Chameleon Holidays & Travel for Safaris & Vacations in Africa | Southern Africa | Namibia | Ultimate Remote Namibia Safari (including Skeleton Coast)

14 Day Ultimate Remote Namibia Safari (including Skeleton Coast)

Day 1           Okonjima (AfriCat Foundation)
This morning you will be collected from your respective accommodation establishment or from the Windhoek International Airport (assuming you land before 09h00). You then depart Windhoek in your safari vehicle with your personal guide and drive north via Okahandja to Okonjima Bush Camp where you will stay overnight. Here you can enjoy the welcoming atmosphere, superb accommodation and fantastic activities; starting with a guided afternoon excursion and a visit to the night hide after dinner.
Overnight: Okonjima Bush Camp (LD) 

Day 2         Eastern boundary of Etosha National Park
You will rise early this morning for another memorable guided AfriCat activity before you return to Okonjima Bush Camp for a tasty brunch. You will then depart with your Ultimate Safaris vehicle and guide to continue north to the eastern boundary of Etosha National Park where you will stay at the charming Mushara Outpost, located just 10 km from Etosha’s eastern von Lindequist Gate. Using Mushara Outpost as your comfortable base for the next two nights, your guide will take you on game drives within the eastern section of Etosha National Park at your leisure, starting with a game drive this afternoon if time allows.
Overnight: Mushara Outpost (BLD)

Day 3          Eastern Etosha National Park
Full day of exciting game viewing within the eastern section of Etosha National Park today, on game drives with your guide and return to Mushara Outpost for your second night stay.
Overnight: Mushara Outpost (BLD)

Day 4           Southwest Etosha National Park
Depart Mushara Outpost after breakfast to enter into Etosha’s eastern von Lindequist Gate and game drive your way across to the southwest section of Etosha National Park where you will stay overnight at Okaukuejo Resort, located beside one of the most frequented waterholes within the Park. The drive across Etosha takes much of the day, stopping off at waterholes and interesting game sightings along the way. You will take a break halfway at Halali Resort to stretch your legs and have lunch and you are also welcome to take a refreshing dip in their swimming pool if appeals. You will arrive into Okaukuejo Resort in the afternoon with plenty of time to settle in and enjoy the sunset over the resorts excellent waterhole which will be floodlit throughout the night so you can relax in comfort whilst watching game come and go. Buffet dinner will be served in the Resort restaurant.
Overnight: Okaukuejo Resort (BLD)

Day 5           Hobatere Concession via Western Etosha
Begin with buffet breakfast at Okaukuejo Resort and then depart to continue west across Etosha National Park to reach Hobatere Lodge. Your guide will have a special permit which allows you access through Western Etosha, an expansive section of the Park that is closed to general tourist traffic for research and rehabilitation of game. Our permit gives you the opportunity to experience the different landscapes, vegetation and game species that inhabit the western side of the Park, including game such as Hartmann’s mountain zebra which cannot be found elsewhere in Etosha.
You will exit Western Etosha at Galton Gate and then continue into the Hobatere Concession to arrive mid-afternoon at Hobatere Lodge. During your two night stay here you will be able to explore the concession on guided game and night drives in specially modified open 4x4 game viewing vehicles, starting with an afternoon game drive followed by a night drive after dinner this evening. The night drive is highly recommended as it offers a good chance of seeing nocturnal animals such as spring hares, aardvark, Cape and bat-eared foxes, aardwolf and genets.
Overnight: Hobatere Lodge (BLD)

Day 6          Hobatere Concession
Today you can enjoy guided activities within the Hobatere Concession and meals at Hobatere Lodge, with time to also relax and soak in your peaceful bush surroundings and watch game come and go from the nearby waterhole hide.
Activities begin with an informative guided nature walk before breakfast during which a local guide will show you the smaller inhabitants of the Concession and explain medicinal uses of plants and other fascinating traditions. You then return to the lodge for breakfast and later in the morning you may like to spend an hour or two at the waterhole hide when it is at its busiest. You will then have time to relax after lunch, before you head out on an afternoon game drive, followed by dinner and a night drive.     
Overnight: Hobatere Lodge (BLD)

Day 7     Twyfelfontein
This morning you depart and head due south to Twyfelfontein into the heart of Damaraland; home to breathtaking scenery, Petrified Forest, Twyfelfontein rock engravings, Burnt Mountain, Organ Pipes and the elusive desert adapted elephant. 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. En route to camp you visit the Petrified Forest, arriving at camp in time for lunch.
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. You will also explore the ephemeral Aba Huab Riverbed in search of desert adapted game, including desert adapted elephant if they are in the area.
Overnight: Mowani Mountain Camp (BLD)
     
