Name: 13 Day Best of Self-Drive Safari in Namibia
Brand: Nature Travel Namibia
Price: 103400 ZAR
Availability: InStock

Accommodation

Check-in Time:

14:00

Check-out Time:

10:00

During this safari trip, you will be staying in various accommodations. All the accommodations used on the safaris are mid-range and all meals are included per the itineraries. Nature Travel Namibia can however change any of the suggested accommodation options on the itineraries according to the clients’ preferences.

Program

Day 1: Arrival in Windhoek

Welcome to Namibia! After arriving at Hosea Kutako International Airport outside the country’s capital city of Windhoek, a representative will be waiting for you in the arrival hall of the airport with your name on a signboard. From here you will be transferred to the car rental agency, where you complete paperwork and collect your rental car. Drive to your hotel.

Windhoek, the capital of Namibia, is encircled by magnificent mountains, expansive valleys, fertile farmlands, lodges and luxury guest farms. The landscape of the Greater Windhoek area surrounding this bustling city is characterized by vast valleys, thick scrub, rocky hills, and covered in golden savannah. It sits at 1,700 meters (5,600 feet) above sea level (the 12th highest capital in the world) in the Khomas Hochland plateau area between the Auas and Eros mountain ranges. It is home to about 400,000 people at a low density of only 63 people per square kilometer and has over 300 sunny days per year.

Day 2: Windhoek – Okonjima Nature Reserve

After an early breakfast at your hotel head straight north for about 300 km, with only a short break for lunch, as you make your way towards your first attraction of the safari; Okonjima. Checking in at Okonjima in the early afternoon you have a short break. You can then decide to take part in one of the following activities: Leopard tracking, visit the AfriCat Foundation centre, go on an afternoon game drive or walking trails. Depending which activity, you would like to, we can pre-book this for you too.

The 22 000-ha nature reserve is home to AfriCat, a carnivore sanctuary, which gives the captive cats a second chance to be released back into the wild and become completely independent hunters in a protected area right in the middle of commercial cattle farmland. Join in on one of the bush walks, enjoy a nature drive or visit AfriCat where there are a range of activities.

You will only return after you activity to your accommodation at sunset and have dinner under the vast star-filled African sky.

Day 3: The San (Bushmen)

After a full breakfast head northeast, for about five hours, to one of the most remote corners of Namibia, and home to the Bushmen (San) people. Only dedicated travelers venture here, but it is certainly worth the effort! After a quick stop to admire the world’s largest (estimated at 60 tonnes!) known intact meteorite at Hoba. Make your way to your lodge where you will spend the night. Your lodge, Roy’s Camp, is situated on a game farm and is the perfect base from which to explore and spend time with the Bushmen/San people.

The San are hunter-gatherer people, indigenous to southern Africa, who are extremely successful at surviving in the bush and desert despite their limited technology and weaponry. They are descendants of prehistoric people who had migrated from southern Africa northwards into east and central Africa before returning to the southern tip of the continent. They belong to the Khoisan group that speaks the “click” languages. They are famous for their rock engravings and researchers’ interpretation of the San people is that their beliefs and rituals are very much a part of their art.

Day 4: Bushmen and off to Etosha National Park

After an early breakfast, you will make your way to meet up with the Ju/’hoansi Bushmen, who live in small villages scattered across Bushmanland. After a quick introduction and greeting ceremony, you will set off into the bush with the village hunters. Spend most of the morning with them, looking for prey to shoot with their poisoned arrows, as well as for edible roots, berries, honeycombs, and whatever else would be welcomed by the rest of the villagers.

It is a fascinating experience walking with these men, whose knowledge of the bush and all its inhabitants is simply astounding. In the afternoon make your way northwest for about three hours to your next exciting destination; the Etosha National Park! You will reach your lodge just outside the park’s eastern gate in time for dinner and then enjoy a good night’s sleep.

