We will drive through the Khomas Highland and down the escarpment via one of the many scenic mountain passes into the Namib Desert. This journey will take about 4 to 5 hours, depending on the number of stops for photographs. We will certainly start seeing some of Namibia’s fantastic fauna and flora along the way, including Common Ostrich, Gemsbok, Pale Chanting Goshawk, Sociable Weavers or even a Greater Kudu.

We will reach our accommodation in the afternoon and if there is time it might be fun to walk around the lodge grounds looking for interesting smaller fauna and local flora. Our accommodation for tonight is in an area perfectly situated to explore the surrounding desert and its many attractions.

Sossusvlei itself is actually the pan or valley floor that we will park our vehicle on, and is surrounded by massive dunes on almost all sides. We will have plenty of time to enjoy some of the many highlights that surrounds Sossusvlei itself:

Dune 45- The most photographed dune on earth (situated 45 km past Sesriem on the road to Sossusvlei);
Hiddenvlei - Perfect if you are looking for solitude in the desert;
The magnificently tall Big Daddy dune;
Deadvlei- A paradise for photographers, as it is punctuated by blackened, dead acacia trees, in vivid contrast to the shiny white of the salty floor of the pan and the intense orange of the dunes;
Sesriem Canyon- A narrow gorge of 1 km long and up to 30 m deep slashed into the earth by the Tsauchab river millions of years ago. The name derives from the Afrikaans for the 6 lengths of ropes that were needed to haul water out of the gorge to the top with containers in days gone by.

It is a beautiful drive of about 4 hours, and if time allows we will stop for the famous Apple Pie in the small desert oasis town of Solitaire, a true Namibian tradition that should not be missed.
Our drive this afternoon is wholly in the Namib Sand Sea, one of Namibia’s two UNESCO World Heritage Sites. It is the only coastal desert in the world that includes extensive dune fields influenced by fog. Covering an area of over three million hectares, the site features gravel plains, coastal flats and rocky hills within the sand sea, a coastal lagoon and ephemeral rivers, resulting in a landscape of exceptional beauty. Fog is the primary source of water in the site, accounting for a unique environment in which endemic invertebrates, reptiles and mammals adapt to an ever-changing variety of microhabitats and ecological niches.
Swakopmund is a very popular holiday destination for many Namibians and will probably be the only place that you will visit on the Namibian safari that has a real town feel to it. We will spend the night at a hotel and have dinner at one of the top restaurants in Swakopmund. Please note that dinner tonight is not included in the package price and is for your own account.

We will encounter and learn more about the fascinating wildlife of the Namib Desert with the help of a local expert. We will look for geckos, scorpions, snakes, lizards, birds and beetles as well as the incredible plant life that survives in this harsh and seemingly inhospitable environment. Some of the special creatures we might see include Namib Sand Gecko, Namaqua Chameleon, Shovel-snouted Lizard, Tractrac Chat and even Peringuey’s or Horned Adder.


The Living Desert Tour is a unique 4x4 adventure which specializes in bringing the desert to life while sharing the awesome beauty of the Namib Desert with travellers from all over the world. The coastal dune belt may seem barren and lifeless to many people, but in fact it is alive with a fascinating variety of little desert adapted animals, which are able to survive on the life-giving fog which consistently rolls in from the cold Atlantic Ocean.


Come see the Dancing White Lady Spider (Carparachne aureoflava) cartwheel 44 turns per second down a dune to escape the enemy. Admire the transparent Namib Dune Gecko (Pachydactylus rangei) with webbed feet that are equivalent to snow shoes. Learn about the different beetles and insects and how they survive in the dune desert. Follow in the tracks of a legless Lizard (Fitsimmon’s Burrowing Skink), observe Sand Diving Lizards (Meroles Anchieta) dancing on the hot sand, Sidewinder Snakes (Perinquey’s Adder), Desert Chameleons and many more fascinating creatures. Learn about the geology, structure and formation of the desert, and admire the vast and beautiful landscapes while enjoying a scenic dune drive combined with fun and adrenalin.

