Namibia safari, Namibian Sands

COUNTRY:
Namibia
LOCATION:
Kalahari Desert
DEPARTURES:
2012: 18 Dec
PRICE:
From £4149 - £4449 (16 days ) including UK flights
MORE INFO:
From £2899 - £2999 excluding flights.
VOUCHERS:
Gift vouchers can be used with this holiday
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Namibia safari, Namibian Sands

Namibia safari, Namibian Sands

Small group adventure holiday
Typically you will be sharing your experiences with between 4-20 like minded travellers (depending on the trip, operator and how many others are booked on the trip) and you'll have a group leader with you. Whether you are travelling alone or with friends its good value, and a great way to meet new people! While itineraries are pre-planned there is some flexibility and you'll have plenty of privacy. This trip will appeal to travellers of all ages who enjoy meeting new people as well as seeing new places.

How Namibia safari, Namibian Sands makes a difference

Responsible mission: As adventure travellers we relish and celebrate the diversity of the world. We also recognise our obligation to protect the environments that we explore. Our aim is to tread lightly, whilst contributing to maintain the world’s culture and nature, and most importantly to engage the help of all our customers to utilise the potential of tourism as a tool to aid sustainable development. We believe that responsible travellers are welcome in the places that they visit.

On this trip: We travel in small groups (max 16 people) so have a minimal impact on the environment as we go. On this trip we use a local agent from Namibia, locally owned hotels, local leaders. Not only does this mean that more of the money we generate stays within the community, but their local knowledge and expertise helps us to better understand the environment in which we are travelling, whilst reinforcing within the local community that preserving this environment is both important and worthwhile

On this trip: The Africat Foundation is involved in numerous projects. They provide animal welfare for large carnivores such as cheetah, leopard, lions and hyena including raising orphaned animals. In addition to this they run research projects to better protect these animals in the wild and provide solutions for man and nature to co-exist.

By staying at the foundation we are not only able to provide income for the charity but our clients can also learn about the fantastic work they do and are able to transport this knowledge to help inform others. For more information about the foundation and its valuable work you can go to their website.

Responsible code: Being Responsible is at the heart of everything our company does - full details of our code can be found on our website. The local supplier for this trip will promote our responsible travel code throughout your adventure. You will also receive specific information on this trip’s responsibility in your trip notes.

Helping to minimise negative impact: All of our customers are invited to offset their international flight emissions. Contributions go to the Blue Ventures Carbon Offset program, a non-profit organisation which provides solar stoves for subsistence communities in Madagascar, benefiting the people and protecting the environment. We also contribute £2 per person towards offsetting of your in-country travel. We fully offset all emissions from our staff travel and run an energy efficient office.

Giving something back: We have a foundation that collects the funds that you donate to us to support our projects. All our customers are invited to make a £1 per person contribution to the foundation at the time of booking. We will match every contribution that you make with our own £1. You as a customer choose where these funds are used from a shortlist of nominated projects – so it really is YOUR foundation.

Partnerships: As a company we support The Travel Foundation, a UK charity that has been established to promote responsible travel practises throughout the whole of the travel industry. We also work with a number of charity partners who work in the destinations that we visit; including Friends of Conservation and Born Free Foundation. We partner with many small grassroots projects throughout the destinations that we visit - they all share our responsible vision.

Namibia safari, Namibian Sands

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How we choose the provider of Namibia safari, Namibian Sands

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Namibia safari, Namibian Sands

Reviewed 04 Nov 2012 by Marianne Wicks4 star rating

1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?


Fish river canyon trip and Etosha game drives

2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?


Expect a bumpy ride in a truck day after day

3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?


To an extent

4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?


Excellent

Reviewed 21 Sep 2012 by Patrick Tickle4 star rating

1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?


Every part of the holiday from fish river, the dunes, skeleton coast, the (SAN) drawings to etosha were more then I had expected. The only down side the visit to the san village it was a construction site and too dangerous for future visits.

2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?


Travel with an open mind & heart try all the food and enjoy the quiet.

3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?


I think they benefited only slightly the impact on the environment would be difficult as we drove everywhere but conservation was helped.

4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?


My holiday for me was a 30 year wait due to Wilbur Smith (the burning shore) it gave me an itch that has finally been scratched and would never forget.

Reviewed 26 Jan 2012 by Kathy Klaka3 star rating

1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?


Very difficult to select one part. The kayaking with the seals and dolphins in Walvis Bay was particularly special, as the animals came to us in their own environment, rather than watching them from inside a car that they ignore. On the other hand, seeing cheetah, lions, elephants and rhinos in the wild in Etosha was fabulous. The white lady lodge/campsite was another great place and it will be even better in a few months when their pet meercat is older and greeting you in the campsite!

2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?


Book through Wild Dogs direct, not this operator! This operator gave me the wrong start day among other annoyances, but Wild dogs who ran the trip were amazing. Bring a pillow, lightweight waterproof, 2 towels, torch and mozzie repellant. My kit list (from this operator) was a little different from the Wild Dogs one and didn’t have pillow on it!

3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, and minimized impacts on the environment?


It benefitted locals through trade for sure. Many of them rely on tourists and in the general atmosphere was that they were pleased you were there, even in the cities. Environmental impacts were minimised within reason. We were sparing with water use, cleaned up litter etc, but at the end of the day - it was 10 days with a lot of driving! Nice to see recycling in about half the campsites.

4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?


The Wild Dogs 10 day trip I'd give 8/10 it was very good. The trip from this operator would get 6.5/10 only. I think responsibletravel.com should work directly with Wild Dogs for quality of trip and planning etc.

Reviewed 30 Oct 2011 by Sara Miller4 star rating

1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?


Oh my goodness, there was such a kaleidoscope of wonderful memories, so many amazing vistas, experiences and moments it is hard to choose one. I will however, for me it was sitting at 5am at our lodge's floodlit waterhole and seeing a male lion, followed by his females, coming down to drink just yards away.

2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?


This is a brilliant country to visit if you feel a bit apprehensive about Africa. Very safe, clean and friendly, and everyone learns English at school. Also, if you go in the dry season you probably don't need to take anti-malarials, depending where you visit.

3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, and minimized impacts on the environment?


I hope so, our lodges were generally eco-friendly and tourism is a rapidly growing industry for Namibia. The new lodges, hotels and restaurants are providing much needed jobs for people locally.

4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?


We have travelled extensively, this was one of our top holidays!
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