|
| Ultimate Classic Safari - Accommodated Package Deal (12 day) - Gold Level |
|
This Classic Namibia Safari affords you the chance to experience this magnificent and memorable country in a very personal way. You will have your own professional and experienced safari guide who will enhance your enjoyment of this unique country by making it a fascinating and stress-free journey of discovery amidst very dramatic scenery. |
|
|
|
Day 1 Olive Grove Guesthouse, Windhoek - 1night accommodation
Upon arrival at the airport you will be collected and transferred to Olive Grove, a lovely welcoming guesthouse situated close to Windhoek’s city centre in the quiet, peaceful suburb of Eros. The alfresco dining terrace, jacuzzi, plunge pool and broad verandas invite you to unwind and relax under Namibia’s open skies. Facilities also include a comfortable lounge with guest internet, and the individual guest rooms cater to every need of the discerning traveller. The emphasis remains one of simplicity and elegance. Overnight based in a luxury room on a bed and breakfast basis; all other meals will be at client’s expense.
Windhoek Capital City: Located within the Central Region of the country, Windhoek nestles in a basin surrounded by rolling hills, bounded by the Eros Mountains in the northeast, the Auas Mountains to the southeast and the Khomas Hochland in the west and with a population of around 250,000 people this small city has a laid-back ambience. It is often described as having a continental atmosphere, mixing African lifestyle with European history; picturesque German architecture, European influenced restaurants and shopping malls combine with street-vendors make it unique.
Day 2 Hoodia Desert Lodge, Namib Desert - 1night accommmodation
Today set off on your safari, with your guide, driving south-west through the scenic Khomas Hochland highlands before you head down the escarpment into the Namib Desert below. A picnic lunch will be served at a scenic location en-route .You will arrive at Hoodia Desert Lodge in the late afternoon where you will stay for two nights whilst you explore the remarkable sights of the Namib Desert with your guide. If there is still time today, your guide will take you to visit Sesriem Canyon, a nearby geological attraction, or you can relax and soak in the scenic and tranquil surroundings at Hoodia Desert Camp (BLD)
Hoodia Desert Lodge: Hoodia Desert Lodge lies nestled on the banks of the Tsauchab River, overlooked by the impressive Naukluft Mountains. The camp offers comfortable accommodation in thatched and tented bungalows equipped with a private open-air bathroom, air-conditioning, minibar, tea and coffee station and a shaded balcony. The lodge restaurant serves excellent traditional and international cuisine accompanied by a wide selection of South African wines from the underground wine cellar. A wooden walkway leads you to a refreshing swimming pool sculpted into natural rock. This wonderful camp is a welcomed oasis from which to enjoy your memorable desert experience.
Day 3 Hoodia Desert Lodge, Namib Desert - 1night accommodation This morning you will rise early for a magical excursion with your guide into the Namib Naukluft National Park, entering the Park gates at sunrise to capture the dunes whilst the light is soft and shadows accentuate their towering shapes and curves. This area boasts some of the highest free-standing sand dunes in the world. Your guide will give you an insight on the formation of the Namib Desert and its myriad of fascinating creatures and plants that have adapted to survive these harsh environs. Once you have explored to your hearts content you can enjoy a relaxing picnic breakfast under the shade of a camel thorn tree. Return to Hoodia Desert Lodge in the early afternoon for a late lunch, stopping off to view Sesriem Canyon if you haven’t already done so the day before. The rest of the afternoon is at your leisure (from experience, this is usually welcomed after an exhilarating morning in the dunes). (BLD) |
|
Day 4 Swakopmund Guesthouse, Swakopmund - 1night acccommmodation
We depart after breakfast and drive northwest through the Namib Naukluft National Park. Here you will experience some awesome moonscape scenery including the Gaub and Kuiseb canyons on the way to Swakopmund via the port town of Walvis Bay – a journey of about 5 hours. There will be time this afternoon to explore town before heading off for dinner at the popular Tug Restaurant by the jetty, which specialises in fresh seafood – the cost for this is included in your holiday price.
Swakopmund - resembles a small, German coastal resort nestled between the desert and the sea, and is a perfect example of German colonial architecture blending with good hotels, restaurants, museum, and coffee shops. The elaborate railway building and others are of interest, as are the various arts and crafts centres, which you may wish to visit. Although the sea is normally cold for swimming there are pleasant beaches and the cooler climate is refreshing after the time spent in the desert. We stay for two nights at the guesthouse conveniently located in the centre of town.