This bleak and evocatively named area is one of the most unusual coastal wildernesses on the planet, protecting about a third of Namibia’s long coastline.
After visiting one of the many shipwrecks along the coast for some dramatic photographs, we will turn inland towards spectacular Damaraland. We will drive past the Brandberg, Namibia’s highest mountain. In the distance we will also see the Spitzkoppe (sharp head), one of Namibia’s most recognizable landmarks.
This beautiful mountainous region is home to an assortment of scientifically important desert-adapted wildlife such as elephant, rhino, zebra and lion, which somehow survive and thrive in this near-barren landscape. We hope to see some of them; a special treat indeed!

The Twyfelfontein rock engravings are the most significant rock-engraving site in Namibia. More than 2,500 engravings are found at 17 main sites, as well as several rock paintings. Its one of four top rock art sites in Southern Africa, the home of ancient mankind.

Especially interesting are large images of elephant, rhino, and a lion with spoor instead of paws, and human feet. There are two main routes. A shorter trail taking in some 5 sites & taking about ¾ hour to walk around. A longer trail which takes in 8 sites & will take about 1 hour to complete accompanied by a local guide to explain the stories behind each incredible etching.

Nearby Burnt Mountain, a brilliantly coloured mountain of maroon, black & charcoal, a rock was formed 120 million years ago when a large sheet of black magma forced its way into carbonaceous shale. Nearby is an outcrop of volcanic rock called the Organ Pipes, a mass of perpendicular slabs of basalt between 130 & 150 million years old.

A visit to the fossilized tree trunks is equally absorbing. The stone ‘trees’ lying on the ground are so well preserved they seem like logs. The Petrified Forest consists of at least 50 trees which are between 240 & 300 million years old.

Here you will also find one of the world’s botanical curiosities, the strange-looking Welwitschia. Although it does not resemble a tree at all, the Welwitschia is nevertheless classified as one, & much of its stem is underground. Only 2 leathery leaves of up to 8m long & 1,5m wide are produced on the gnarled stem, but the leaves are shredded by searing winds & extreme temperatures into a tangled mass, creating the impression of a multitude of leaves.

Game drive in the 600,000 hectare Palmwag concession, looking for African Elephant, Gemsbok, Springbok, Chacma Baboon, Giraffe, Steenbok, Hartmann’s Mountain Zebra and Lion. This area is also great for seeing many of Namibia’s near-endemic birds like Monteiro’s and Damara Red-billed Hornbill, Ruppell’s Parrot, Benguela Long-billed Lark and Ruppell’s Korhaan.

Black Rhinos are native to eastern and southern Africa, and although the animal is referred to as black, its colours vary from brown to grey. Unlike other Black Rhino populations, the ones of this region of Namibia are usually unsociable, tending to live in small groups. A mother will remain with her calf for around two and a half years. Enough time for the youngster to obtain all the vital methods of surviving in one of the toughest habitats on the planet!
These specially adapted individuals can withstand scorching heat; in excess of 40°C (100°F), but can also cope with the below freezing temperatures common after dark in Namibia’s arid regions. Black Rhinos are least active during the heat of the day (between 10am and 3pm) when they take to the shade of large rocks. They become more active after dark when the temperatures drop.
Black Rhinos are browsers (i.e. they eat trees, bushes and shrubs), as opposed to their White Rhino cousins, which are grazers. Remarkably, the Namib Desert Black Rhino has evolved to survive without water for 2 or 3 days! The population density of the Black Rhino in the desert plains of northwestern Namibia is one rhino per 100 km2, and still the Black Rhinos in Namibia make up to one third of the world’s remaining rhino population! That is a scary statistic.
The area where we will be walking and driving today holds the only population of Black Rhinoceros outside a protected area anywhere in the world. They do cover huge distances in search of food and water and have big territories so it might take a great tracking effort to find them. During the tracking we will encounter various other species of game including Gemsbok, Springbok, Hartmann’s Mountain Zebra and hopefully also African Elephant.

