You will depart Windhoek in your safari vehicle with your private guide and set off on an exhilarating journey. On your way to Ongava Private Reserve, you will visit Okonjima’s AfriCat Day Centre, a wonderful highlight to start your safari. Okonjima is home to the AfriCat Foundation, a wildlife sanctuary dedicated to the research and rehabilitation of Africa’s big cats, especially injured or captured leopards and cheetahs. You will arrive in time for an exciting and informative game drive and tour of the center. Here, you will learn about the mission and vision of the AfriCat Foundation and meet some of the Foundation’s special captive carnivore ambassadors.

Note: There will be no tracking of wild cats on this visit. For this experience, please consider booking an overnight extension.

After the excursion, enjoy a light lunch before continuing your journey north. You will arrive in time for an afternoon game drive at Ongava Game Reserve in an open game viewer, accompanied by an Ongava ranger, and shared with other lodge guests.

Ongava Game Reserve: Ongava Game Reserve is a private sanctuary spanning 30,000 hectares along the southwest border of Etosha National Park. The reserve is home to a diverse array of wildlife, including lions, leopards, giraffes, rhinos, Hartmann’s mountain zebras, gemsbok (oryx), kudus, steenboks, and more. The stunning landscape features large open plains blending into Mopane tree woodlands and striking dolomite outcrops, providing a breathtaking backdrop for your adventure.

Today, prepare for an exhilarating morning guided game drive into Etosha National Park, where you’ll encounter an incredible array of game and bird species. After a morning of adventure, relax by the refreshing swimming pool before embarking on another afternoon game drive, savoring the diverse wildlife before exiting the park at sunset. Alternatively, spend the entire day exploring the park, enjoying lunch at one of the rest camps or having a picnic while observing the abundant game at a productive waterhole. Once back at camp, spend the evening viewing game at the camp’s floodlit waterhole while enjoying a delightful dinner.

Etosha National Park: Covering 22,270 km², Etosha National Park includes approximately 5,000 km² of saline depressions or ‘pans.’ The largest, the Etosha Pan, is a saline desert in its own right, located in the Owambo Basin on the northwestern edge of the Namibian Kalahari Desert. Three million years ago, it was part of a vast shallow lake, reduced to a complex of salt pans when the Kunene River changed course and flowed to the Atlantic instead. If it existed today, this lake would be the third largest in the world. The Etosha Pan, spanning 4,760 km², fills with water only when sufficient rain falls to the north in Angola, causing floods to flow southward along the Cuvelai drainage system.

The park’s diverse landscapes include grassland, woodland, and savannah, with game viewing concentrated around numerous springs and waterholes, where multiple species can often be seen simultaneously. Etosha boasts around 114 mammal species and over 340 bird species. Among the wildlife, you might see elephants, lions, giraffes, blue wildebeests, elands, kudus, gemsboks (oryx), zebras, rhinos, cheetahs, leopards, hyenas, honey badgers, warthogs, and the endemic black-faced impala. This extraordinary park promises a truly unforgettable experience of nature’s grandeur and wildlife diversity.

This morning, after a delightful breakfast, you will continue your safari into the heart of Namibia: Damaraland. As you travel through farmlands and quaint towns, you’ll be captivated by the vibrant colors, magnificent table-topped mountains, unique rock formations, and bizarre-looking vegetation. The landscape, sculpted by the forces of wind, water, and geological activity, features rolling hills, dunes, gravel plains, and ancient river terraces. The area’s solitude and scenic splendor will reward and astound you, offering a profound understanding of the word ‘wilderness.’

You will enjoy a delicious Magic Box picnic en route, arriving in time for fireside sundowners at Camp Doros. Be prepared for a long day of travel, but rest assured, it will be richly rewarded with a three-night stay at your next camp.

Doros Joint Management Area: The Doros Joint Management Area is characterized by sparse semi-arid mountainous savanna, with wooded ephemeral river valleys dividing the hills and plains. It boasts some of the most magnificent views in Damaraland. With several natural springs providing water year-round for desert-adapted wildlife, the area is home to desert-adapted elephants, black rhinos, and general plains game, including kudus, giraffes, springboks, oryx, klipspringers, and steenboks. Predators such as cheetahs, leopards, and both spotted and brown hyenas also inhabit this region. The stunning vistas and rich biodiversity make this a truly awe-inspiring destination.

Today promises an exhilarating and unforgettable morning as you embark on a rhino tracking adventure with the assistance of local trackers. These black rhinos are part of one of Africa’s only free-roaming black rhino populations, making the experience of tracking these majestic animals in their natural, unfenced habitat an extraordinary privilege. After the morning’s excitement, you’ll return to camp for a freshly prepared lunch and have time to relax during the heat of the day. Later in the afternoon, you will head out again for a scenic nature drive or walk to explore the vast and astounding ecosystem.

