Summary of the Route
A popular route for most visitors, this combines most of Namibia’s more famous highlights. From the sea of dunes in the south, to the harsh landscape of Damaraland, to the wildlife rich plains of the Etosha National Park.
Accommodation varies from comfortable homely guestfarms, to luxury 5star lodges, or you can even combine them if you prefer a bit of both.
Depending on the timing of your flights in and out of Windhoek you might choose to add a day or two in Namibia's capital at the start or end of your trip.
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Dunes of Sossusvlei (2 nights)
On arrival at your destination, the vast silence will engulf you, and immediately you leave any troubles behind... The Namib Desert is one of the oldest deserts in the world, and stretches along the western part of Namibia along the coast and up to the south-western part of Angola.
The huge red sand dunes at Sossusvlei are the most popular and visited tourist attraction in Namibia and have almost become the 'trademark' of Namibian tourism and are the photos most featured in tourist literature about the country.
Whilst the journey to get there is long, it is truly worth the effort...
The contrast between the clear blue skies, deep red dunes, and the cracked white base of the dry lakes (vleis) lends itself to some truly stunning photography, and climbing the easily accessible dunes to get a view over the spectacular 'dune sea' is unforgettable.
Balloon rides and scenic flights are very popular as well, and provide a fabulous opportunity to see the full extent of the dune sea which the Namib Desert is so famous for.
Swakopmund (2 nights)
Surrounded on 3 sides by the Namib desert, and on the 4th by the Atlantic Ocean, Swakopmund is Namibia's busiest resort town and offers a huge array of activities, an interesting German heritage, and some of the friendliest people in Southern Africa.
Surrounded on 3 sides by the Namib desert, and on the 4th by the Atlantic Ocean, Swakopmund is Namibia's busiest resort town and offers a huge array of activities, an interesting German heritage, and some of the friendliest people in Southern Africa.
Being on the Atlantic coast, Swakopmund offers a cooling respite from the hotter temperatures of the inland hot desert, but this can have its disadvantages too.
Occasionally, a thick grey fog will envelop the town, quickly transforming the sunny holiday resort into a dreary place where you only venture outside if totally necessary - so keep your fingers crossed that this happens when you are in a bar!
Damaraland (2 nights)
Boasting spectacular desert vistas, most impressive mountains in Namibia, plants that live for hundreds of years and starry nights that can take your breath away - Damaraland is certainly a beautiful region.
Famous for its rare desert elephants and free-roaming black rhino, Damaraland is one of the few places in Southern Africa where the magnificent wildlife of Africa can be found outside of National Parks or private game reserves, and co-exist with traditional villages and farms.
Your 2 night stay here would allow you ample time to explore your surrounds, and go in search of the ever-elusive desert elephants, and so much more...
In addition to the rare desert elephants and black rhino, Damaraland also boasts mountain zebra, giraffe, ostrich, gemsbok and springbok as well as hard-to-see populations of lion, cheetah, leopard and hyena. This is one of the few places in Southern Africa where these animals live outside of National Parks or private game reserves.
The Grandeur that is Etosha National Park (3 nights)
The 22,000 km² Etosha National Park in the north of Namibia offers some of the finest wildlife viewing in Africa, and is one of the undisputed highlights of any visit to the country.
The Park is home to 114 different mammal species, including 4 of the Big 5 - leopard, lion, elephant and rhino (both black and white), and has recorded nearly 400 species of bird, and over 110 species of reptile.
Etosha is also home to 3 uncommon antelope species - the beautiful black-faced impala, the roan antelope, and Southern Africa's smallest antelope, the Damara dik-dik, which stands only 40cm to the shoulder as a fully grown male adult.
Unsurprisingly, Etosha means 'huge white area' or 'place of dry water' in Owambo, and this is how the Pan and the Park got its name.
Over 12 million years ago it was a shallow lake fed by the Kunene River, but the lake dried up as the river found a new course due to tectonic movement in the earth's crust.
Okonjima, home of the AfriCat Foundation (2 nights)
Okonjima is much more than a luxury lodge. It is also the home of the AfriCat Foundation, a non-profit organisation dedicated to the conservation and welfare of Namibia's wild predators, especially cheetahs and leopards.
The Foundation takes on a large number of cats who are caught on farmlands, including orphaned cubs. The AfriCat Cheetah Rehabilitation project was initiated to give some of the cheetah orphans an opportunity to return to their natural environment, and once they have proved that they can hunt and sustain themselves, they are relocated to private game reserves.
Getting Home
From Okonjima, drive back to Windhoek in time to check in for your flight home.
