Namibia Family Trip

Your guide welcomes you at Windhoek airport right after your arrival, at 1 pm at the latest. After a short briefing, you leave Windhoek together and set off through the Namibian hinterland.

The road leads through beautiful, hilly countryside until you finally arrive at your accommodation for the night, Namibgrens Guest Farm.

The guest farm is still genuinely used as a farm and is an active agricultural business, so there is plenty to discover here. In the evening you enjoy a hearty farm-style dinner.

Together with your guide, you can choose from one of the many hiking trails at Namibgrens. You set off on foot to explore, and your guide accompanies you and explains many interesting details about the fauna and flora of this region.

Impressive granite rocks lie scattered across the landscape, and you are rewarded along the way with a wonderful view.

After the hike you have the rest of the afternoon at leisure and, if you like, you can relax by the pool.

You spend another night at Namibgrens Guest Farm and enjoy another delicious dinner in the evening.

Enjoy a relaxed breakfast before you continue your journey. Today you drive to the top of the Spreetshoogte Pass, from where you can enjoy the spectacular panorama over the landscape.

Then it's down into the plain and on to Namib-Naukluft National Park. Your destination for today is Desert Camp, at the gates of the National Park. Use the time to relax and enjoy your surroundings.

Once you have settled in a little, you can cool off in the camp's swimming pool.

In the evening your guide prepares a delicious dinner for you while you all sit together around the open campfire beneath the beautiful starry sky.

An exciting day awaits you tomorrow, so go to bed early today.

Today is packed with exciting activities and will stay in your memory for a lifetime. You start the day very early so that you can drive into the National Park at sunrise.

Together with your guide you make your way to the huge “Dune 45”, which is made of sand five million years old. You climb the dune along its ridge all the way to the top, from where you can marvel at the oldest desert in the world.

The descent from the dune is a real experience too, especially for children. You will notice that your guide has meanwhile been busy as well and has prepared a hearty breakfast for you, which you can enjoy in the open air.

But your adventure is far from over: after your well-earned refreshment you set off towards Sossusvlei and Deadvlei. After a short off-road stretch, you cover the rest of the way to Deadvlei on foot.

This dry clay pan with its desiccated camel thorn trees, surrounded by huge dunes, is a truly surreal landscape. Around midday you return to your accommodation, where lunch and a well-deserved rest await you.

In the afternoon you drive into the park again and visit Sesriem Canyon. There you go on a short walk and descend into the gorge of the canyon, where you can stroll along the dry riverbed.

Round off this wonderful day with another delicious dinner and an overnight stay at Desert Camp.

A delicious breakfast awaits you before you continue your journey through the Namib Desert. On your way you pass the Gaub and Kuiseb Canyons, where you make a stop and hear the story of the two geologists Henno Martin and Hermann Korn. Then it continues westwards until you spot a shimmering blue on the horizon and shortly afterwards reach the Atlantic. Make a stop at the Walvis Bay lagoon, where you can watch flamingos. From here, Swakopmund is only a short and scenically beautiful drive away. You reach the small coastal town, lovingly called “Swakop” by locals, which lies beautifully between desert and sea. Your guide familiarises you with the town and recommends some of the best options for dinner (optional) before you spend the night at Ocean House.

A special excursion is on the programme today. On a guided “Living Dunes” tour, you explore the coastal dune belt at the gates of Swakopmund with a local guide.

To the untrained eye the dunes are just a heap of sand, but the trained and experienced guide will show you an abundance of living creatures. Keep an eye out for palmato geckos, sand-diving lizards, the famous fog-basking beetle, snakes, spiders, scorpions and chameleons.

This 3-hour tour is rounded off with a short dune drive before you return to Swakopmund.

The afternoon is at leisure: take a stroll on the beach or treat yourself to a delicious piece of cake in one of the little bakeries.

As another eventful day draws to a close, you spend another night at Ocean House.

After breakfast you drive along the rugged coast of Namibia towards Cape Cross. Here you are greeted by more than two hundred thousand seals; Cape Cross is home to one of the largest seal colonies in the world.

