Namibia Highlights “Comfort”

After arriving at the airport in Windhoek, you pick up your rental car and drive to your accommodation in the city. Recover from the journey or take a stroll to see the sights, such as the National Gallery with works by local artists, the well-known Christ Church or the National Museum. You spend the night at The Weinberg Hotel. For dinner you can visit one of the restaurants within the estate (at your own expense).

You leave the capital Windhoek heading north. Stop along the way in Okahandja at the large souvenir market to pick up beautiful hand-carved art, basketwork or jewellery. At midday you reach Okonjima Nature Reserve, a nature and wildlife reserve of over 200 km² on the edge of the Omboroko Mountains. Okonjima founded the AfriCat Foundation in 1991 and has since supported the protection and conservation of predators in their natural habitat. There are various research projects you can learn about. On a guided safari in the afternoon, with a little luck you may spot leopards and other large game. You spend the night in a View Room at Okonjima Plains Camp.

Your Namibia self-drive tour takes you onwards via Otjiwarongo and Tsumeb to Onguma Nature Reserve. This private game reserve shares a border with the world-famous Etosha National Park. Onguma comprises more than 20,000 hectares of protected wilderness, home to lions, leopards and cheetahs, numerous plains game and rare black rhinos. Various safari activities are available as options. On bush walks and game drives in a classic safari vehicle, you can discover the diverse flora and fauna of the reserve. Onguma is only a few kilometres from Von Lindequist Gate. Game drives in Etosha National Park can be done with your own rental car or as a guided tour (optional). You spend the night at the luxurious Onguma The Fort, from where you have a spectacular view of the nearby waterhole and across Fisher’s Pan in Etosha National Park.

You drive into Etosha National Park through Von Lindequist Gate. It was founded as early as 1907 and is one of the most attractive national parks in southern Africa. Watch herds of impala, wildebeest, oryx and zebra peacefully roaming across the vast bush and grass savannah. Stop at the signposted waterholes along the way to spot, with a little luck, elephants, rhinos, giraffes or even lions and leopards. Later you leave the park through Anderson Gate and drive to Etosha Oberland Lodge for the night, just 10 km from the park entrance. For dinner, a 5-course menu awaits you with a view of the lodge’s busy waterhole. Afterwards you can let the evening wind down with a good glass of wine by the fireplace in the lounge.

With impressive safari experiences in your luggage, you set off via Outjo and Khorixas to Twyfelfontein. Stop along the way near Khorixas and explore the Petrified Forest with its mineralised tree trunks more than 200 million years old. The Welwitschia mirabilis also grows here – a plant known as a living fossil. Your destination is the original Mowani Mountain Camp near Twyfelfontein. From the camp you can visit the famous rock engravings of Twyfelfontein, the Organ Pipes and the Burnt Mountain. A guided safari in the footsteps of the desert elephants is also included.

Continue to the Erongo Mountains and your next accommodation, Omurenga Lodge. Explore this picturesque region on a hike; it is characterised by gigantic granite rocks and beautiful desert, hill and bush landscapes. At sunset, a game drive with a lodge guide or a short walk with a fantastic view over the wide plain and the sunset is a good option (optional). Alternatively, you can take a trip to the nearby San open-air museum. There you can join a guided bush walk and learn more about the way of life and traditions of the San. You spend two nights at the beautiful Omurenga Lodge.

After a leisurely breakfast you set off for the coast. Make a stop along the way at Spitzkoppe, the Matterhorn of Namibia. Together with a local guide, you can explore and discover the huge stone spheres and impressive rock formations, which are dotted with many interesting, ancient rock paintings (optional). Finally you reach Swakopmund. Explore this charming coastal town on the Atlantic Ocean on a stroll. A wide variety of activities are also possible from Swakopmund. Whether quad biking or riding through the dunes, scenic flights, a boat tour, a trip to Sandwich Harbour or an exciting desert safari – there is something for everyone. Three nights at At The Sea Guesthouse. Swakopmund has a selection of excellent restaurants.

Set off early today heading south. Via Walvis Bay and through the Kuiseb and Gaub canyons, you drive into the Namib Desert. During the afternoon you reach Sesriem on the edge of the Namib Naukluft Park. Make yourself comfortable at today’s accommodation, Hoodia Desert Lodge, before setting off in the early evening with a lodge guide on a sunset game drive. Snacks and drinks are ready as you watch the glowing red sun disappear behind the horizon. On your return to the lodge, a delicious dinner awaits you before you retire to your chalet.

You have breakfast at the lodge before sunrise and then set off together with an experienced guide in a 4x4 vehicle towards Namib Naukluft National Park, which you enter at sunrise. Get to know the wildlife and plant life of the desert as your guide drives you through the deep sand of the dry Tsauchab riverbed. Together with your guide, you hike into Dead Vlei and Sossusvlei on less-used paths for as exclusive an experience as possible. Your guide will tell you about the geological and historical background of the Namib.

Shortly before midday you drive back to Elim Dune, where a generous picnic under one of the camel thorn trees awaits you. After a short, tasty break, you visit Sesriem Canyon, where, depending on your interest, you can hike down into the canyon. In the late afternoon you return to the lodge and let the day wind down at the pool or on your terrace.

You spend another night at Hoodia Desert Lodge.