Namibia holidays, Aloe safari
| country: | Namibia |
| trip type: | A small group adventure |
| departures: | Departures every week on Thursdays throughout the year |
| price: | From £1872 - £2350 (14 days) including flights from the UK |
| more info: | Price includes 7 nights simple camping, 4 nights guest house accommodation; scheduled international flights from UK; transport in a specially designed safari vehicle; transfers; good camping equipment; park entrance and campsite fees; and three meals on most days. Minimum 2 passengers / max 14. Price depends on season. This trip can also be booked without flights |
| vouchers: | Gift vouchers can be used with this holiday |
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introduction to Namibia holidays, Aloe safari
This camping safari takes you from the spectacular dunes at Sossusvlei and along the desolate Skeleton Coast to the highlands of Damaraland. Marvel at the Bushman rock art at Twyfelfontein before visiting Etosha, one of Africa’s top game parks. Spend quality time with a Himba community and end with a night at Okonjima, the home of the Africat Foundation, which rescues big cats.
Explore these and more of Namibia’s highlights with your guide. S/he is always a knowledgeable safari guide, who also acts as your driver and helps around the camp. The other vital person on these trips is the camp assistant. It’s their job to do most of the camp chores, so whilst you will help to put up and take down your tent (it’s very easy!), you need not worry about cooking or washing up. This leaves you and your guide more time to relax and chat about the country and your experiences. Camping equipment, including sleeping bags, is supplied, and three meals are provided on most days.
By camping for much of the time, camping safaris offer the best of Namibia at a very reasonable cost. In a country where it’s usually much warmer and drier than in the UK, this is a great way to maximise your time outdoors.
Explore these and more of Namibia’s highlights with your guide. S/he is always a knowledgeable safari guide, who also acts as your driver and helps around the camp. The other vital person on these trips is the camp assistant. It’s their job to do most of the camp chores, so whilst you will help to put up and take down your tent (it’s very easy!), you need not worry about cooking or washing up. This leaves you and your guide more time to relax and chat about the country and your experiences. Camping equipment, including sleeping bags, is supplied, and three meals are provided on most days.
By camping for much of the time, camping safaris offer the best of Namibia at a very reasonable cost. In a country where it’s usually much warmer and drier than in the UK, this is a great way to maximise your time outdoors.
day-by-day itinerary
| Day 1: | Flight to Namibia. Begin your journey on an overnight flight between UK and Namibia, via Johannesburg. |
| Day 2: | Windhoek. Stay in one of Windhoek’s comfortable guesthouses. Your afternoon is free to relax by the pool or to explore the city. |
| Day 3: | Namib-Naukluft Park. After meeting your guide and safari group you head southwest across the scenic Khomas Hochland highlands. Traverse the escarpment and drive down onto the flat gravel plains to your campsite at the edge of the desert. |
| Day 4: | Namib-Naukluft Park. It's a pre-dawn start to drive deep into the desert whilst the air is still cool and the light soft enough for fantastic photographs. Sossusvlei is home to some of the world’s highest dunes and the view from the top is spectacular. Your guide takes you through the varying environments, pointing out plant and animal life of interest along the way. After a picnic lunch you head back to camp, stopping to visit Sesriem Canyon and its sculpted rock formations on the way. |
| Day 5: | Swakopmund. Drive across the gravel plains of the Namib, stopping for a picnic lunch by the Walvis Bay lagoon where you’ll usually see flamingos and pelicans. It’s then a short drive to Swakopmund and your guesthouse. There’s free time in the afternoon to relax and explore this pretty seaside town. |
| Day 6: | Swakopmund. There are a range of activities available to do on your free day in Swakopmund. Perhaps try sand-boarding, quad-biking, sky-diving or the more sedate scenic flights and boat cruises. Alternatively, you can explore on your own. There are museums, galleries, and curio markets to visit here and many cafés where you can enjoy a good coffee. |
| Day 7: | Damaraland. Travelling north along the coast, you’ll first visit Cape Cross, where you are able to walk to within feet of an enormous seal colony. Then turn inland and drive across seemingly endless plains, past the town of Uis and on to your campsite in the shade of Namibia’s highest mountain, Brandberg. |
| Day 8: | Himba Community. Make the most of the cool air with an early and relatively easy hike up into Brandberg. You are seeking out the famous ‘White Lady’ rock painting which is believed to have been painted by the Bushman over 20,000 years ago. Then continue to Twyfelfontein, a valley that hides an amazing gallery of rock art also by ancient Bushman artists. Back on the road you drive through the towns of Khorixas and Kamanjab to your campsite situated near a Himba village. |