Camp Doros collaborates with the Save the Rhino Trust (SRT), an NGO that has played a crucial role in the preservation of the rare and endangered desert-adapted black rhino. Having barely survived the widespread poaching of the ’80s and ’90s, Namibia’s black rhino population has significantly increased since the formation of SRT.

Desert Black Rhinoceros: Namibia is home to the larger of the two subspecies of black rhinoceros found in southern Africa. This unique population roams wild and unfenced in the arid ranges of the western Kaokoveld. Their preferred habitat is the mountainous escarpment, but they also follow ephemeral rivers into the northern Namib, especially after rains. These are the only black rhinos in Africa internationally recognized as a “desert group,” covering great distances like the desert-adapted elephants.

They walk and feed at night, resting during the day. To meet their nutritional needs, they browse on no fewer than 74 of the 103 plant species in their range. Remarkably, they are one of the few animals that eat fibrous Welwitschia leaves and feed heavily on the milk bush (Euphorbia virosa) despite its sharp spines and toxic latex, likely due to its high water and fat content. They navigate the physical defenses of dryland plants without apparent harm. Once widespread across the subcontinent, black rhinoceros are now an endangered species, with Namibia’s population representing a critical stronghold for their survival.

Today, you continue your adventures in the captivating region of Damaraland, enjoying the freedom to explore its fascinating landscapes with your private naturalist guide, both by vehicle and on foot. Damaraland is an astonishing refuge for desert-adapted wildlife, including elephants, giraffes, oryx, springboks, and even predators such as lions. As with any wildlife sightings in Namibia, many factors, including seasonality, influence the likelihood of seeing specific animals, making each sighting a unique and exhilarating experience. The wildlife roams across vast, unfenced desert landscapes, making the quest to find them a thrilling part of your adventure in this untouched gem of Namibia.

Today’s focus will be on tracking the elusive desert-adapted elephants in the ephemeral river systems, an activity that will occupy most of the day. Your guide will prepare a delicious picnic lunch, and you will return to camp in the late afternoon.

Desert-Adapted Elephant: In habitats with sufficient vegetation and water, an adult elephant consumes up to 300 kg of roughage and 230 liters of water daily. Imagine the resources needed for a herd over a week, a month, or a year. Astonishingly, these magnificent creatures thrive in the desert. Besides elephants, other large mammals like black rhinoceros and giraffes also roam these arid lands. Their ranges extend from river catchments in northern Kaokoveld to the northern Namib, with seven river courses northwards from the Ugab providing possible routes across the desert to the Skeleton Coast. The Hoarusib, Hoanib, Huab, and Ugab Rivers are the most significant.

After an early breakfast, your journey today takes you south past Namibia’s highest mountain, the Brandberg, which peaks at 2,573 meters above sea level. You’ll then head west to meet the coast at Henties Bay, continuing south to the coastal town of Swakopmund. Here, you can relish the pleasant seaside location and cooler coastal air for the night.

Your accommodation is on the eastern outskirts of the town, offering stunning views of the Swakop River valley and the desolate desert dune landscapes. Tonight, you’ll dine at a popular restaurant known for its locally harvested fresh seafood, as well as a variety of other local and international dishes.

Swakopmund: Swakopmund resembles a charming German coastal resort nestled between the desert and the sea. It boasts a delightful blend of German colonial architecture and modern amenities, including excellent hotels, shops, restaurants, museums, craft centers, galleries, and cafés. Swakopmund began as a landing station in 1892 when the Imperial Navy erected beacons on the site. Settlers followed, attempting to create a harbor town by constructing a concrete Mole and an iron jetty, though these efforts were ultimately unsuccessful. The onset of World War I halted developments, and the town declined until infrastructure improvements and the opening of an asphalt road between Windhoek and Swakopmund revived it half a century later.

This transformation made reaching the previously isolated town quicker and easier, allowing it to prosper once again as Namibia’s premier resort town. Although the sea is typically cold for swimming, there are pleasant beaches, and the cooler climate provides a refreshing change after time spent in the desert.

After an early breakfast, embark on a captivating drive south-east through the awe-inspiring and ever-changing desert landscapes. Traverse the impressive Gaub and Kuiseb canyons and meet the dunes at the charming settlement of Solitaire. Enjoy a delightful picnic lunch en route before continuing to the Namib Tsaris Conservancy, where you’ll spend your final two nights at the enchanting Camp Sossus. You’ll arrive in the mid to late afternoon, allowing ample time to acquaint yourself with the camp and enjoy a refreshing hot bucket shower before dinner.

Your stay at Camp Sossus includes a variety of activities designed to immerse you in the beauty of the Namib Desert. Explore Sossusvlei with your private guide, take nature walks and drives, enjoy guided mountain biking, experience the magic of desert pools, and indulge in our famous Trail Treats. As night falls, marvel at the stars from your private star bed, offering a unique opportunity for stargazing and sleeping under the vast desert sky.