NOTE: As an alternative to the drive from Hoodia Desert Camp to Swakopmund you may like to take a scenic light aircraft flight over Sossusvlei and along the Diamond Coast (optional extra at additional cost), allowing you a birds eye view over the dune sea, abandoned mining camps, shipwrecks, Sandwich Harbour and salt pans before you land at Swakopmund Airport. Your guide will drive to meet up with you in Swakopmund later in the day.
Day 5 Swakopmund Guesthouse, Swakopmund - 1night accommodation
After an early breakfast we drive the scenic coastal road back to Walvis Bay for a memorable dolphin cruise onto the outer lagoon. This is an ideal way of seeing Atlantic cape fur seals, heaviside and bottlenose dolphins, pelicans, flamingos and a wide variety of sea birds. During the course of the cruise, snacks will be served along with local champagne and fresh oysters. Return to Swakopmund for an afternoon at leisure in town. Option to stop off and climb the coastal dunes at Langstrand on the way back to Swakopmund if this appeals. You can also partake in some of the many activities that Swakopmund has to offer, these include scenic flights, quad biking in the dunes, and more (all at extra cost). (BLD) |
|
|
|
|
|
Day 6 Camp Kipwe, Damaraland - 1night accommodation
Continue on your safari, heading north and east into the wonderful and diverse region of Damaraland. You will pass Namibia’s highest mountain, the Brandberg which peaks at 2,573 m above sea level, and take time to view game and absorb the vastness of the scenery along the way. Damaraland is typified by displays of colour, magnificent table topped mountains, rock formations and bizarre-looking vegetation. The present day landscape has been formed by the erosion of wind, water and geological forces which have formed rolling hills, dunes, gravel plains and ancient river terraces. It is the variety and loneliness of the area as well as the scenic splendour which will reward and astound you, giving one an authentic understanding of the word 'wilderness'. (BLD)
If time allows this afternoon your guide will take you to visit the nearby attractions and geological sites of Twyfelfontein rock engravings (recently declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site), Burnt Mountain and the Organ Pipes - if not there is plenty of time to do so tomorrow.
Day 7 Camp Kipwe, Damaraland - 1night accommodation
After an early breakfast you will be treated to an exciting 4x4 excursion along the ephemeral Aba Huab River valley to explore this remarkable region and to search for game, including the elusive desert adapted elephants if they are in the area. Damaraland is home to a variety of desert adapted wildlife and hidden desert treasures. You will return to Camp for lunch and this afternoon you may visit Twyfelfontein and other nearby attractions if you haven’t already done so, or take a walk with your guide into the local area around Camp, or relax and enjoy some well deserved leisure time. (BLD)
Day 8 Dolomite Camp, western Etosha National Park – 1night accommodation
Today after breakfast you depart and head to Etosha National Park, travelling via the Grootberg Pass. Along the way your guide will take you to visit a local Himba settlement – you may have to search for a while as the semi-nomadic Himba people sometimes move location with no notice. They are one of the last most traditional peoples of Namibia and have little time for conventional practices. You will learn about the customs and traditions of this very proud nation, and will be given insight into their beliefs, way of life and everyday routine. You enter the Etosha National Park through the Galton Gate on the western boundary and game drive your way on to the newly opened Dolomite Camp, arriving in the early afternoon. This previously restricted western section of Etosha which was kept for research and rehabilitation of game, boasts some of the highest numbers of wildlife throughout the Park. The vegetation is mainly Karstveldt and Mopane shrubland with the geology dominated by dolomite formations – fittingly giving the new Camp its name. The rest of the afternoon could be spent game viewing at the camp’s waterhole, or possibly heading out again with your guide. After dinner you will head out on an exciting night drive, which will offer you a good chance of seeing nocturnal animals such as spring hares, aardvark, Cape and bat-eared foxes, aardwolf, genets, and possibly some of the larger cats.