Day 5: Etosha National Park (Eastern side)

Explore the eastern side of world-famous Etosha Park today, going for a morning drive after breakfast and returning for lunch and a break in the heat of the day. Undoubtedly one of the great parks of Africa, the huge Etosha National Park in north-central Namibia covers more than 22,300 square kilometers (8,620 sq mi) and is synonymous with big game and wide-open spaces.

The name Etosha actually means “great white place” referring to the massive (130 kilometers long and 50 kilometers wide) dry pan in the middle of the park, believed to have been formed over 100 million years ago. Etosha is home to a staggering amount of wildlife, both common and rare, including several threatened and endangered species.

The mammal list is at over 110 species, including four of Africa’s Big Five, cheetah, giraffe, spotted hyaena, zebra (2 species), Greater Kudu, springbok, Gemsbok (Namibia’s national animal), common warthog, honey badger and many more. It is the best place in the world to see black rhinoceros. Return to the park for an afternoon self-guided game drive and then enjoy dinner back at the lodge again. Remember to look up before settling into your bed tonight - the African night sky, undisturbed by city lights out here in the bush, is truly amazing.

Day 6: Etosha National Park (Eastern side)

Enjoy morning and afternoon game drives in Etosha today, returning to your lodge in the heat of the day for lunch and to relax. Etosha not only boasts some fantastic mammals, but also has a bird list of more than 350 species, including regional specials like Kori Bustard, Blue Crane, Violet Woodhoopoe, Ruppell’s Parrot, Pygmy, and Red-necked Falcon, Bare-cheeked and Southern Pied Babbler, and Burchell’s and Double-banded Courser. You will naturally look for these on your drives in the park, as well as around your lodge grounds.

Day 7: Etosha National Park (South-western side)

You have another full day to enjoy Etosha today, but you will also slowly make your way to the southwestern side of the park, where you will overnight today. You can stop at Halali camp in the middle of the park for lunch. Although Etosha is best known today as a spectacular refuge for an abundance of animals, it is also a part of the world that provides critical evidence for the existence and evolution of ancestral animals.

The rocks in the hills near Halali camp have revealed fossil life as old as 650 million years! Etosha is also a photographer’s dream, with the contrasts in light, color, and textures particularly dramatic. Many a guest’s “lifer shots” of African animal and bird species were taken in this park. The sunrises and sunsets are particularly spectacular, so better get those cameras and phones ready!

After another fantastic day in the park, you will reach your camp and freshen up. You will either be staying in a camp inside the park or just outside the park’s gate. Enjoy dinner and a good night’s rest. One of the great features of the camps inside Etosha is the floodlit waterholes at the perimeter fence, where guests can sit and enjoy game coming to drink only a few meters away; a special treat that to remember forever!

Day 8: Etosha - Opuwo (The Himba)

You will leave Etosha relatively early this morning, making your way further north. You will be heading for a small town called Opuwo, about four to five hours away. Opuwo is the only bigger town to be found in the Kunene region and is an ideal stopover when traveling north to the stunning Epupa Falls. The Kunene region is home to the Himba tribe who seem to thrive in this stark desert landscape.

The Himba people, one of the last truly nomadic tribes on Earth, are a highlight on any visit to the area, with their intricate customs and traditions, ochre-covered bodies, and elaborate jewelry. They are pastoral people who follow their cattle and goats in search of good grazing. They are descendants of the earliest Hereros, who migrated here from Botswana early in the 16th century.

Today the Himba are believed to number about 16,000, living mostly off the milk and meat of their livestock. Like the Maasai people of East Africa cattle are the central and most important feature of their lives, representing status and wealth. Hoping to arrive in time for lunch and then the entire afternoon is dedicated to your interaction with the fascinating Himba people. You are guaranteed to learn a great deal! You will return to your lodge for the evening in the late afternoon. It is beautifully located with great views of the surrounding landscape.

Day 9: Damaraland

After breakfast this morning head directly south. It is a long drive to your next destination, but the road trip will be worth it. You will traverse dry riverbeds rocky plains and ruggedly beautiful terrain when you reach the edge of Damaraland. This beautiful mountainous region is home to an assortment of scientifically important desert-adapted wildlife such as African elephants, black rhinoceros, and lions, which somehow survive and thrive in this near-barren landscape.