| Day 9: | Etosha National Park. The village here is the only traditionally functioning Himba community outside the far north Kaokoveldt region of Namibia. Spend the morning here, where a local guide introduces you to their lifestyle and helps you to learn about their culture. In the afternoon you leave these fascinating people behind and head towards Etosha National Park to enjoy your first game drive. |
| Day 10: | Etosha National Park. You’re up early to break camp and head out whilst it’s still cool and the wildlife is still active. Drive slowly across the park today, stopping for some spectacular views of the silvery Etosha Pan. There’s plenty to see and your guide spends time pointing out both the big creatures and the interesting smaller species. There’s also time to learn about and appreciate some of Etosha’s many birds. Your campsite tonight will be situated near the eastern boundary of the park. |
| Day 11: | AfriCat Foundation. Enjoy a last game drive in Etosha before heading south. Your destination is a private campsite at Okonjima, home of the AfriCat Foundation. Although you might stop on the way to see the mysterious Lake Otjikoto, you should arrive at camp in time to relax in the shade or plunge in the pool. |
| Day 12: | Windhoek. Learn about the work of the AfriCat Foundation in rescuing and rehabilitating Namibia’s wildlife, especially predators like cheetah and leopard. You may also have the chance to see and photograph some of these magnificent creatures. It’s then time to break camp and return to Windhoek. |
| Day 13: | Flight to London. There’s free time to explore Windhoek before transferring to the airport in time for your flight home. |
| Day 14: | Arrive London. |
traveller reviews for Namibia holidays, Aloe safari
The complete Namibian experience was really fantastic. I have been on 2 previous safaris, but this was certainly the best! (more)
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 this holiday makes a difference
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In line with our strong stance on responsible tourism, all guides on this trip are local Namibians, picked for their excellent indigenous knowledge of the area and high degree of training. Their understanding of the country’s flora, fauna and local culture will ensure a true insight into Namibian life.
You will experience a taste of the nomadic Himba people in Damaraland, where a local farmer and village chief have formed a unique partnership which allows visitors to discover this intriguing culture in a sensitive and responsible manner. Throughout the trip you will also visit sites which have been given into community care. At each of these sites, a local guide will lead the group and spend time explaining a little of the history and significance of what you see. These initiatives ensure that knowledge is maintained and revenue from tourism is ploughed back into the surrounding communities. We feel it is of great importance for locals to understand the value of tourism in order to ensure long term care of their environment and so we support these initiatives wholeheartedly. The trip also supports the world-renowned AfriCat foundation, which conducts vital research into the preservation of Namibia’s big cats. You will see first-hand the fascinating work of this respected organisation, which includes sheltering “problem” animals and rehabilitating them into the wild. We believe that sensitive and sustainable tourism is an invaluable help to developing the communities and preserving the environments of sub-Saharan Africa. So we encourage more people to visit Africa; promoting the positives through enjoyable and informative trips – whilst maximising the benefits these generate for the local economies, environments and host communities in Africa.
We aim to be a very fair company – to our travellers, to those who work for us and with us, and to the areas and communities which host our travellers. We actively support areas where our traveller’s visits will help to conserve habitats and develop local communities. We aim to work with suppliers who provide local employment and training and who offer good quality, environmentally and culturally sensitive activities. We encourage local community participation in tourism projects and over the years we have supported a number of successful, small-scale conservation, community and educational projects in Africa. Responsible tourism is at the heart of what we do and as part of our trips we also encourage our travellers to do their bit with informative suggestions on how to best support the local economy, minimise their footprint on the environment and to be culturally sensitive of the area they are visiting. |
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. |
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