NAMIBIA BY ROAD

Day 1 Windhoek to Sossusvlei 

This morning your guide will collect you from your various accommodation establishments or from the Windhoek/Hosea Kutako International Airport (assuming you land before 07h00). You then depart Windhoek in your safari vehicle with your private guide and drive southwest through the scenic Khomas Hochland highlands before heading down the Great Escarpment into the Namib Desert below, stopping for a picnic lunch at a scenic location along the way. You arrive at Dead Valley Lodge in the midafternoon and you will stay here for two nights whilst you explore the remarkable sights of the Namib Desert with your guide. If there is still time today, your guide will take you to visit Sesriem Canyon, a nearby geological attraction, or explore Elim Dune. However, if you prefer, you can just relax and soak in the scenic and tranquil surroundings at Dead Valley Lodge. Overnight: Dead Valley Lodge Lunch, Dinner & Excursions with private safari guide 

Day 2 Sossusvlei 

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 can enjoy a relaxed picnic brunch in the shade of a camel thorn tree. You then return to Dead Valley Lodge in the early afternoon in time for a late lunch, with the option to visit Sesriem Canyon afterwards if you haven’t already done so the day before. The rest of the afternoon is at your leisure (from experience, this is usually welcomed after an exhilarating morning in the dunes). 

Overnight: Dead Valley Lodge Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner & Excursions with private safari guide 

Day 3 Sossusvlei to Swakopmund 

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. 

Overnight: The Delight Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner NOTE: Option to include a sunrise balloon flight before you depart for Swakopmund (optional extra at additional cost), needs to be pre booked in order to fit in with other timings for this day. 

Day 4 Swakopmund 

After an early breakfast your guide will drive you along the scenic coastal road back south to Walvis Bay for a memorable kayaking adventure within the outer lagoon. After meeting your kayaking guide you will be taken on a short scenic drive to Pelican Point to see its lighthouse and windswept beauty, stopping briefly at the salt works to view the variety of birdlife on your way to the launch point. The kayaking is an ideal way of seeing Cape fur seals, Heaviside and Bottlenose dolphins, pelicans, flamingos and a wide variety of other sea birds. If you are lucky, there is also a chance of seeing whales, leatherback turtles and sunfish. During the course of the day the guide will stop and inform you about the environment and light refreshments will be served on the beach before heading back to Walvis Bay. 

Alternatively, you also have the choice to partake instead in a memorable motorized boat seal and dolphin excursion within the outer lagoon and harbour should the kayaking not appeal. Here you should also see Cape fur seals, heaviside and bottlenose dolphins, pelicans, flamingos and a wide variety of other sea birds. Again, if luck is on your side, there is also a chance of seeing whales, leatherback turtles and sunfish. During the course of the excursion snacks will be served along with local sparkling wine and fresh oysters, before you will return to the jetty at roughly midday. 

You then have the opportunity to explore the waterfront area of Walvis Bay further before returning to Swakopmund for an afternoon at leisure at your guesthouse or out in town. Activities such as scenic flights, sandboarding and more can all be booked at an extra cost. 

Overnight: The Delight Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner 

Day 5 Swakopmund to Damaraland 

Continuing on your safari today, the road takes you north and east into the wonderful and diverse region of Damaraland. You pass Namibia’s highest mountain, the Brandberg which peaks at 2,573 m above sea level, and take time to view game and absorb the vastness of the scenery along the way. Damaraland is typified by displays of colour, magnificent table topped mountains, rock formations and bizarrelooking 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'. 

If time allows this afternoon your guide will take you to visit the nearby attractions and geological sites of the pre-historic Twyfelfontein rock engravings (a UNESCO World Heritage Site) - if not there is plenty of time to see them tomorrow. 

Overnight: Camp Kipwe Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner & Excursions with private safari guide 

Day 6 Damaraland 

After an early breakfast you will be treated to an exciting 4x4 excursion along the ephemeral Aba Huab and Huab River valleys to explore this remarkable region and to search for game, including the elusive desert adapted elephants if they are in the area. Damaraland is home to a variety of desert adapted wildlife and hidden desert treasures. As the elephants are mostly active in the mornings you will normally have the best chance to see them then before returning to camp for lunch. However, if all the safari participants agree, you also have the option to take a picnic lunch and stop to enjoy that in the shade of a large Ana tree by the riverbed, ideally while watching a herd of elephant browsing nearby. 

Your guide will arrange to fit in a visit to Twyfelfontein and other nearby attractions at a suitable time if you haven’t already done so the previous day. On return to camp there should be time to take a walk into the local area with your guide if desired, or simply relax and enjoy some well-deserved leisure time. 

Overnight: Camp Kipwe Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner & Excursions with private safari guide 

Day 7 Damaraland to Southern Etosha National Park 

Today after an early breakfast you set off on your journey to the Etosha National Park, entering the park through their southern Anderssons Gate. You 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 which is situated on the south western border of the Etosha National Park.

Etosha National Park: Etosha National Park covers 22,270 km², of which approximately 5,000 km² is made up of saline depressions or ‘pans’. The largest of these pans, the Etosha Pan, can be classified as a saline desert in its own right. The Etosha Pan lies in the Owambo Basin, on the north-western edge of the Namibian Kalahari Desert. Until three million years ago it formed part of huge, shallow lake that was reduced to a complex of salt pans when the major river that fed it, the Kunene, changed course and began to flow to the Atlantic instead. If the lake existed today, it would be the third largest in the world. Etosha is the largest of the pans at 4,760 km² in extent. It is nowadays filled with water only when sufficient rain falls to the north in Angola, inducing floods to flow southward along the Cuvelai drainage system. The Park consists of grassland, woodland and savannah. Game-viewing centers around the numerous springs and waterholes where several different species can often be seen at one time. The Park boasts some 114 mammal and over 340 bird species. Wildlife that one might see includes elephant, lion, giraffe, blue wildebeest, eland, kudu, gemsbok (oryx), zebra, rhino, cheetah, leopard, hyena, honey badger and warthog, as well as the endemic black faced impala.

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

Overnight: Etosha Mountain Lodge | Includes: All meals, most local drinks and Etosha Game Drive 

Day 8 Southern Etosha National Park 

Today you will enjoy an exciting morning guided game drive in an open game viewer 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.

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.

Overnight: Etosha Mountain Lodge | Includes: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner & one morning and one afternoon game drive on the Etosha Heights Game Reserve in open game viewer with lodge ranger

Day 9 Southern Etosha National Park 

After an early breakfast you depart the reserve and your journey leads you south via Outjo, Otjiwarongo and Okahandja to reach to Windhoek. A lunch is included and arrival in Windhoek will be mid afternoon.

Upon your arrival in Windhoek you will be transferred to your accommodation establishment of choice, or out to the Windhoek International Airport (transfer to be booked additionally) if flying out in the evening - departure flights must be no earlier than 19h00 to allow sufficient time for the drive back from Etosha to Windhoek, or a final night in Windhoek can be arranged at additional cost if required. A final night in Windhoek is highly recommended. 

Breakfast, Lunch, airport drop-off or guest house drop-off