Spirit of Namibia

Discover Namibia with this exclusive ten-day guided tour

Spirit of Namibia is an escorted tour throughout Namibia. The tour visits the highlights of Namibia including Etosha, Skeleton Coast, Swakopmund and Namib Desert. Travel in the company of an experienced Wilderness Safaris guide who provides you with an intrepretative experience. Between the world's oldest desert, the tallest dunes and one of the biggest game parks in Africa, this tour offers enough superlatives to fill your hand luggage.

The ten-day adventure uses a variety of accommodation styles: luxurious vintage camps, colonial-styled discoverer camps and rustic explorer camps; we stay at a lodge in Swakopmund. A combination of flying and driving makes the most of the scenery and the time. Discover the wildlife mecca of Etosha and Damaraland, the fascinating Skeleton Coast and the ancient dunes of Sossusvlei.

• Exceptional game viewing in Etosha National Park
  
• Remote wilderness of Palmwag Concession
  
• Desert-adapted wildlife including elephant and rhino
  
• Rhino tracking on foot and walking safaris
  
• The desolate Skeleton Coast and the great sand sea of Sossusvlei

Day 1 and 2: Ongava Homestead, Etosha

From Windhoek, we board a short charter flight to Namibia’s big game country: Etosha National Park and its environs. Experience the diverse flora and fauna with a variety of activities including walking safaris, day and night game drives and visits to hides. The 66,000-acre Ongava Game Reserve is one of Nambia's best private game reserves. Combined with easy access to Etosha, Ongava Homestead provides the quintessential Namibian wildlife experience.

Ongava Homestead is a renovated farmhouse with en-suite bathrooms and a farm kitchen overlooking a busy waterhole. The floodlit waterhole attracts many nocturanl predators from the timid genet to big game such as lion and leopard. During the day plains herds take over and there is never a dull moment. Inside Etosha we also visit several perennial springs around the pans that support – among many other creatures great and small - lion, leopard, elephant and black rhino, as well as plains game.

Accommodation: Little Ongava
Meals: Full board, excluding premium brands

Day 3: Palmwag Lodge, Palmwag

An early breakfasts sees us on our way to Palmwag Concession in the west of Etosha and in Damaraland. The desert-adapted elephant and black rhino are found – with a bit of luck and a good guide - in the concession and its surrounding wilderness areas. Special activities include tracking and searching for these amazing beasts on foot and by vehicle. The camp consists of five en suite tents, built on wooden platforms, that offer a great scenic view of the surroundings - and the chance of an elephant or two. The camp is separated from the main lodge by about 600m of African bush.

For the next four days in this enormous wilderness area your guide exposes the sheer magnificence of nature’s survival strategies in this arid environment. Discover the details with walks, tracking and game drives focusing on a variety of topics from birds to insects, medicinal uses of plants and viewing wildlife.

Accommodation: Palmwag Rhino Camp
Meals: Full board, excluding premium brands

Day 4 and 5: Hoanib Camp, Kaokoland

With an early start, our journey continues by road towards the ephemeral river of the Hoanib Valley. This is a full day's nature drive, giving you a unique opportunity to see some of the most rugged and inaccessible areas in Namibia’s remote north-west. Here, in an area seemingly parched and desolate, we enter one of Namibia’s richest desert wildlife areas. The rugged mountains and canyons of the Hoanib River provide a last refuge for some unique wildlife; this is the home of the legendary desert elephant and the largest population of free-roaming black rhino population on Earth. In fact 75% of Namibia’s indigenous species inhabit this last bastion of the wilderness.

Experience the wilder side of Africa where only the sporadic roar of lion or cackle of hyaena punctuates the silence of the night. The Save the Rhino Trust has been involved with rhino conservation in this area since the early 1980s, with funding from and in partnership with Wilderness Safaris. The camp is close to the Hoanib Riverbed and all essential comforts are provided without alienating us from the great wilderness outside. En suite bathrooms have flushing toilets and bucket showers; the camp is solar powered.

Accommodation: Hoamib Camp
Meals: Full board, excluding premium brands

Day 6: Damaraland Camp, Damaraland

Departing early, we travel to Twyfelfontein where we take a guided walk with a local Damara guide to view the ancient rock art. Activities include explorations on foot, by bike or 4x4 vehicles, viewing springbok, oryx and ostrich, and tracking the unique desert-adapted elephant and the black rhino. Damaraland Camp is an exclusive and comfortable camp in a spectacular location. Its tented rooms have en suite bathrooms with flush toilets and hot running water. The camp has a delightful rock pool and its campfire is the cause of many a late night.

Accommodation: Damaraland Camp
Meals: Full board, excluding premium brands

Day 7: The Stiltz Lodge, Swakopmund

A meandering drive takes us to Swakopmund – a charming town on the Skeleton Coast. On the way we stop to find the welwitschia plant and we visit the Petrified Forest and ancient stone circles at the Gai As spring. Driving along the coast we will take a close look at the lichen fields – one of the most fragile ecosystems in the world. We will stop for a picnic lunch en route. Swakopmund is a wonderful town in which to end a safari. After the extremes of the northern Namibian bush its atmosphere is a vibrant blend of Africa and Europe. The Stiltz Lodge overlooks the Atlantic Ocean, the beach dunes and the Swakop River mouth. Each of the eight wood and thatch bungalows is linked by elevated walkways to the restaurant and main living area. The lodge is on the edge of town and within easy walking distance of its main attractions.

Accommodation: The Stiltz Lodge
Meals: Full board, excluding premium brands

Day 8 and 9: Kulala Adventurer Camp, Sossusvlei

After an early breakfast, we drive southwards to Walvis Bay Lagoon. Here in a protected bay, thousands of flamingos, pelicans and other waterfowl amass. On the calm waters of the bay, we go sea kayaking - a spectacular activity that allows us to approach the waterbirds at a respectable distance and in their habitat. After a seafood lunch served on the beach we drive inland through the Namib to the Kulala Adventurer Camp in our private Sossusvlei concession. Explore the dunes of Sossusvlei at daybreak the next morning. The surreal landscape in the crisp morning light will have a lasting effect. Afternoon activities include nature walks, drives to scenic viewpoints and discovering the Namib fauna and flora in the private Kulala Wilderness Reserve.

Accommodation: Kulala Adventurer Camp
Meals: Full board, excluding premium brands

Day 10: Windhoek

A mid-morning departure sees us travelling back to Windhoek and the end of your amazing Namibian adventure. We will stop for a picnic lunch atop the great escarpment for one last view of the massive Namib Desert.


Note: You can shorten or lengthen this tour according to your time and budget. And what's more, you can add this to an itinerary that goes to Victoria Falls, the Garden Route, Cape Town... you name it. Contact one of our expert consultants to design the perfect safari for you.

Includes:

Nine nights' accommodation, full board excluding premium brand drinks
Guided game drives, rhino tracking and walking safaris
Air transfer from Windhoek to Etosha
Sea kayaking in Walvis Bay
Sossusvlei excursion and park entrance fees

Excludes:

Additional activities, purchases and gratuities

Important Notes:

Our Spirit of Namibia Tour is a fully guided and escorted tour throughout Namibia.

You can adjust this tour to suit your requirements; it is available for small groups from four to eight.   Although this is a 10 day Tour, you can shorten or lengthen it depending on your time and budget. And what's more, you can add this to an itinerary that goes to any other destination in Southern Africa from the Okavango Delta to Cape Town... you name it. Contact one of our expert consultants to design the perfect safari for you.