Luxury self drive safari, Namibia
| country: | Namibia |
| price: | From £3255 (15 days) excluding flights |
the amazing things you'll be doing
This suggested self drive itinerary in Namibia gives an opportunity to take game drives in the renowned Etosha National Park, rich with wildlife including lion, leopard, cheetah, elephant, rhino, and giraffe and where wildlife viewing comes relatively easily. See how injured or orphaned big cats are rehabilitated back into the wild, gain an insight into the ancient culture of the San and Herero tribes, choose from a range of water, land or dune-based activity options and take a sunrise excursion into the colourful Namibian desert. Namibia’s scenery is starkly varied, and the itinerary takes in the contrasts in landscapes.
The accommodation you select will depend on your budget; there is always a wide range in the areas you visit. The examples given in this dossier are luxury lodges and permanent tents comprising some of the finest in Namibia. Details of alternative accommodations are available on request.
The accommodation you select will depend on your budget; there is always a wide range in the areas you visit. The examples given in this dossier are luxury lodges and permanent tents comprising some of the finest in Namibia. Details of alternative accommodations are available on request.
day-by-day itinerary
| Day 1: | On arrival at Windhoek Airport, collect your self-drive vehicle and drive 2 hours north, to the Erongo Mountains. |
| Day 2: | Take an early morning guided walk in this unique environment before driving to a game reserve dedicated to the conservation of Big Cats: you can take part in a planned activity such as cheetah and leopard tracking. |
| Day 3: | Spend the day at the Big Cats Reserve. Planned activities include seeing the welfare programme in action and going on a bushman walk to learn about tribal culture survival tactics. |
| Day 4: | There’s an opportunity for another activity at the Big Cats reserve before heading off for Etosha National park, arriving at your accommodation in time for a late afternoon game drive. Widely regarded as one of the world’s greatest game viewing parks, the availability of water holes in Etosha means that the potential for viewing game (including lion, elephants, water buffalo, rhinos, giraffe, springboks, zebras amongst others) is excellent. |
| Day 5: | Today you can either take a guided game drive from your accommodation or self drive through Etosha National Park. The Park has several water holes where you can spend some time. |
| Day 6: | You can take full advantage of another day’s game spotting in the Park. Make your way across the park to leave through the Southern gate in the later afternoon. |
| Day 7: | Drive into Damaraland. This afternoon, take a tour at the UNESCO World Heritage Site at Twyfelfontein. The desert climate has actually protected the ancient rock paintings dotted around the landscape here and they are clear and fascinating. |
| Day 8: | After an early breakfast you may choose to take a guided trip from your accommodation in an open 4x4 vehicle to search for desert-adapted elephants. The afternoon is at leisure; the lodge’s pool deck, nestled between the boulders, and is an ideal place for relaxing with a drink, taking a dip and contemplating the magnificent views. |
| Day 9: | After breakfast, head for the coast, passing Namibia’s highest mountain, the imposing 2574m Brandberg. Namibia’s German-colonial era is highly evident at the coastal town of Swakopmund and offers a wide range of activities as well as some excellent shops. |
| Day 10: | Today is free for optional activities including a dolphin & seal cruise, scenic flights over the coast and desert, an excursion to visit a Himba Tribe, eco-sensitive quad biking or sandboarding down the dunes, taking a camel safari, deep sea fishing, hot air ballooning over the desert, horseriding, kayaking or perhaps simply taking a walk along miles of deserted beaches. |
| Day 11: | Today your drive takes you into the Namib Desert. En route, you can also explore Sesreim Canyon, where centuries of erosion have incised a narrow gorge about 1km in length. The area provides great photography opportunities. |
| Day 12: | Today gives you the opportunity to see Sossusvlei at sunrise. The sand dunes - which are constantly changing shape with the wind - reach the height of a 70-storey skyscraper and are part of one of the world's oldest ecosystems. The colourful quartz sand in the early morning provides hues of creams, oranges, reds and violets - a photographer's dream. After exploring the area and taking a hike through the dunes, you may wish to take a picnic breakfast. |
| Day 13: | After breakfast, you can take a guided nature drive into the NamibRand Nature Reserve in a 4x4. Game species found in the reserve include gemsbok, mountain and plains zebra, springbok, red hartebeest, spotted hyena and African wildcats. The colours and shapes of the desert make for fantastic photography, particularly as the colours change throughout the day. |
| Day 14: | This morning you drive back towards Windhoek, stopping for lunch before reaching your final night's accommodation. |
| Day 15: | A final opportunity for some shopping in Windhoek, before returning your vehicle to the airport. |
how this holiday makes a difference
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Admission fees to the Big Cat rehabilitation project ensures that the valuable work undertaken by the charitable foundation is supported. The foundation has rehabilitated over 80% of cats back into the wild since its work began. Your visit to the rock art sites in Damaraland are lead by local guides, and fees paid for our tours are reinvested directly back into the local community.
We recommend accommodation that is small and locally owned, ensuring that the costs are retained in the local economy. Many of them are actively involved in local community initiatives, such a lodge in the Namib Naukluft desert which uses funds to protect the endangered Lapped-Faced Vultures. Other examples are lodges on private concessions which are dedicated to conservation projects, such as the Save the Rhino project and Africat Foundation. Another lodge in the desert invites guests to donate to a scheme which provides food for poor children from a local village. All lodges in environments where water is scarce request that guests use water sparingly. Many of the activities that guests can participate in directly serve conservation causes, such as cheetah-tracking activities that benefit a local foundation dedicated to the rehabilitation of big cats back into the wild, and rhino tracking, which uses funds from guests to support the ‘Save the Rhino’ trust. Our ground handler in Namibia actively supports SOS, a project providing housing for up to 120 orphans in Windhoek. SOS Namibia supports children that have already lost one or both of their parents and are living in an orphan household often headed by a Grandparent or other relative. They also support children living with a terminally ill parent as well as those based directly in the villages. We invite clients to bring items to donate to the village: items such as clothes or shoes, toys, books, crayons, colouring books, deflated footballs or sports items would be welcomed and very much appreciated. We are a wholly online company and do not produce paper brochures. |
Tourism can be good and bad for destinations & local people. We carefully screen every holiday against our criteria for responsible travel. 'Look behind the brochure' to find how each holiday makes a difference (see left). We don't claim to be perfect - there is no global accreditation - but we've led the way since 2001 and screened 1000's of holidays. We invite every traveller to write a review about their experiences and responsible tourism. This valuable feedback is sent to the people who run the holidays. We keep a very close eye on it and take off holidays that don't live up to our standards. |