It is also the place where the first Europeans set foot in Namibia. A replica of the Padrão (stone cross) erected in 1486 marks this event. From here you continue on minor roads into the interior, past the Brandberg. O

n the way you visit a Herero women's craft market, where you can buy handmade souvenirs and admire the traditional Victorian-style dresses of the Herero women.

It is not long after that before you reach your accommodation for the night, the beautifully situated Twyfelfontein Country Lodge.

If time allows, you can visit the Damara Living Museum (optional). The museum is only a few minutes from your lodge and offers an insight into the fascinating culture of the Damara.

Another exciting day awaits you. In the cool morning hours you set off for nearby Twyfelfontein, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Your guide knows a spot there away from the usual tourist stops where you can admire well-preserved rock engravings, and also explains how these engravings came about.

It is estimated that some of these rock engravings made by hunter-gatherers are up to 24,000 years old.

Then it's time to buckle up, because you embark on a very special off-road safari adventure: you drive along a dried-up riverbed in search of the desert elephants of Damaraland. These elephants have adapted to the harsh climate of the region and still live here in the wild. With a little luck, you will encounter these fascinating animals along the way.

Your 4×4 vehicle is the perfect vehicle for the rough terrain and takes you safely to places that would otherwise be inaccessible.

Other wildlife you may encounter today includes giraffes, oryx antelopes, mountain zebras and ostriches, to name just a few.

Your lunch is a picnic that you can enjoy in the shade of the trees.

In the afternoon you return to Twyfelfontein Country Lodge. Take a dip in the pool and relax before a delicious dinner is served in the evening.

Start the day with a hearty breakfast before you head into the valley of the Ugab Terraces.

On a light hike the children can really let off steam once more, as there will be a lot of time in the vehicle over the next day and a half. Your destination is Finger Rock, which juts into the sky like an outstretched finger.

During the hike there is a fairly good chance of encountering smaller antelope species and even zebras, kudus and giraffes. On reaching the foot of Finger Rock, a magnificent 360-degree view over the beautiful Ugab Valley awaits you.

Afterwards you continue via Outjo towards Etosha National Park. You first head for Etosha Safari Camp, which lies right at the gates of Etosha and is your accommodation for the next two nights.

After a welcome breather for the whole family, you set off on your first game drive in the afternoon.

Look forward to a safari day in one of Africa's most famous National Parks. If you are used to being an early riser, it will serve you well today.

In the early morning hours the animals are at their most active. Discover elephants, lions, cheetahs, zebras, giraffes, wildebeest and many different kinds of antelope in their natural surroundings.

Your guide can tell you interesting things about every animal you encounter. On your game drive you can open the roof of your safari vehicle and enjoy the unobstructed view of the vast landscapes and the wildlife around you.

A lunch break at Halali Resort can be arranged (optional), where you can also take a swim before continuing your game drive in the afternoon.

The Etosha Pan is another highlight you should not miss. Here you can feel the endless expanse of the horizon as you sink into the complete silence.

As the shadows grow longer, you return to Etosha Safari Camp after an eventful day full of wildlife viewing.

After a relaxed start to the day, you drive further south. On the way you can take a lunch break at the Crocodile Ranch in Otjiwarongo (optional).

The ranch has a large play area for children, and the brave among you can try a “crocodile kebab”. From here it is not far to your next accommodation, Otjiwa Lodge.

Make yourself comfortable at the lodge or jump into the swimming pool for a refreshing dip, before setting off in the late afternoon for a sundowner game drive with a picnic at sunset, a lovely finale to your Namibia trip.

If you still haven't had enough of safari after that, you can join an optional “night safari” after dinner to track down the shy nocturnal animals in the darkness, with a little luck.

You can shape this morning entirely as you wish. Sleep in and enjoy a leisurely breakfast, or take part in one of the optional activities offered by the lodge.

From horse riding to tracking rhinos to a guided walk in the bush, there is certainly something for everyone.

In the late morning it is time to say goodbye to the bush and start the journey back to Windhoek.

In the small town of Okahandja you can buy handmade souvenirs at the local woodcarvers' market.

Alternatively, you can also make a stop at the Craft Centre in Windhoek to buy last mementos.

Between 2 pm and 4 pm your tour ends, either at a guesthouse or at Windhoek international airport.

Begin your journey home with many beautiful memories of Namibia and new stories in your luggage.