We begin our journey with an early departure time this morning as we leave for the Kalahari at 09H30 this morning. We do not particularly have too much of a long drive by Namibian standards to the south easterly Kalahari area. We transit via a few small towns and settlements, with Rehoboth being directly south of Windhoek and a short stop for us. The Kalahari Desert is a large semi-desert area in Southern Africa extending for around 900,000 square kilometres (350,000 sq mi), and covering much of western Botswana, a big part of eastern Namibia and some areas of South Africa. Upon arrival at our beautiful accommodation, we can take some time to admire the uniqueness and beauty of our lodge before a guided afternoon nature walk to familiarize you with the landscape, the fauna and flora of one of the most iconic deserts in Africa. A wonderful dinner at our lodge will bring this first day to a close.

The park is home to various species of wildlife, but more specially, the Hartmann Mountain Zebra which roam freely through the vast plains and mountains of this area. The Namib Naukluft Park also contains some of the most iconic attractions of the country, like the towering sand dunes of Sossusvlei. Other attractions include the desert adapted vegetation of the area, like the Succulent Karoo, Camel-thorn Acacia, Lichens and many more. We reach our lovely lodge in the later afternoon hours, but with enough time to relax and recover from the lengthy drive. A wonderful sunset and a buffet dinner is something to look forward to this evening.

A pre-dawn start is a must this morning in order to appreciate the wonders that this area has on offer. The Sossusvlei area offers visitors some of the picturesque and indescribable landscapes in the world, with unbelievable colour contrasts at sunrise and after sunset along with amazing photographic opportunities. Here we will also look at the abundance of small life, which baffles the mind as to how the numerous creatures can survive in this harsh and unforgiving Namib desert. Sossusvlei is the very end of the Tsauchab River, approximately 55km from the Atlantic Ocean, which on rare occasions turns into a true water filled oasis after heavy rainfall. This phenomena has not been evident for the last few years, as this area is predominantly bone-dry throughout the year averaging around 20mm of rainfall per annum. We return to our lodge just before noon in order to enjoy some lunch, and enjoy some pool time. Our late afternoon activity would see us visit the Sesriem Canyon, before enjoying another scrumptious dinner at our lodge.

Upon our arrival in Swakopmund, and after a brief lunch we embark on a short afternoon walking tour to see the town’s historical monuments, and acquaint ourselves with a few optional activities for the next day which are on offer, but we look forward to the Dolphin tour scheduled for the following day in Walvis Bay, Namibia’s port capital. Swakopmund is situated amidst dunes and desert close to the mouth of the Swakop River, and during the colonial period Swakopmund was an important hub, although the conditions for a deep-sea port were not favourable here. The coastal waters were far too shallow, a sheltered lagoon was missing and the surf was much too strong.

We have a relaxed late afternoon, before dinner at a local seaside restaurant.

Dinner this night will be without your guide at another lovely seaside restaurant booked for you.

We take off from Swakopmund very early as we do have a lengthy drive that take us pass the small former mining town of Uis on route to the Palmwag rhino concession. On our way, we pass the Brandberg mountain, known to be the highest mountain in Namibia at over 2,500m (over 8,400ft) above sea level. We will also transit through the Twyfelfontein area of Damaraland, which is home to a world heritage site and an optional stopover for our guests who are interested in seeing the iconic rock engravings made by the San people, of which some date back to over 6000 years. Our late afternoon arrival at the Palmwag area warrants a cold beverage at our beautiful lodge!

The Palmwag concession also pays homage to the Desert-Adapted Elephants of Namibia. We will have dinner at our lodge and attend to other organisational matters.

The Palmwag concession is an area covering over 400,000 hectares (988,400 Acres) of conservation land, and is home to lions, leopards, cheetahs, zebra, springbok, desert-adapted elephants and much more. The reserve is specially known for providing habitat for the largest population of south-western black rhinos in Africa, under the protection of the organization known as the Save the Rhino Trust. Our guests have the optional half day rhino tracking activity, or they can conduct a game drive and other activities on offer here.

We have our last dinner at Palmwag before our lengthy drive to the Etosha National Park the next day.

This day would require yet another early departure, as we are anxious to reach the famous Etosha National Park and start our wildlife viewing adventure. One of Namibia’s most exceptional adventures is to visit the Etosha National Park. Our journey today takes us to this great game sanctuary through some of the lands belonging to the iconic Himba tribe, as we plan to arrive around noon and just in time for some lunch before going off on our first game drive inside this vast park with our own vehicle. We do not head back to our accommodation until the late afternoon. A beautiful African sunset and great dinner is on the cards for this evening from our beautiful lodge.

We start early this morning with our game drive to continue looking for your favourite animals today, as we are on a quest to see and learn about as much of the free roaming wildlife in this area as we can. The Etosha National Park is famous for African elephant, lion, leopard, hyena, rhino, and other antelope sightings, offering a very pleasant experience, especially to first timers in the part. The waterholes at clearly marked and the maps of the park are very clear. Our route also takes us to the Etosha Pan lookout point, to see the vastness of the great white open space. We do get back to our accommodation until late in the afternoon, and just in time for a nice buffet dinner.

Our safari in the Etosha National Park continues and gives us another full day to discover the north-eastern end of this vast park maximizing our chances of seeing more wildlife. This park, which was first proclaimed a national park in 1907, but has significantly decreased in size since then and your guide will adequately familiarize you with the different areas of the park. We look for more wildlife as well as different bird species. After a full day of game driving in the park, we have our last evening just outside the north eastern gate, at the Onguma Game Reserve.

We are traveling on the main road known as the B1 to the Okonjima Game Reserve, the home of the AfriCat Foundation, responsible for the rehabilitation of endangered large cats. We plan leave quite early this morning from the Onguma Game Reserve to arrive in time for an afternoon drive to see the cheetah and learn about these large cats at the AfriCat Foundation, and why they are indeed special to Namibia. Our final night at this magical place will definitely leave our travelers with food for thought concerning the conservation work that these very extraordinary man and woman do here. We’ll enjoy our last dinner of this splendid tour together at the Okonjima Game Reserve.

We have come to the end of our tour and heading south on the B1 road to the capital city of Windhoek but transiting via Okahandja, and here we will take time to stop as this town is home to Namibia’s largest wood carving and craft market. Our arrival in Windhoek will be in the late afternoon. A great chance to see the African sunset from the city.