Highlights of Namibia (2-weeks)
This family adventure covers all of our favourite parts of Namibia. You will enjoy the wonderful wildlife of Etosha and the soaring sand dunes of Sossusvlei. You will also be able to try out the activities on offer in Swakopmund and relax under the stars in the mountains of Damaraland. As ever we can amend the exact itinerary to suit your family.
You can either stay in lodges or we can arrange for you to hire a camper van or camping equipment. If you prefer to be guided we can arrange a private English-speaking driver-guide.
Highlights
Visit the AfriCat Foundation
Search for the big-five in Etosha
Nature walk in Damaraland
Ship-wrecks & seals in Swakopmund
Race down giant sand dunes
Game drive in the Kalahari desert
15 days from £2,750 pp
Plus international flights from £900
A self-drive 2-week holiday in Namibia for a family of four usually costs a minimum of £11,000 based on lodges, less if you camp.
Highlights of Namibia (2-weeks) day-to-day itinerary
When you arrive in Windhoek you will be met by a representative and transferred to your hotel. The rest of the day is free to relax.
Situated in the central highlands of Namibia, Windhoek is spread over a series of hills and valleys. It’s a multicultural city, with colonial buildings in pastel hues and gleaming office blocks. There are cosmopolitan pavement cafes spilling out into the street and roadside stalls selling colourful curios and wooden carvings.
Day 2 Okonjima
This morning you will pick up your rental vehicle. Head north out of the city to Okonjima, home to the AfriCat Foundation. This small charity is dedicated to the conservation of wild cats, particularly cheetah and leopard. They provide a home to previously orphaned or zoo-kept animals. They also help to train them to hunt before releasing them back into the wild.
This afternoon the children will enjoy being able to visit the foundation and observe the AfriCat programme at work.
Day 3 Okonjima
Enjoy a free morning at Okonjima. The setting here is fabulous and offers a great introduction to Namibia. There are lovely lounge areas where you can relax, self-guided walking trails to follow and a pool that the kids will love.
In the afternoon join a guided trip into the bush where you will track the reserve’s leopards. Hopefully this will result in an up-close sighting of these magnificent animals.
Day 4 Etosha
Continuing north, today you will drive to Etosha National Park. Roughly the size of Switzerland, this vast park is the jewel in Namibia’s wildlife crown. It is also one of Africa’s largest and most diverse wilderness areas. The park is packed with large mammals including lion, elephant, leopard, rhino, giraffe and zebra and the game viewing is superb.
Etosha’s defining feature is the Etosha Pan, a shallow depression about 6,133 sq km in size. Classified as a saline desert, the expansive white ‘place of dry water’ is an unusual setting for game. On some days the pan is a shimmering sheet of mirages on which the animals appear to be floating on air.
This afternoon, time permitting, take your first safari in the park.
Day 5 Etosha
A full day of game viewing in Etosha.
As soon as you enter the park you will be mesmerised by the haunting saltpans. These are so large they can be seen from the moon and are dotted with camel thorn and Mopani trees. Head to areas of thicker vegetation for elephant sightings and the chance to spot the endangered black rhino and leopard. Lions can be found throughout, slinking through the grasslands or hiding in thickets waiting for prey.
Despite the massive size of Etosha, only the southern edge of the pan is accessible to visitors. There are over 30 watering holes where you can wait to see what comes down the water to drink. With 114 different animal species and more than 300 bird species, it should be worth the wait!
Read More Day 6 Western Etosha Day 7 Etosha – Damaraland The landscape here is remarkably scenic, with open plains and spectacular rock formations. It is one of the least populated places on earth; there are no fences or boundaries in the vast, stony desert landscape. What you do have are endless vistas across the stark plains, ancient valleys and brooding, distant mountains. There is also a surprising abundance of things to see in the area. This includes a wealth of rock paintings and engravings as well as a population of desert-adapted elephant and rhino. In recent years, the local residents of Damaraland have banded together to form a Community Wildlife Conservancy. This helps to protect their land from poachers. As a result this is one of the last places in southern Africa where game still roams freely as it has for thousands of years. Day 8 Damaraland Day 9 Swakopmund Day 10 Swakopmund Perhaps travel south to the pelican-filled beaches and flamingo-covered salt flats of Pelican Point. Here you can kayak out from the bay to a seal colony. The kids will love watching the playful seals that will nibble your paddle and perhaps try to catch a ride. Alternatively you could head to the rolling sand dunes just outside the town. Here you can enjoy a bit of dune-bashing in a 4WD or dune-climbing on foot. Another favourite for the kids is the catamaran cruise out into picturesque Walvis Bay. The children will be entranced by the shipwreck that you pass. There is also a lighthouse, oyster platforms, seals and an abundance of marine and bird life. Day 11 Sossusvlei The ochre sand dunes at Sossusvlei rise to an astonishing 320m and create an unforgettable and dramatic wilderness in the heart of the world’s oldest desert. The white vleis (clay pans) contrast sharply against the red sand and vast blue sky. One of these pans, referred to as Dead Pan, is a large ghostly expanse of dried white clay. The eerie landscape here is punctuated by skeletons of ancient camel-thorn trees. These died more than 500 years ago when the flow of the Tsauchab River was interrupted by the formation of the vast sand dunes. Day 12 Sossusvlei Day 13 Kalahari This afternoon take part in a scenic afternoon game drive, for panoramic views across the Kalahari Dunes. Day 14 Kalahari Day 15 Windhoek
A full day of safari as you head across Etosha National Park, from east to west. Take your time, enjoying the game drive along the way, and stopping at one of the numerous waterholes.
It’s time to leave Etosha behind and head to the huge, untamed and ruggedly beautiful Damaraland region.
A full day to enjoy the magnificent scenery of Damaraland. There are a number of different lodges in the area, each offering a range of activities. Choose from self-guided or guided walking trails, game drives, rhino or elephant tracking or cultural visits.
After breakfast depart for Swakopmund, on the coast. With palm-lined streets and seaside promenades, this is Namibia’s most popular holiday destination. It is also its adventure capital. There is a huge range of activities from sand boarding and quad-biking to skydiving and camel riding. The town is also famous for its bakeries. Why not indulge the kids (and parents?) with a stop at Café Anton for traditional German ‘kuchen’?
A full day to explore Swakopmund and take part in various adventure activities.
A very scenic drive today as you head south to Sossusvlei, home to Namibia’s vast sand sea. Perhaps take a detour along the way, to see the truly extraordinary scenery of the Welwitschia Plains and Moon Landscape.
A full day to explore the dunes. Perhaps head there early for sunrise across the desert or leave it until late afternoon and enjoy the sunset. Where possible we will arrange a lodge or campsite with the pool. This means that you can spend the hottest part of the day cooling off. You could also take a magnificent hot air balloon ride over the desert, visit Sesriem canyon or go on a guided nature walk.
Today you will head out into the Kalahari. The scenery here is stunning, a large semi-arid sandy savannah draped over a gently rolling sand sea and dotted with acacia trees. The Kalahari is the last bastion of the San people, who still follow a traditional lifestyle in remote pockets of desert. The area is also home to wide-ranging wildlife including gemsbok, impala, jackals and cheetah.
A full day to explore the area. Depending on where you are staying, you may like to take a further game drive, rise early for a bushman walk in the desert or perhaps head out on e-bikes. There are also many self-guided trails that you can follow. The views throughout are beautiful, with endless vistas over the red sandy desert, dotted with camel-thorn trees.
Drive back to Windhoek airport where you will drop off your vehicle and take a flight home.
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Namibia in pictures
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