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Grand Namibia tour
NYA13W

13 NIGHTS
FROM $2,560
International flights quoted separately
A comprehensive escorted small group tour of Namibia, including the famous Fish River Canyon & deserts of the south; Luderitz; the seaside town of Swakopmund; Twyfelfontein Bushman art; and a thrilling safari in Etosha National Park in the north. Scheduled departures from Windhoek - 3* or 5*. Group size 2-16. German & English. No children <12.
HIGHLIGHTS
Safari Tour Namibia Safari Tour Etosha National Park Namibia Tours Windhoek Dunes Namib Fish River Namibia Tours
• Marine Cruise • Twyfelfontein Rock Art • Etosha National Park • Game Drives
Day 1
You will be met at Windhoek Airport and transferred to your hotel.
 
Check in and relax under warm blue Namibian skies.
Day 2
This morning we leave Windhoek around 08h00 for your small group tour of Namibia, as we travel for 5-hours into the largest sand mass on earth, the vast Kalahari. The Bushmen refer to it as the “Soul of the World”, an emotive description for this area. With its endless grass plains interspersed with Acacia’s and shrubs, it is the only form of survival for a vast amount of wildlife and migrating bushman communities.
 
Enjoy the opportunity to experience the fauna and flora that have survived this desert environment for thousands of years, before checking into our lodge.
Day 3
We travel south through Namibia's rocky plains and visit the unique Quiver Tree Forests nestled amongst huge dolerite boulders, some stacked in such a mysterious way that it seems impossible they were formed by natural forces.
 
We continue to Gondwana Canyon Park and check into our lodge near the Fish River Canyon, where there is time to enjoy a sundowner walk to an adjacent granite hill to marvel at the spectacular scenery that surrounds us.
Day 4
Our morning starts on the edge of the Fish River Canyon, where we gaze down 550 meters into this magnificent canyon. The Nama Karoo desert has dramatic geological formations, which take on stupendous proportions in this canyon, the second largest on earth. The vegetation is characterized by dwarf shrubs & scattered grasslands and the slopes of the plateau mountains and vast plains are home to Hartmann’s mountain zebra, springbok, gemsbok, kudu & ostrich.
 
We travel 4-hours to Aus in the Succulent Karoo, a winter rainfall area where bizarre looking shrubs store moisture in their leaves and stems to tide them over the dry summer months.
 
After winter rains, this desert unfolds in a carpet of flowers and an explosion of colours. It is one of the 20 most important biomes in the plant world and counts as the most specie diverse desert in the world.
We explore the sweeping desert plains on a nature drive in the late afternoon.
Day 5
Today enjoy a full day excursion to Lüderitz and the ghost town of Kolmanskop, where the first diamond was found in 1908.  Now standing barren to the harsh wind and heat of the unforgiving desert, it reminds us of the opulence and decadence of the diamond rush days.
 
We continue down the great escarpment onto the wide plains of the Namib Desert, the scenery giving way to the shifting dunes of the Prohibited Diamond Area. Here we visit Diaz Cross where daring Portuguese sailors erected a stone pillar in the 1480’s.
 
We round off the day with a tour through Lüderitz, situated on the Atlantic Coast and a good base from which to view colonies of aquatic birds, seals and penguins. We also look out for the legendary Wild Desert Horses of the Namib at Garub, a watering point where they can be observed as they come to drink, before returning to our lodge.
Day 6
We travel north today into the Namib Desert, the oldest desert on earth where some of the highest sand dunes in the world stand towering over the white desert plains. These great mountains of sand are a monument to the extreme forces of nature, with fog supplying life giving moisture for the survival of its plants and animals.
 
Check into your lodge and the afternoon can be spent relaxing by the swimming pool or participating in one of the optional activities on offer.
Day 7
An early start is imperative as this is the coolest part of the day and the best for photography, as you travel by 4x4 vehicle into the famous Sossusvlei, a clay pan surrounded by some of the highest sand dunes in the world – an endless sea of reddish sand stretching all the way to the distant horizon.
  
