Central Namibia Photo Tour

After you arrive at the airport in Windhoek and complete the entry formalities, you are picked up and taken to Elegant Guesthouse, where after checking in you have time to rest a little and freshen up.

In the afternoon your Central Namibia photo tour begins with a short city tour. You get to know the Christuskirche, the Tintenpalast and the former Kaiserstrasse.

This is followed by dinner together (optional and not included in the tour price).

Overnight at Elegant Guesthouse.

From Windhoek you set off with your guide south towards Mariental. Already on the way you experience the vastness of Namibia, endless horizons and the special light that constantly changes the landscape.

Your destination is Bagatelle Kalahari Game Ranch, a charming lodge that sits like a green oasis on the edge of the red Kalahari dunes. Here peace, space and intense colours merge into a unique setting.

The Kalahari shows its most beautiful side especially in the late afternoon: the warm evening light bathes the dunes in glowing red and gold while the long shadows draw fascinating structures – ideal conditions for impressive shots.

Getting up early is especially worthwhile today, because the sunrises over the Kalahari are a true spectacle. With a cup of coffee in hand, you can settle on a dune and watch as the first light slowly bathes the landscape in warm shades of red and gold – perfect conditions for atmospheric shots.

Alternatively, you can take part in optional lodge activities, such as a game drive or a walk with the Bushmen. You then continue your Central Namibia photo tour and drive towards Sesriem.

In the late afternoon, you head out with your guide on an excursion to Elim Dune and Sesriem Canyon, where the Tsauchab River has cut deep into the rock over millions of years. Enjoy an impressive play of light and shadow at sunset, when the dunes glow in intense colours.

You spend two nights at Sossusvlei Lodge.

At sunrise, you set off with your guide for the overwhelming dunes around Sossusvlei. The endless sea of sand of the Namib gives Namibia's largest National Park its unmistakable character.

You climb a dune – around you thousands of square kilometres of solitude, beneath your feet nothing but fine, reddish sand. The low morning sun lights the desert at a slant and divides the sand mountains into two halves: mysterious shadows on one side and magical shades of red on the other. For the eye as well as the camera, this creates unique compositions.

This is also where the Tsauchab River ends – it rarely carries water and long ago lost its battle against the masses of sand. Its seeping away gave rise over time to spectacular salt pans – the so-called “vleis” – which are now among the most impressive natural wonders of the Namib.

After a varied exploration, you return to Sossusvlei Lodge.

Your Central Namibia photo tour takes you on to Barkhan Dune Retreat, the gateway to an almost untouched desert landscape where silence, vastness and the interplay of light and shadow shape the surroundings.

On a walk around the camp, you can take your first shots of the dunes in the evening sun, when the warm light brings out the gentle curves and textures of the sand even more strongly.

In the late afternoon, there is also the opportunity to explore the surroundings on a short hike, during which your guide shows you the best photo spots and gives tips on composition.

You end the day in a relaxed way, as the colours of the sunset slowly give way to the cool night.

Our tip: If you wish, you can experience the sunrise in a very special way – on an optional balloon flight over the endless expanse of the Namib Desert.

You travel with your guide through Namibia's vast, impressive landscapes towards Walvis Bay on the Atlantic coast.

Along the way, you make repeated photo stops, for example at Kuiseb Canyon, where the deeply cut gorge and the surrounding sand and rock formations are superb to photograph.

In the late afternoon, the next highlight of your photo tour through Central Namibia awaits: a guided tour to Sandwich Harbour. In a 4x4 vehicle, you drive right along the beach to the Sandwich Harbour lagoon, one of the most species-rich wetlands in southern Africa.

Should the tide make the beach impassable, you reach the lagoon instead via a spectacular viewpoint that opens up a grand panorama and invites a short walk. There is plenty of time for photo stops along the way.

After capturing the sunset in countless spectacular photos, you stop for a snack and cold drinks before returning to Walvis Bay at around 8 pm.

There you climb back into your tour vehicle and drive to Swakopmund, where you check in to Secret Garden Guesthouse for the next three nights.

After yesterday's excursion to the sea, today it's back to the desert – you take part in a guided “Living Dunes” tour. With a local guide, you explore the coastal dune belt just outside Swakopmund.