The drive today will take a fairly long time depending on the number of stops for wildlife and scenic areas like a group of strange-looking Baobab trees together a very long way away from areas where they are known to occur. However, the long drive will be well worth it; this is an incredibly beautiful and dramatic area of the country.
Kunene is one of the fourteen official regions of Namibia and is located in the far northwestern corner of the country. It is roughly 115,000 square kilometres (45,000 square miles) big, with a population density of only 0.75 people per square kilometre (2 per square mile)! Kunene's western edge is the shores of the Atlantic ocean, and in the north it borders Angola's Namibe Province. Compared to the rest of Namibia, it is relatively underdeveloped. This is due to the mountainous inaccessible geography and the dryness that significantly hinders agriculture. It is, however, home to an abundance of wildlife. This includes a wealth of desert adapted wildlife, including the largest population of free-ranging Black Rhinoceros in the world, African Elephant, Lion, Cheetah, Leopard, Spotted Hyaena, Hartmann's Mountain Zebra, Springbok and Gemsbok.
The region gets its name from the 1,050 kilometre (650 miles) long perennial Kunene river, which forms the northern border with Angola. There are all sorts of exciting activities to be enjoyed on and long the river, from boat cruises and canoeing to white-water rafting and fishing. It is also a birdwatching hotspot, with many localised and highly prized species occurring here.
We will cross the Hoanib river valley before driving via the Frans Joubert pass. We will stop at Opuwo, the capital of Kaokoland, for fuel and lunch before driving the last 130km to our lodge on the banks of the Kunene River.

Known as the last true nomadic tribe of Namibia, the Himba has a unique and wonderful culture. The Himba, who currently number between 30,000 and 50,000 individuals, have been plagued by severe droughts, guerrilla warfare (during Namibian independence and the Angolan civil war) and the German forces that decimated other groups in Namibia. Despite Himba life nearly coming to a close in the 1980s, they have persevered and their people, culture and tradition remain.

Himba women are known for their unusual sculptured beauty, enhanced by their complex hairstyles and traditional beautifications. In the Himba culture a sign of wealth is the cattle you had owned during your lifetime, represented by the horns on your grave. The cattle are therefore kept as a sign of wealth, whereas the sheep and goats are bred for food. Only occasionally are the livestock sold for cash.

We will spend a couple of hours learning about their history, culture and get an insight into their daily lives.

We will slowly make our way eastwards along the Kunene River until we reach the Ruacana Falls. The waterfall is 120 meters (390 ft) high and 700 meters (2,300 ft) wide in full flood. It is among the largest waterfalls in Africa, both by volume and width. We will spend some time here depending on the water level.
From here we will make our way south until we reach the Galton gate of Etosha National Park. Undoubtedly one of the great parks of Africa, Etosha covers more than 22,300 km2 (8,620 sq mi) and is synonymous with big game and wide open spaces. The name Etosha actually means “great white place” referring to the massive (130km long and 50km wide) dry saline pan in the middle of the park, believed to have been formed over 100 million years ago.
We will stay in Dolomite Camp, a new camp in the western section of Etosha. Until a few years back this section was closed to the public and with the rolling dolomite hills offers a unique and completely different habitat to the rest of Etosha. After enjoying lunch at our lodge which is situated on top of a hill with wonderful views over the surrounding plains, we will do an afternoon game drive.
Because of the different habitat we will encounter species like Hartmann’s Mountain Zebra and Roan Antelope together with the general Etosha species. African Elephant, Lion, Gemsbok, Greater Kudu, Hartebeest and Burchell’s Zebra are present in good numbers in this section of Etosha.

Etosha National Park in northern Namibia offers you the chance to spot game in a wonderful natural setting. Enjoy a fascinating African wildlife adventure in Namibia in search of wildlife like megaherbivores such as giraffe, elephant black and white rhino as well as predators like lion, cheetah and leopard.

Travel from waterhole to waterhole and observe as herds of elephants slowly make their way towards the waterhole right in front of you. One elephant first checks out if the waterhole is safe, then the whole herd, with babies in tow, follows. You may see them putting their trunks in the muddy water and spraying themselves until they look white.

The park itself covers 22,270 kms², and gets its name from the salt pan that makes up approx. 23% of the park. Once a massive lake, the Etosha Pan is now mostly dry, with the exception of good rainfall years when the pan fills up enough to become a breeding ground for flamingos that migrate between Walvis Bay and Sua Pan in Botswana

Etosha is home to 114 mammal species, 340 bird species, a variety of reptiles and even 1 species of fish. The game viewing is diverse and due to the dry nature of the region it is not uncommon to spot multiple species (including both predators and prey) hanging around the same waterhole.