Its monumental star shaped sand dunes, some up to 1,000 ft (325m) when measured from the base, were formed by strong multi-directional winds. The warm tints of sand ranging from apricot to orange, red and maroon, contrast vividly with the stark white surface of the clay pans at their base.  This provides photographers with a spectacular display of images to capture.  
  
Climbing one of these dunes affords the energetic traveller an unforgettable experience of endless vistas across a sea of dunes. Time will also be taken to explore the impressive conglomerate gorges of the Sesriem Canyon, with its rock pools fed by the Tsauchab River. The erosion of many centuries has resulted in a narrow gorge, which in the rainy season sometimes fills the rock pools. The name Sesriem is derived from the six “rieme” (leather thongs) that early pioneers used to draw water from these pools.
Day 8
Today we depart from the Namib Desert and travel for 4-hours through desert Moon landscapes, where we can see unusual desert adapted Welwitschia plants, to the charming seaside town of Swakopmund with its old lighthouse.  
 
Swakopmund is situated on the Atlantic Coast where the cold Benguela Current sweeps up from Antarctica, releasing no moisture into the prevailingly onshore winds – hence the very low rainfall and desert conditions. Fog is common along the coast in the early mornings and late afternoons and this is what gives life to the desert-adapted flora and fauna of the region. The cold current is also highly oxygenated, causing it to teem with marine life. Check into your hotel and relax on the shores of the Atlantic Ocean.
Day 9
At leisure to relax at the beach resort of Swakopmund.
 
As this is Namibia’s playground, a wide variety of activities are on offer, including a Marine Cruise to see seals, dolphins and whales in season, a Namib Desert tour, and quad biking or paragliding in the sand dunes.  Alternatively simply relax at a quaint coffee shop or walk along the sandy beaches.
Day 10
This morning we head north and travel along vast lichen fields to Cape Cross, a fur seal reserve where over 80,000 animals frolic in the Atlantic Ocean.
 
We continue inland past the Brandberg, Namibia’s highest mountain, into timeless Damaraland - one of the least populated and most geologically diverse areas in Africa and home to the rare desert elephant and rhino, before checking into our lodge near Twyfelfontein.
Day 11
We start the morning with a visit to Twyfelfontein which means 'Doubtful Spring’- a World Heritage site where Bushmen communities engraved and painted over 2,500 pictures some 6,000 years ago. The slopes of the area are strewn with boulders, all dotted with thousands of engravings and ancient paintings, a virtual open-air museum!
 
We also visit the Burnt Mountain, Organ Pipes and the Petrified Forest - all geological phenomena depicting the creation and evolution of some of the oldest land masses on earth. We continue to the world famous Etosha National Park and check into our hotel near the southern gate.
Day 12
Today is devoted purely to the abundant wildlife of the famous Etosha National Park, one of the largest wildlife conservation areas in Africa, surrounding an enormous salt pan that is the size of the Netherlands.
 
During drier seasons it becomes an expanse of white cracked mud, shimmering with mirages and spiralling dust devils.  Waterholes along the southern edge frequently offer a rewarding game viewing experience, including several rare species such as black and white rhino.
 
This park is home to four of the Big 5, elephant, lion, leopard and rhino (as the terrain does not support buffalo) and its waterholes support a rich diversity of other mammals and birds, including species such as the black-faced impala, roan, cheetah and Namibia’s smallest antelope, the Damara dik-dik.
Day 13
Enjoy a superb day of game viewing today in Etosha National Park as we travel from the southern sector of the park and through the central section to the eastern gate
 
Etosha is home to over 100 different species of mammals and over 350 different birds, so outstanding game viewing is assured. Your guide will also introduce you to the complex subject of managing such an enormous conservation area. We leave Etosha in the afternoon and drive to our hotel.
Day 14
Today we travel via the garden town of Otjiwarongo and the Kavango craft market in Okahandja, to Windhoek Airport for your flight home.
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