Camp Sossus also serves as a convenient base for hot air balloon flights, scenic helicopter rides, and fixed-wing aircraft flights over the stunning local area. Photographers will find a paradise here, with fantastic landscapes, iconic quiver trees, and excellent opportunities for nighttime photography.

Namib Tsaris Conservancy: Nestled between the Nubib and Zaris Mountains, close to the Great Namib Sand Sea and the famous Sossusvlei Dunes, the Namib Tsaris Conservancy was founded by Landscape Conservationist Swen Bachran in 2010. This conservancy acts as a natural buffer against the harshest desert conditions and provides a vital refuge for wildlife during the dry season. Over eight years of dedicated work have reversed sixty years of inappropriate farming practices, including the removal of 89 km of internal fencing, the installation of wildlife watering points, the improvement of road networks, land rehabilitation, and the reintroduction of historically present wildlife.

The conservancy boasts gravel plains, mountainous areas with dry river valleys, and a large raised plateau towering above the desert. It is now home to some of the largest concentrations of wildlife in the region, including oryx, springbok, Hartmann’s mountain zebra, Burchell’s zebra, kudu, hartebeest, giraffe, steenbok, klipspringer, bat-eared fox, and aardwolf, along with predators such as leopard, cheetah, and spotted hyena. Plans are ongoing to acquire adjoining land and remove fences to neighboring like-minded conservation areas, further expanding this ecologically sound and picturesque haven.

This morning, rise early for a magical excursion with your guide to Sossusvlei in the Namib Naukluft National Park. Departing before sunrise, you’ll enter the park just as the first light paints the dunes in soft, golden hues, accentuating their towering shapes and curves. Sossusvlei boasts some of the highest free-standing sand dunes in the world, and your guide will share insights into the formation of the Namib Desert and the fascinating flora and fauna that have adapted to survive in this harsh environment.

After exploring Sossusvlei, Deadvlei, and the surrounding dune fields to your heart’s content, enjoy a relaxed picnic brunch in the shade of a camel thorn tree. You’ll then return to camp to relax during the heat of the day. Later in the afternoon, embark on a scenic nature drive or walk, delving deeper into this vast and astounding ecosystem. Cap off your day with a magnificent final safari sundowner.

Sossusvlei: This most frequently visited section of the massive 50,000 km² Namib Naukluft National Park is renowned for its towering apricot-colored sand dunes, accessible by following the Tsauchab River valley. Sossusvlei itself is a clay pan set amidst star-shaped dunes that rise up to 300 meters above the surrounding plains, ranking them among the tallest dunes on earth. The stark white clay pan contrasts with the orange sands, marking the endpoint of the ephemeral Tsauchab River within the Great Sand Sea. The river originates south of the Naukluft Mountains in the Great Escarpment, traveling 55 km through the sand sea before petering out at Sossusvlei, about the same distance from the Atlantic Ocean.

Until the encroaching dunes blocked its course around 60,000 years ago, the Tsauchab River once reached the sea, as ephemeral rivers still do in the northern Namib. Sand-locked pans to the west reveal the river’s previous paths before the dunes shifted its endpoint to Sossusvlei. Roughly once a decade, rainfall over the catchment area is sufficient to bring the river down in flood, filling the pan. On such occasions, the mirror images of dunes and camel thorn trees around the pan are beautifully reflected in the water.

Sossusvlei is the largest of four pans in the vicinity. Another notable pan, Deadvlei, is famous for its gnarled and ghostly camel thorn trees, which can be reached on foot over 1 km of sand. Deadvlei’s striking camel thorn trees, dead from lack of water, still stand as they did when they grew, surviving until about 900 years ago when the sand sea finally blocked the river from occasionally flooding the pan.

Following a relaxed morning meal, prepare to leave the captivating Sossusvlei behind and commence your journey back to Windhoek. Your route takes you northeast, ascending the magnificent Great Escarpment and delving into the picturesque vistas of the Khomas Hochland highlands. The landscapes en route encapsulate the untouched beauty of Namibia. Midday finds you enjoying another sumptuous Magic Box picnic, a hallmark of your travels.

By mid-afternoon, the cityscapes of Windhoek emerge, signalling your arrival. Check into your guesthouse, marking the transition from the wild terrains back to the comfort of urban dwellings.

Today marks the conclusion of your remarkable journey. We have arranged a seamless transfer to Windhoek Airport for your onward flight. As you make your way to the airport, reflect on the memories and experiences that have made your stay in this vast and beautiful landscape truly unforgettable. Your connection with the wild, untamed beauty of Namibia may leave you, but the impressions it has made will accompany you always. Safe travels, and we look forward to welcoming you again on another extraordinary adventure.