NPX14W: Grand Tour of Namibia

Day 1

You will be met at Windhoek Airport and transferred to your hotel.

Explore the town with your guide and enjoy its charming German architecture, before checking into your Windhoek hotel and relaxing by the swimming pool under warm blue Namibian skies.

Day 2

This morning we depart Windhoek and travel southwards for 5-hours along the edges of the vast Kalahari, the largest sand mass on earth. With its endless plains interspersed with Acacia trees and shrubs, this harsh environment is home to the Bushman people as well as an amazing variety of wildlife.

View the unique fauna and flora of the Kalahari that have survived in this desert environment for thousands of years, before checking into your Kalahari guesthouse for dinner and overnight.

Day 3

Today we complete our journey to the great Fish River Canyon, the second largest on earth. As we travel through the rocky plains we see unique Quiver Trees nestled amongst huge dolerite boulders, some stacked in such a mysterious way that it seems impossible that they were formed by natural forces.

Check into our lodge near the Fish River Canyon and enjoy a sundowner walk across the boulder-studded plains, hills and rock formations of Gondwana Canyon Park.

Day 4

Today explore the magnificent Fish River Canyon, where the dramatic geological formations of the Nama Karoo Desert take on stupendous proportions.

The vegetation is characterized by dwarf shrubs and scattered grasslands. The slopes of the plateau mountains and vast plains are home to Hartmann’s mountain zebra, springbok, gemsbok, kudu and ostrich. Relax in this area of great natural beauty.

Time permitting, we can also visit the Ai-Ais Hot Springs.

Day 5


Turning north, today we travel through more spectacular scenery to the small town of Aus.  The Succulent Karoo is a winter rainfall area, with bizarre looking shrubs that store moisture in their leaves and stems to tide them over the dry summer months. This desert is one of the top 20 plant biomes in the world, with an amazing diversity of desert-adapted flora.

Continue to the ghost town of Kolmanskop which had been absorbed by desert sands, or take a nature drive to see the Wild Desert Horses at Garub, a watering point where they can be observed as they come to drink. Check in to your hotel in the small diamond town of Lüderitz on the Atlantic Coast.

Day 6

At leisure to relax and explore the small diamond town of Luderitz on the Atlantic Coast.

Day 7

We continue northwards today through ever-changing landscapes into the great Namib Desert, a 5-hour journey through dramatically beautiful desert scenery. The terrain becomes more arid as we travel towards Sossusvlei, whose great mountains of sand are a monument to the extreme forces of nature.

Time will be spent exploring both Gondwana Namib Park and Namib Naukluft Park. The petrified dunes of the dry riverbed of the Dieprivier are a special attraction, as they are remnants of the fossilised dunes of the ancient Namib, now overlaid with the sands of the younger Namib. Check in to your Namib Desert lodge.

Day 8

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 9

Today we travel overland for 4-hours from Sossusvlei to Swakopmund, through the starkly beautiful Gaub and Kuiseb Canyons of the Namib Desert. We 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 10

This morning enjoy a 3-hour Marine Cruise from Walvis Bay to view the resident school of dolphins and large seal colony at Pelican Point, whilst enjoying oysters and champagne on board.

Marine bird life is abundant and includes pelicans, terns and large flocks of flamingos which live in the shallow waters surrounding the harbour. You may also see migrating whales in season (September to October). Afternoon at leisure in Swakopmund.

Day 11

This morning we travel 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.  We 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.

Continuing to timeless Damaraland, we take time to stop and explore the semi-desert flora and fauna of this region and its fascinating rock formations, as we travel through vast uninhabited open spaces.

We 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 in to your lodge near Twyfelfontein.

Day 12

At leisure to explore Twyfelfontein, meaning "Doubtful Spring" and declared a World Heritage site to preserve the many ancient rock paintings and engravings left by the early San Bushmen.

The slopes of the area are strewn with boulders dotted with thousands of their rock art and paintings – making it a virtual open-air museum! We explore the area today, before returning to our lodge for relaxation and dinner.

Day 13

Today we travel 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 game lodge near the entrance to Etosha National Park.

Day 14

Today is devoted to game viewing in Etosha National Park. As you will have the services of a private driver/guide throughout your safari, you will have the flexibility of discussing preferred routings and travelling times with him each day. However 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, with all game drives in his air-conditioned vehicle.

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 at the time of your choice (usually 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, wild dogs 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 15

Today transfer 4-hours through central Nambia to Windhoek Airport for your flight home.