Game viewing, Scenery, Culture

DAY 1: Sossusvlei and the Namib Desert After breakfast and meeting your guide for the safari you will depart for Sossusvlei. We will drive through the Khomas Hochland and down the escarpment via one of the scenic mountain passes into the Namib Desert. This journey will take about 4 hours depending on the number of stops for photographs. After lunch and settling in at the lodge we will depart for a late afternoon scenic nature drive or an excursion to Sesriem Canyon. Dinner and accommodation will be at one of the best lodges in the area perfectly situated to explore the surrounding desert and its attractions. The Namib is the oldest desert and boasts the highest sand dunes in the world. This region is one of the most spectacular areas of Namibia and always one of the highlights of any safari. The name Sossusvlei refers to the vlei or pan into which the seasonal Tsauchab River flows  in years of exceptional rainfall. The neighbouring Dead Vlei with the ancient dead Camel Thorn trees is one of the most photographic sites in good early morning light. The Sesriem canyon is a narrow gorge about 1 km long and is well worth a visit. Several desert adapted wildlife like oryx, springbok, black-backed jackal, ostrich, sociable weavers and plenty of reptiles and small mammals call this place home. Accommodation: Namib Desert Lodge on a Dinner, Bed and Breakfast basis  

DAY 3: Living Desert Adventure, quad-biking and the Walvis Bay lagoon. After breakfast we will depart for a living desert adventure where we will encounter and learn more about the fascinating wildlife of the Namib Desert. We will look for gecko's, scorpions, side-winder snakes, lizards and beetles as well as the incredible plant life that survives in this harsh environment. Once we are back in Swakopmund we enjoy lunch and then have the afternoon available to explore the town or perhaps finish the day with a quad-biking and dune-boarding adventure. Other optional activities that could be arranged include scenic flights over the coast and dunes. Accommodation: Swakopmund Guesthouse on a Bed and Breakfast basis – please let us know if you would like to organise any of the optional activities (scenic flights, quad-biking etc) in advance.    

Etosha

DAY 5-7: Etosha National Park After breakfast we will depart for Etosha National Park where will spend the next 3 nights. Etosha is one of Africa’s biggest and best National Parks and one of the main tourist attractions in Namibia. It is 22 912km2 in size of which the Etosha Pan, a shallow depression that only holds water after good rainy seasons, is 5000km2 in size. Etosha is known for its spectacular game viewing and the waterholes attract huge numbers of game in the dry season when all the open water has dried up. During the rainy season the park is transformed into a green oasis and this is the time you find young of various animal species in huge numbers. 114 Species of mammal are found in the park and it is the best place in the world to see Black Rhino. Other game include elephant, lion, leopard, cheetah, hyena, giraffe, honey-badger, black-faced impala, kudu, eland, damara dik-dik, warthog and big herds of springbok, zebra, blue wildebeest, red hartebeest and oryx. More than 300 species of birds are found here and it is brilliant for finding raptors. One of the highlights of the park is the flood-lit waterholes at the 3 main camps where game viewing continues long after the sun has set. We will do morning and afternoon games drives and relax at the pool or camp waterhole between drives. Accommodation:

Day 7: Mushara Lodge on a Dinner, Bed and Breakfast basis