Day 8        Etendeka Concession
This morning can again be spent exploring the ephemeral Aba Huab and Huab Riverbeds in search of desert adapted game, including desert adapted elephant if they are in the area. You then head for Palmwag, where you enjoy a light lunch and possibly a refreshing swim. You then enter the Etendeka Concession and make your way to the Etendeka Mountain Camp via game drive. Here you will stay for two nights at Etendeka Mountain Camp, a remote and homely wilderness camp located within the heart of the Etendeka Concession. During your stay your hosts Dennis and Claire Liebenberg and their local guides will introduce you to this fascinating area and impart their encyclopedic knowledge of all of its wildlife, large and small, on guided walks and scenic nature drives.
Overnight: Etendeka Mountain Camp (BLD)

Day 9         Etendeka Concession
Today you can enjoy guided activities within the Etendeka Concession and meals at Etendeka Camp, with time to also put your feet up and absorb the vastness and tranquility of the area from the comfort of your tent or the open air living area.
Activities include a morning guided nature walk with a local guide who will give you an insight to the unique flora and fauna found in this area, a self-guided walking trail to a scenic lookout and a memorable scenic nature drive.     
Overnight: Etendeka Mountain Camp (BLD)

Day 10       Northern Palmwag Concession
Today’s exciting drive takes you completely off the beaten track and into remote areas of the Kunene Region as you follow tracks and ephemeral river courses to reach Hoanib River Camp. You will rise and depart Etendeka early to game drive your way out of the Etendeka Concession to Sesfontein. From Sesfontein you join the Hoanib riverbed to continue west into the true wilderness of the private Palmwag Concession, an expansive wildlife area that boasts a variety of game roaming freely in search of water and food. You may also come across inhabited or abandoned Himba settlements along the way, as the nomadic Himba tribes people traverse this wilderness area with their livestock.
Overnight:  Hoanib River Camp (BLD)

Day 11          Northern Palmwag Concession
Full day of scenic nature drives and walks with your guide at your leisure to explore this remarkable wilderness area and to search for desert adapted wildlife.
Overnight:  Hoanib River Camp (BLD)

Day 12       Skeleton Coast Concession
This morning you depart and make your way out of the Hoanib River at Amspoort and head towards Puros. You begin to drive through some extremely dry and desolate landscapes, before entering the Hoarusib River near Puros. Lunch is had en route, and you arrive at Puros in the early afternoon. Here you say your goodbyes’ to your guide, who now returns to Windhoek, and are met by a representative of the Skeleton Coast Research Camp. You then depart in a 4x4 vehicle and head for camp via a 2 hour scenic drive. The afternoon is spent on a introduction to the desert environs of the region, which includes a drive through dry riverbeds, gravel plains, natural springs and dunes, concluding with sundowners on the rugged coast near the loneliest grave in the world! You arrive at camp in the late afternoon.
This camp is built within the private concession of the Skeleton Coast National Park. The concession stretches from south of the Hoarusib River to Cape Fria in the north and covers the width of the National Park. This National Park was Diamond district No. 3 before being proclaimed. Due to restricted access very few people have visited this enchantingly desolate and windswept piece of paradise.
The cold Benguela current sweeping up from the Antarctic allows little moisture to be picked up from it by the prevailingly onshore winds, hence the very low rainfall and the desert conditions. This cold current is also highly oxygenated, nutrient rich resulting in a plankton and krill heaven that forms the basis of the food chain for the teeming marine life along this coast.
Overnight: Skeleton Coast Research Camp (BLD)
     
Day 13           Skeleton Coast Concession
After breakfast, you depart on the selected excursion for the day taking in the highlights of this harsh environment.  Activities are usually full day nature drives with a picnic lunch, returning to camp in the evening. The areas you traverse are vast and excursions vary somewhat depending on weather, season, animal movements etc. Areas we may visit include the clay castles of the Hoarusib River, Rocky Point, seal colonies, cultural Himba villages, natural fresh water springs, lichen fields, roaring dunes and more. Your guide also provides an in-depth look at the specially adapted reptiles, birds, insects and plants that have evolved over the ages to survive in this seemingly inhospitable place. Return to camp at sunset for dinner.
Overnight: Skeleton Coast Research Camp (BLD)

Day 14           End of safari - Windhoek
This morning, after a leisurely breakfast, you depart on a 2 hour scenic drive back to Puros (lunchpacks en route). Here you board your departing light aircraft flight to Windhoek International Airport. You arrive in time for your international flight home and this is also the official end of your safari. (BL)