After a picnic lunch en-route perhaps stop and admire the “petrified forest” rock formation, believed to be more than 200 million years old! Here you can also look out for the Namib Desert’s weird-looking living fossil plant, the Welwitschia, the longest-living plant on Earth. Before you check into your lodge this afternoon, you can visit two more fascinating geological formations, the “organ pipes” arrangement (a distinctive series of dolerite pillars that have been exposed by erosion) and the much-photographed “burnt mountain” (a flat-topped mountain that derives its name from the piles of blackened limestone at its base).

Day 10: Damaraland - Skeleton Coast and Swakopmund

Start the morning with breakfast, after which you proceed southward to Twyfelfontein. Meaning “uncertain spring” in Afrikaans, Twyfelfontein is a massive open-air art gallery that is of great interest to international rock art connoisseurs, and another of Namibia’s UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The 2,000-plus rock petroglyphs, estimated to be 6,000 years old, represent one of Africa’s largest and most noteworthy concentrations of rock art.

Most of these well-preserved engravings represent rhinoceros. The site also includes depictions of elephants, ostriches, and giraffes, as well as drawings of human and animal footprints, all done in red ochre. Continue to the coast, crossing the desolate gravel plains of the Namib Desert driving past the Brandberg (literally “fire mountain”), Namibia’s highest mountain, with the highest peak at 2,573 meters (8,441 feet) above sea level.

Visit some shipwrecks and perhaps the Cape Cross seal reserve en route. Swakopmund has made a name for itself as the activity and sports capital of Namibia, but this town offers so much more. Sandwiched between the hot, arid desert and the cold waters of the Atlantic, Swakop (as the locals call it) is one of the most fascinating colonial towns in all of Africa. It is a heady mix of South African, Namibian, and German cultures, architecture, languages, and cuisine.

Day 11: Living desert experience and off to the Namib Desert

After a relaxed breakfast in Swakopmund you will be collected and go on a living desert experience, a unique adventure indeed and a real eye-opener! Encounter and learn more about the fascinating wildlife of the Namib Desert with the help of a local expert. This seemingly dead environment supports a wealth of animal and plant life that have adapted in wonderful ways to survive and thrive here.

You will look for geckos, scorpions, snakes, skinks, lizards, birds, and beetles as well as the incredible plant life that survives in this harsh and seemingly inhospitable environment. Some of the special creatures you might see include the Namib Sand Gecko, Namaqua Chameleon, Shovel-snouted Lizard, Tractrac Chat, and even Peringuey’s Adder. After a quick lunch make your way further south toward iconic Sossusvlei, turning inland and traversing the vast Namib-Naukluft Park.

Your entire drive today takes place in the Namib Sand Sea, one of Namibia’s two UNESCO World Heritage Sites. It is a beautiful drive of about four hours, and if time allows, stop for the famous apple pie in the small desert oasis town of Solitaire, a true Namibian tradition that should not be missed. You will reach your accommodation as the sun is disappearing behind the horizon, painting the surrounding sand dunes flaming red. A hearty Namibian dinner and an early bedtime will ensure that you have enough energy for an early start tomorrow.

Day 12: Sossusvlei, Dead Vlei and Sesriem Canyon

Today visit the famous Sossusvlei area, Dead Vlei, and the Sesriem Canyon. It is a magical place to be as the sun rises, with incredible photographic opportunities. Sossusvlei is where you will find the iconic red sand dunes of the Namib. The clear blue skies contrast with the giant red sand dunes to make this one of the natural wonders of Africa and a photographer’s heaven.

It is one of the top tourist destinations in all of southern Africa and a must-see attraction when visiting Namibia. Sossusvlei itself is actually the pan or valley floor that you will park your vehicle on and is surrounded by massive dunes on almost all sides. It will take most of the day to explore this wonderland, so you will only return to your lodge in the afternoon.