To the untrained eye, the dunes are just a heap of sand, but the trained and experienced guides will show you an abundance of living creatures. Look out for palmato geckos, sand-diving lizards, the famous fog-basking beetle, snakes, spiders, scorpions and chameleons, and don't miss the chance for close-ups of these extraordinary creatures. The 3-hour tour is rounded off with a short dune drive before you are taken back to the guesthouse.

The afternoon is free at your leisure. Enjoy a slice of Black Forest cake in one of the nice cafés or stop for a hearty meal in one of the many restaurants.

In the evening, you meet for dinner together (at your own expense) before heading out for a night photography session in the streets of Swakopmund and on the Atlantic coast, to capture the special mood of light and architecture.

After a leisurely breakfast, there is time to pick up your camera: the rugged Atlantic coast with its often mystical fog, the fishing boats and countless gulls offers exciting first subjects.

Alternatively, you can take part in an optional boat tour in Walvis Bay, where seal colonies, pelicans and, with a little luck, dolphins can be photographed up close. Scenic flights can also be booked and offer a unique opportunity for aerial shots of the coast.

In the afternoon, you immerse yourself with your guide in the atmosphere of the historic colonial town and learn about its history.

You round off the evening with a shared dinner (at your own expense).

In the morning, you set off again and drive along the Atlantic coast. On the way, you stop for a photo break at the Zeila wreck – one of the many stranded shipwrecks.

Then you leave the coast and head for your next destination: Spitzkoppe, also known as “the Matterhorn of Namibia”. The striking granite rocks rise majestically from the vast, red desert landscape and offer a spectacular backdrop for landscape and nature photography.

Over millennia, wind and weather have shaped the rocks into fascinating forms and rounded structures that invite creative shots. Your guide shows you the most beautiful perspectives and helps you make the best use of the light.

After a relaxed dinner at Spitzkoppen Lodge, you have the chance to drive out to Spitzkoppe once more and take unique shots of the Namibian starry sky.

After a hearty breakfast, you leave Spitzkoppe and drive into the heart of Damaraland. Via Khorixas, you reach Vingerklip Lodge, which lies picturesquely at the foot of the striking Ugab Terraces.

In the afternoon, you use the last rays of sunshine for your first photo subjects: the wide valley, the plateau mountains and the characteristic rock formations offer ideal opportunities for landscape and detail shots.

Your guide is on hand with tips on perspective, light and composition.

In the evening, you enjoy a shared dinner at the lodge and end the day with atmospheric shots of the sunset over the Ugab Terraces.

Overnight at Vingerklip Lodge.

Via Khorixas, your photo tour through Central Namibia continues to Etosha National Park. You enter through Galton Gate, from where you explore the western part of the park.

Etosha National Park was founded as early as 1907 and is now one of the most attractive conservation areas in southern Africa. The next few days are all about wildlife viewing and animal photography: look out for elephants, rhinos, giraffes, various antelope species, as well as lions and leopards.

You stay at the scenically located Dolomite Resort. Here you have the opportunity to watch animals in the evening too, at the resort's waterhole.

Your trip takes you on through the western part of Etosha National Park to Okaukuejo. In the afternoon and on the following day, you go on extended game drives in the central part of the park, which, with its open plains, waterholes and changing light conditions, offers countless exciting subjects for photographers.

When the sun goes down, you return to Okaukuejo Resort – but the wildlife viewing doesn't end there. At the resort's floodlit waterhole, you can watch and photograph the park's nocturnal residents even after dinner (at your own expense) – a wonderful opportunity for exciting night shots.

You spend two nights in chalets near the waterhole at Okaukuejo Resort.

After breakfast, you leave the park through Andersson Gate. Your Central Namibia photo tour takes you back to the starting point in Windhoek today.

On the way, there is time to look back over the unforgettable experiences of the past days – from the endless dunes of the Namib and the spectacular landscapes of Sossusvlei and Deadvlei, through the fascinating coastal world around Walvis Bay and Swakopmund, to the wildlife encounters in Etosha National Park.

This trip offered numerous opportunities for impressive photo subjects, unique natural spectacles and intense encounters with nature that you will remember for a long time.

Here your guided tour ends – rich in impressions, stories and unforgettable moments from Namibia.

Depending on your individual onward travel plans, a transfer driver takes you back to Windhoek Airport today. Totsiens, and until next time!