The Himba: The Himba, Tjimba and other Herero people who inhabit Namibia’s remote north-western Kunene Region are loosely referred to as the Kaokovelders. Basically Herero in terms of origin, language and culture, they are semi-nomadic pastoralists who tend to tend from one watering place to another. They seldom leave their home areas and maintain, even in their own, on which other cultures have made little impression. For many centuries they have lived a relatively isolated existence and were not involved to any noteworthy extent in the long struggle for pasturelands between the Nama and the Herero. The largest group of Kaokovelders is the Himba, semi-nomads who live in scattered settlements throughout the Kunene Region. They are a tall, slender and statuesque people, characterized especially by their proud yet friendly bearing. The women especially are noted for their unusual sculptural beauty, enhanced by intricate hairstyles and traditional adornments. They rub their bodies with red ochre and fat, a treatment that protects their skins against the harsh desert climate.
Dolomite Camp: Nestled in the dolomite outcrops of this vast area of western Etosha National Park, Dolomite Camp offers guests an intimate experience of one of the most scenic areas of the Park, an area where previously endangered species like the Black Rhinocerous and Black-Faced Impala have been successfully bred. The Camp consists of a spacious reception, lounge, bar and restaurant area – offering crimson sunrise and sunset views over the surrounding savannah. From this point, a walkway leads to thatched, en-suite chalets nestled amongst the rocky outcrops, providing privacy and dramatic and panoramic landscape views. The Camp’s interiors are designed to harmonise with the natural surroundings, characterized by weathered dolomite rock formations, Mopane, Moringa and savannah woodland. It is here beneath the rugged shoulders of the dolomite outcrops and boulders that tranquillity is truly found. Dolomite Camp offers a first of its kind experience inside the biodiversity-rich western section of Etosha National Park and moreover presents guests with a wilderness experience that is unmatched in terms of privacy and landscape viewing |
|
Days 9&10 Okaukuejo Resort, Etosha National Park - 2nights accommodation
Drive through the Galton Gate at Otjovasandu on the western boundary into Etosha National Park. We have a special permit, which allows us access through this western side of the Park, an area that is closed to ‘normal tourist traffic’ as it is used for game research and rehabilitation. For the next two nights in Etosha National Park we stay in bungalow accommodation at Okaukuejo Resort in the centre of the park near the southern boundary, and dine at the rest camp restaurant. These two days will be spent exploring Etosha National Park on game drives, visiting selected waterholes and the expansive Etosha Pan. Okaukuejo Resort also has an excellent waterhole that is floodlit at night for game viewing. (BLD)
Day 11 Okonjima Bush Camp, AfriCat Foundation - 1night accommodation
Game drive on the way out of Etosha and then continue south to stay at Okonjima Bush Camp, located by the Omboroko Mountains near Waterberg – a journey of about 4 hours. Here you can enjoy the welcoming atmosphere, superb accommodation, and fantastic activities. Okonjima is home to the AfriCat Foundation, which focuses on the research and rehabilitation of Africa's big cats, especially injured or captured leopards and cheetah. Close encounters with lion, leopard and cheetah are an unforgettable highlight. Activities include leopard tracking, a visit to the cheetah welfare project, tracking cheetah on foot, guided walks (in particular the ‘Bushmen trail’), bird watching, and visits to the night hide where nocturnal animals such as porcupine, caracal, honey badger, and even leopard may be seen. (BLD)
Day 12 End of safari - Windhoek
You have the option to go on a morning activity before brunch, after which we leave Okonjima and drive back to Windhoek (a journey of about 3 hours). If there is time, you can visit a craft market for souvenirs and stop off at our base in town to freshen up before going on to the international airport in good time for your onward or return flight. (B) |
|
|
|
2012 Rates (Valid until 30 November 2012)
Price per person (based on 2 people/sharing) R38,150
Single Supplement applies
Arrival Dates: 1 April; 13 May; 17 June; 15 July; 12 Aug; 9 Sept; 7 Oct; 4 Nov
Please note that the N$ is fixed to the South African Rand on a 1/1 basis
Price includes: Accommodation as stated; transportation in a luxury air-conditioned safari vehicle; meals as stipulated; services of a registered and experienced English speaking safari guide; entrances fees and excursions as described above; mineral water on board the safari vehicle; welcome pack
Price excludes: International flights; airport taxes; any meals not included in itinerary; any entrance fees and excursions not included in the itinerary; all beverages with exception of mineral water on board the safari vehicle; laundry; gratuities; items of personal nature; Visa fee; Bank charges (as per bank or 3.5% commission for VISA/MASTER) |
print friendly version of this page
|