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Namibia Escorted Tours: Sand Dunes, Sossusvlei + Swakopmund + Safari, Etosha

Namibia Highlights Tour: Sossusvlei + Twyfelfontein + Etosha
NYH10W

10 NIGHTS

FROM £1,995

Per person sharing

International flights quoted separately

Namibia Escorted Tours Sand Dunes Sossusvlei Swakopmund Safari Etosha

Our Namibia Escorted Tours cover the highlights of this fascinating country, including the dramatic sand dunes at Sossusvlei in the Namib Desert, a marine cruise in Swakopmund, ancient Bushman rock art at Twyfelfontein & a safari in Etosha National Park. Regular departures. Standard (2-16 pax) or upgrade to Superior (2-6 pax). No children < 12.

▲

• Windhoek	• Namib Desert	• Sand Dunes, Sossusvlei	• Swakopmund
• Marine Cruise	• Damaraland	• Twyfelfontein	• Bushman Paintings
• Safari, Etosha National Park	• Namibia Escorted Tours

▲

• Windhoek	• Namib Desert	• Sand Dunes, Sossusvlei
• Swakopmund	• Marine Cruise	• Damaraland
• Twyfelfontein	• Bushman Paintings	• Safari, Etosha National Park
• Namibia Escorted Tours

Day 1

You will be met at Windhoek Airport and transferred 1-hour to your hotel in this small capital city.

Check in and relax under warm blue Namibian skies.

Day 2

This morning you will be collected from your Windhoek hotel for your small group tour of Namibia.

We travel southwards for 6-hours through ever-changing landscapes and past the Naukluft massif into the Namib Desert, as the terrain becomes more arid. This is the gateway to Sesriem Canyon and Sossusvlei, where some of the highest sand dunes on earth tower over white desert plains. These great mountains of sand are a monument to the extreme forces of nature, with fog supplying the life giving moisture for the survival of plants and animals.

Relax at your Namib Desert lodge or participate in one of the optional activities on offer (pay locally).

Note: Many small group tours are dual language with a bilingual guide, but as Namibia was a former German colony there are normally more German-speakers than English-speakers. English-only tours are available on certain routes on selected dates - please enquire for details.

On escorted group tours please note that for operational reasons it is sometimes necessary to substitute one hotel with another of similar quality. Luggage needs to be packed in soft side bags (sports bags are ideal) not exceeding 15 kg and 65 x 46 cm. Due to limited space in the vehicle, rigid suitcases are not suitable. Excess baggage can be left in Windhoek and collected after your safari.

Day 3

Set out early this morning on a 4x4 tour into the famous sand dunes at Sossusvlei, as this is the coolest part of the day and the best for photography.

This clay pan is surrounded by some of the highest dunes in the world – an endless sea of reddish sand stretching all the way to the distant horizon. These monumental star shaped dunes, some as high as 1,000 ft (325 m), were formed by strong multi-directional winds. The warm tints of sand range in colour from apricot to orange, red and maroon - and contrast vividly with the stark white clay pans at their base. You will be astonished by surreal Deadvlei, surrounded by some of the highest dunes and Sossusvlei, where the mostly dry Tsauchab River abruptly ends.

Take the opportunity to climb one of these dunes, which afford endless vistas across the desert landscape and the sea of sand. Also visit the narrow gorge of the impressive Sesriem Canyon, with its rock pools fed by the Tsauchab River during the rainy season. The name is derived from the six “rieme” (leather thongs) that early pioneers used to draw water from these pools. Afterwards return to your lodge, with afternoon at leisure.

Day 4

Today we drive for 6-hours through the starkly beautiful Kuiseb Moon Valley to the harbour town of Walvis Bay. This shallow lagoon is home to hundreds of thousands of African flamingos and is one of the most important wetlands in Namibia. It is a RAMSAR World Heritage birding site.

We continue to the beach resort 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 5

At leisure to relax at the beach resort of Swakopmund.

As this is Namibia’s playground, a wide variety of optional activities are on offer - including a Marine Cruise to view dolphins, seals and other sea life. Alternatively you can participate in adventure activities such as sandboarding or take an exciting 4x4 jeep excursion across the desert to Sandwich Harbour.

Day 6

A full day on the road today as we head northwards and travel 7-hours towards Twyfelfontein, driving across timeless Damaraland - home of the Brandberg Mountain, the highest in Namibia.

Damaraland is one of the least populated and most geologically diverse areas in Africa. This harsh, rocky environment is home to the rare desert elephant, the endangered black rhino and free-roaming antelope. There are many fascinating rock formations on these vast uninhabited plains, where magnificent semi-desert flowers can grow after good rains.

Day 7

This morning we visit the World Heritage site at Twyfelfontein, which means "Doubtful Spring". Over 6,000 years ago, San communities engraved and painted over 2,500 pictures here. These ancient Bushman Paintings have been well preserved in this dry environment and the hills are strewn with rock art - making this an open-air museum.

After a visit to the Living Museum of the Damara, we proceed to the Petrified Forest. - a geological phenomenon where wood has metamorphosised into stone, on one of the oldest land masses on earth. Here we also see the welwitschia mirabilis plant – the world's oldest living desert plant.

We then drive 5-hours to our lodge situated near the southern gate of the world famous Etosha National Park. Etosha owes its unique landscape to a vast shallow depression – the Etosha Pan – 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.

Day 8

Today is devoted 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.

Rise early to take advantage of the best game viewing conditions in Etosha National Park. 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.

With over 100 different species of mammals and reptiles in Etosha National Park you can hope to see lion, elephant, rhino, leopard, cheetah, giraffe, kudu, sable antelope, 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.

Note: There is the option to book an open top game drive today. Vehicles are not allowed to drive off-road in any national park in Namibia.

Day 9

Today enjoy another day of game viewing as we traverse Etosha National Park.

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.

We enter the reserve at the southern gate and travel across Etosha National Park all day, exiting in the late afternoon at the eastern gate, before continuing to our lodge.

Day 10

Today we drive 5-hours southwards through central Nambia to Windhoek.

Along the way we stop at the Kavango craft market in Okahandja. The Kavango woodcarvers ply their trade at this large open-air craft market on the outskirts of town - one of the best places in Namibia to purchase woodcarvings. Afterwards continue to Windoek, from where you will be transferred 1-hour to your lodge situated in the direction of the airport.

Here you can visit N/a'an ku se Wildlife Sanctuary that provides a safe home to animals orphaned or injured in the wild, watch the carnivore feeding and have a close-up encounter with a cheetah (pay locally).

Day 11

Transfer to Windhoek Airport for your flight home.

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