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Namibia Highlights (self-drive)
NCB9W

9 NIGHTS
FROM $974
International flights and car hire quoted separately
This self drive holiday covers the highlights of Nambia, including the Namib Desert and giant sand dunes of Sossusvlei and Sesriem in the south; the seaside town of Swakopmund; Bushman rock paintings and unique geology in Twyfelfontein; and the wonderful wildlife of Etosha National Park in the north. Also visit Africat, where you can track cheetah & leopard.
HIGHLIGHTS
Self Drive Holiday Namibia Self Drive Holiday Vacation Self Drive Namibia Car Hire Namibia Self Drive Car Hire 4x4
• Windhoek • Sossusvlei • Swakopmund • Dolphins
• Twyfelfontein • Bushman Art • Etosha Park • Africat
• Cheetah • Leopard
Day 1
Arrive at Windhoek Airport, collect your hire car and drive to your hotel in Windhoek.
  
Check in and relax under warm blue Namibian skies.
Day 2
Today drive 5-hours through ever-changing landscapes to the great Namib Desert.
 
The terrain becomes more arid as you travel past the Naukluft Massif towards Sossusvlei, whose great mountains of sand are a monument to the extreme forces of nature. Check in to your desert lodge in the Namib Desert and absorb the dramatically beautiful scenery.
Day 3
Today we recommend an optional tour to Sossusvlei. 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 this famous 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 4
Today drive overland for 4-hours to Swakopmund, through the starkly beautiful Gaub and Kuiseb Canyons of the Namib Desert. Visit Moon Valley, an unusual landscape formed by the valleys of the Swakop River and view ancient Welwitschia Mirabilis plants found on its vast gravel plains, before arriving in the charming seaside town of Swakopmund with its old lighthouse and easy access to the sand dunes and activities of the Namib.
 
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 5
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 6
This morning drive 5-hours across the barren Skeleton Coast, renowned for its many shipwrecks and inhospitable coastline. It is here one finds a small lichen reserve, where a relatively large variety of these interesting and slow growing organisms are protected. Also stop to see the thriving population of seals at Cape Cross Seal Reserve and the many gannets and other sea birds in this area.
  
Continue to timeless Damaraland and take time to explore the semi-desert flora and fauna of this region and its fascinating rock formations, as you travel through vast uninhabited open spaces.
  
Also visit geological features in the area such as the Organ Pipes and the Petrified Forest where millions of years ago giant tree trunks were deposited and subsequently turned to stone. In the late afternoon check into your lodge near Twyfelfontein.
Day 7
Today drive 5-hours through Damaraland to Etosha National Park, one of the largest and greatest game parks in Africa.
 
Etosha owes its unique landscape to a vast shallow depression – the Etosha Pan.  During the dry season it becomes an expanse of white cracked mud, shimmering with mirages and spiralling dust devils, with its open pans offering magnificent game viewing. Etosha is home to over a hundred different species of mammals, including cheetah, leopard, lion, elephant, rhino, giraffe, zebra and wildebeest.
 
Check into your rest camp near the southern entrance to the park.
Day 8
Today is devoted to self drive game viewing in 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.We recommend setting off early each morning as the camp gates open (05h30 to 06h00 depending on the season), to take advantage of the best game viewing conditions of the day.
  
Explore the vast Etosha Pan, which offer magnificent game viewing opportunities including springbok, oryx, black-faced impala and the small Damara dik-dik. A series of waterholes throughout the park guarantees rewarding game viewing, with Etosha being renowned for its vast arrays of plains game and its “great cats” which are more easily seen on the open pans - including cheetah and leopard.
  
The rest of the morning is free to relax by the swimming pool, before setting out again in the late afternoon for another game drive. With over 100 different species of mammals and reptiles in Etosha National Park, you can hope to see giraffe, hyena, kudu, springbok, warthogs, baboons and many other interesting animals. Etosha is also a bird watchers paradise, with hundreds of recorded bird species and many migrants during the summer months.
 
After a beautiful African sunset, enjoy the balmy evening and pristine stars of the Milky Way as you have never seen them before – as well as the spectacular Southern Cross.
Day 9
Today drive southwards for 2-hours through central Namibia to Okonjima, the home of the Africat Foundation dedicated to the preservation of Namibia’s large carnivores, but especially leopard and cheetah.
 
Namibia accounts for 25% of the world’s population of the endangered cheetah, which can be radio-tracked on foot in the rehabilitation area where they roam freely and catch their own prey. Leopards are also frequently seen from the viewing hide or can be radio-tracked from the game viewing vehicle.
 
Check in to your lodge, settle in and relax in this wonderful wildlife centre, before enjoying an open top Game Drive in the reserve.
 
Day 10
Drive 3-hours through central Namibia to drop off your hire car at Windhoek Airport for your flight home.
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