Day 13: Departure

After a relaxing final breakfast depart for Windhoek. It is a five to six hour drive northwards to the capital. You will drive through the Namib Desert for the last time. Drive up to the Khomas Highland via one of the many scenic mountain passes, and remember to keep an eye out for some wildlife before you reach Windhoek. You might see common ostrich, gemsbok, pale chanting goshawk, sociable weavers, or even a Greater Kudu.

In Windhoek drop off your rental car and a transfer will take you to the Hosea Kutako International Airport for your homeward flight or for your connecting flight if you decide to combine this safari with an extension to the Caprivi, Victoria Falls, Botswana, Zambia, or South Africa. Nature Travel Namibia will gladly assist with accommodation in Windhoek should you need to stay over.

Included excursions

Visit San people on day three
Visit Ju/’hoansi Bushmen on day four
Visit the Himba people on day eight
Visit Twyfelfontein, a massive open-air art gallery on day 10
Visit Namib Sand Sea, one of Namibia’s two UNESCO World Heritage Sites on day 11
Visit the famous Sossusvlei area, Dead Vlei, and the Sesriem Canyon on day 12

Location

Namibia really is the perfect destination if you are looking for a mix of rich wildlife, amazing landscapes, authentic culture, and fascinating history. On top of that it is also a safe country, with friendly people and a well-established tourism infrastructure.

This safari tour will take place across Namibia. You will start your journey from Windhoek to Erindi Private Game Reserve, Etosha National Park, Opuwo, Damaraland, Skeleton Coast, Swakopmund, Namib Desert, Sossusvlei, Dead Vlei, and Sesriem Canyon. On your drive back to Windhoek, you will also go to Khomas Highland via one of the many scenic mountain passes.

Places you will go

Capital City of Windhoek
Erindi Private Game Reserve
Bushman Village
Etosha National Park
Ovahimba Village
Damaraland
Swakopmund
Sossusvlei

Main attractions:

Erindi Private Game Reserve

710 km2, 5-star ecotourism reserve

Etosha National Park

One of the greatest wildlife reserves on the planet

Damaraland

Rugged but beautiful and home to desert-adapted mammals

Skeleton Coast

A coastline of shipwrecks and seals

Living Desert Experience

A unique eye-opening, fun learning experience

Sossusvlei

One of southern Africa’s must-see natural wonders

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Food

During this safari tour, you will be served daily breakfast. Dinner will also be served except for dinner in Windhoek and Swakopmund.

The following meals are included:

Breakfast
Dinner
Drinks

The following drinks are included:

Water
Coffee
Tea

The following dietary requirement(s) are served and/or catered for:

Vegetarian
Gluten Free
Seafood
Whole food
Other dietary requirements on request

If you have special dietary requirements it's a good idea to communicate it to the organiser when making a reservation

Things to do (optional)

E-bike and walking excursions in the Namib Desert
Various adventure activities in Swakopmund
Hot air balloon ride over Sossusvlei

What's included

12 nights accommodation as indicated in the itinerary
Daily meals as indicated in the itinerary
Activities as indicated in the itinerary
Airport transfers on the day of arrival and departure
Meet and greet in Windhoek
Welcome pack
Car rental: 4x4 Double Cab or Fortuner (incl. zero excess insurance)
Tourism levy
VAT 15%

What's not included

Flights (international, regional, or domestic)
Visa (if applicable)
Comprehensive / personal travel insurance
Lunch
Dinner in Windhoek and Swakopmund
Optional activities or activities not specified
Entrance fees to national parks, heritage sites, and places of interest
Items of a personal nature (laundry, telephone calls, internet, drinks, and more)
Pre- and post-tour accommodation
Tips and gratuities
Fuel and any extras for rental vehicle

How to get there

Recommended Airports

WDH

Hosea Kutako International Airport

41 km

Transfer included

Airport: Hosea Kutako International Airport Airport transfer included: Hosea Kutako International Airport No additional charges. You can request this in the next step.

Cancellation Policy

A reservation requires a deposit of 20% of the total price.
The deposit is non-refundable, if the booking is cancelled.
The rest of the payment should be paid 30 days before arrival.

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