On arrival today at Windhoek International Airport, we will be met by a guide and brought into Windhoek, where we spend our first night in Namibia. After checking in to our accommodation, we can start our tour to explore Windhoek and its surrounding, learning more about the history of Windhoek, its people and life today in the capital.

After breakfast this morning, we will be transferred back to Windhoek International Airport for our flight south into the Namib Desert. As we depart Windhoek, we can enjoy the incredible scenery of the Khomas, Auas & Eros Mountains surrounding Windhoek before crossing the Naukluft Mountains and watching as the landscape transforms from mountain ranges to the desert. This afternoon we can enjoy an afternoon guided activity, our first chance to explore the spectacular Kulala Reserve in the Namib Desert.

Today we spend the day exploring the Namib Desert, the world’s oldest desert and part of Africa’s largest conservation area. Departing before sunrise, we travel through the Kulala Reserve, entering the Namib Naukluft National Park through the reserve’s private access gate and travelling down to the heart of the dunes. As we travel along the Tsauchab River, we can stop and enjoy countless photographic opportunities as the sun rises and the dunes change colour. The low lying sun provides breathtaking light on the dunes, and the addition of an oryx, springbok or ostrich brings the desert to life. Spend the morning exploring the dunes, wandering through Deadvlei and Sossusvlei and for the energetic, climbing Big Daddy, the highest dune in the area. Returning to camp mid-afternoon for some much-deserved lunch and some respite from the midday sun, we can have a siesta before enjoying an afternoon nature drive or guided walk.

After a leisurely breakfast this morning, we head to the airstrip for our flight through to Swakopmund on the Skeleton Coast. This flight is incredibly scenic as it takes us over the dune fields northwest and onto the Atlantic coastline. Arriving mid-morning, we have time to wander the quaint town of Swakopmund and explore the shops, quirky museums and such on foot. Swakopmund is also Namibia’s adventure capital, an ideal destination for anyone who might want to get out and experience a rush from sandboarding to quad biking to skydiving. Alternatively, enjoy a leisurely walking tour or cycling tour of the town itself, or a vehicle-based tour out to the Moon Landscape or north to Cape Cross Seal Colony; the choice is ours.

Enjoy a leisurely morning or opt for an optional activity before heading down to Walvis Bay this afternoon to enjoy a guided 4×4 adventure over the dunes and down to Sandwich Harbour. This area offers incredible views where the dunes of the Namib cascade into the Atlantic Ocean, a setting you have to see to believe. On return from Sandwich Harbour, we can enjoy a drive past the Walvis Bay Lagoon, a chance to witness the sunset and to see both the greater and lesser flamingos before returning to Swakopmund for dinner at one of the many restaurants.

This morning we are heading north, away from the coast and into Damaraland. This flight from Swakopmund to Damaraland offers ever-changing landscapes from the coastline to the gravel plains of the Namib Desert, Brandberg, Namibia’s highest mountain and Messum Crater, an extinct volcano, to the incredible variation in landscapes in the communal conservancies of Damaraland. All these, combined with the diversity of the free-roaming wildlife from elephant and giraffe to grazing cattle, this area reflects the amazing way that locals and wild animals co-exist. This afternoon we will enjoy a nature drive through the Aba Huab ecosystem, a chance to encounter the desert-adapted elephant free roaming through the desert landscapes of Damaraland.

A busy morning today as we head through to Twyfelfontein to explore Namibia’s first UNESCO World Heritage site and the home of the worlds largest collection of San rock etchings. This ancient artwork shows us how the San communicated, hunted, and experienced this landscape some 2000 years ago. From here, we return to camp and have a chance for some downtime, to relax back at camp and enjoy the opportunity to unwind. This evening we enjoy yet another breathtaking sunset from camp and appreciate the peace and quiet that life in Damaraland has to offer.

Today we delve deeper into the remote northwest of Namibia, on the cusp of Kaokoland. This rocky landscape is the perfect home for the endangered desert rhino. The desert rhino, also known as the black rhino, has been listed as critically endangered; however, due to incredible work by conservation organisations and the community conservancies in northwest Namibia, these rhino roam freely. On arrival today, we can check in to our camp, an incredible eco-camp set in a remote area of the Palmwag Concession. This afternoon we enjoy a nature drive through the red-rock-strewn valleys, interspersed with tiny springs, a chance to see species such as Hartmann’s mountain zebra, giraffe, oryx, springbok and spotted hyena too.

Today offers an extraordinary opportunity, the chance to head out into the valleys of the Palmwag Concession, tracking the critically endangered black rhino, both in-vehicle and on foot. This is a once in a lifetime activity, available only to a handful of visitors each day, and a chance to learn all about the incredible work done by the Save The Rhino Trust here in Namibia. Their impressive work to protect black rhino in their natural habitat will enable generations to come to be able to experience this unique African animal. Spend the morning, or full day, out in the field, searching, tracking, and observing the habits and behaviour of this incredible animal.

After breakfast, we return south via Damaraland Camp to Doro Nawas, where we connect for our flight through to Ongava, leaving the remote and rugged landscape of Damaraland behind. The Ongava Reserve is one of Namibia’s premier private game reserves and a haven for everything from white rhino & lion to herds of elephant and more. On arrival today, we can check into our luxury accommodation overlooking the savannah before heading out for an afternoon game drive in search of everything from the largest of mammals to our feathered friends, including eagles, owls, and even eagle owls.

The Ongava Reserve shares a border with Etosha National Park, so this morning we enjoy a game drive through Namibia’s premier national park and have the chance to experience some of Africa’s best game viewing. Etosha stretches some 22,000 sq kms and whilst this is a huge area, Etosha is renowned for its large concentrations of multiple species drinking around the same waterhole. This diversity is a reflection of the harsh environment and lack of groundwater that brings all creatures, predators and prey, into the artificial water holes to quench their thirst. Returning to Ongava early afternoon, we can enjoy some downtime during the heat of the day before enjoying an afternoon nature drive or guided walk to explore Ongava some more.

On our last morning in the bush, a guided nature walk is recommended, a chance for one last connection with the Namibian veld, and an opportunity to look for some of the smaller creatures often missed when on a game drive vehicle. However, we must also keep an eye out for all predators and animals like elephant, lion, rhino, and more, making this a chance to examine the flora up close and get a little adrenaline rush, depending on what we encounter. After our morning walk, we take our last flight back to Windhoek, returning to civilization for our last night in Namibia.

Depending on our outgoing flight today, there might be time to enjoy a leisurely breakfast a wander through the city. Depending on our outgoing flight today, there might be time to enjoy a leisurely breakfast, wander through the city centre, or visit the Namibian Craft Centre before being transferred to Windhoek International Airport in time for our onward international flight.