent. Visit the Petrified Forest, which dates back millions of years and offers a haunting landscape of gigantic fossilized trees.

An early start to see the highlights of Damaraland – one of the last true wilderness areas in Africa. Craggy mountains and table-flat plateaux unfolding towards deep-red kopjes and oft-dry plains: rocks are the key to Damaraland’s scenic beauty. With no permanent rivers, few inhabitants and a smattering of wildlife, this is a place to unwind, to watch and to wonder. We visit the rock engravings at Twyfelfontein, the fascinating geological features such as the Organ Pipes and Burnt Mountain.

Twyfelfontein: A true landmark situated in the heart of one of the world’s most magnificent wilderness regions. Declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Twyfelfontein in Damaraland is home to one of the largest collections of rock-art engravings found in Southern Africa. Not only did the Khoi-San and tribes of ancient years leave us with a true cultural heritage, but the whole area is characterised by natural wonders such as Doros Crater, Burnt Mountain, Organ Pipes, Petrified Forest and desert-adapted animals – of which the desert-adapted elephant is probably the most well-known species.

After a visit to these geological sites, you depart to the world-class game park of Etosha National Park. Etosha translated, means ‘The place of dry water’ and here we get our first view of the magnificent salt pan.  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.

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. We spend another day in Etosha’s unique desert landscape searching out for amongst other animals it’s large population of elephants and marvelling at its prolific bird life.

Unlike other parks in Africa, where you can spend days looking for animals, Etosha’s charm lies in its ability to bring the animals to you. Just park your car next to one of the many water holes, then wait and watch while a host of animals – lions, elephants, springboks, gemsboks etc. – come not two by two but by the hundreds.

**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).

Etosha’ s essence is the vast Etosha Pan, an immense, flat, saline desert that, for a few days each year, is converted by rain into a shallow lagoon teeming with flamingos and pelicans. In contrast, late in the dry season, everything, from the elephants to the once-golden grasslands, seems cast, spectrelike, in Etosha’s white chalky dust. And what wildlife there is! Even if you’ve had a taste of African wildlife watching previously, you are likely to be mesmerized by it here.

Today in the morning and afternoon we visit several waterholes for game viewing in the area of Namutoni, the eastern part of Etosha National Park. Namutoni is the closest accommodation to Fisher’s Pan. The pan is a renowned spot for water birds, including flamingos, who come here so that they can breed during the wet season.

We game drive throuth the park until the time of exiting the park as our accommodation is outside the park. You arrive at Mokuti Lodge just 40 meters outside Etosha National Park at your accommodation and you will stay here for one night, just relax and soak in the scenic and tranquil surroundings at the lodge.

Mokuti Etosha Lodge is proud to announce it’s reopening on the 5th of March after a rigorous refurbishment. Not only have we recreated the exterior of the lodge under the theme “Africa Reimagined” but every touchpoint of the guest journey has been optimized and upgraded to offer you the best Safari experience Africa has to offer.

Arriving at Mokuti – a mere 40 meters from the Etosha Gate – is an experience on its own. A new contemporary safari experience greets you and will leave you speechless as you arrive at the Porte Cochere with its uninterrupted view through the lobby to the pool bar. The gardens are magnificent, with cool rippling water features that accompany you as you step out of the lobby to the water lounge. Uninterrupted views and gardens that interact with the living spaces create an inviting, friendly, comfortable and relaxing atmosphere, which sets the tone for your stay at Mokuti Etosha.

Depending on your outbound flight departure time, we depart before (breakfast packs) or after breakfast, we exit the park on our way to Windhoek passing through small towns of Otavi, Otjiwarongo and Okahandja.  We will make a lunch stop over at a restaurant in Otjiwarongo and for those who are interested in buying souvenirs we will make a short stop at some African caver stalls to buy a souvenir of your interest. Expect to arrive in the city at around 15:30pm, although please note that times may vary.