Namibia Standard Fly-in Itinerary - 15 days/14 nights
Day 1 and 2:
Arrival at Hosea Kutako Airport.
Subsequent air transfer to Wolwedans Dune Lodge. (1 hr approx)
Two overnight stays at Wolwedans Dune Lodge. Fullboard incl activities - local drinks included.
Wolwedans, which takes its name from the African - “where the wolves dance”, is situated in the heart of the Namibrand Nature Reserve, just south of Sossusvlei. Nestled amidst red dunes and set against a backdrop of unparalleled beauty, Wolwedans provides the perfect base from which to explore vast stretches of awe-inspiring nature and learn about an exciting variety of desert creatures. The Dunes Lodge is perched on top of a dunes plateau some eight kilometers north of the Dune Camp and overlooks panoramic vistas in all direction, capturing the desert in a most memorable way.
.jpg)
The building style is a combination of wooden structures, large canvas blinds and windows that open up to the desert beyond. The lodge reflects the ambience of a tented camp, but provides the comfort and protection of a permanent building. Each of the nine spacious chalets with en-suite bathrooms leads onto a private verandah and vast stretches of untouched sand. Sleeping with your canvas blinds open is as good as sleeping under the stars. The main complex, which has been completely rebuilt during 2003, consists of two lounges, a number of sundowner decks, a fireplace, a tea deck, a library, the wine cellar and two dining rooms. All communal areas of the lodge open out onto verandahs with superb views.
Accompanied by experienced guides, visitors are introduced to the many facts of Namibrand Nature Reserve’s desert habitat with its diverse fauna and flora - on foot or by car. The classic programme for a two night stay would entail an afternoon drive on the day of arrival, followed by a full day safari with picnic lunch en route. Alternatively you can join one or two halfday excursions, if you would rather laze around for an afternoon.
Day 3:
Road transfer to Kulala Desert Lodge. (1.5 hours)
One overnight stay at Kulala Desert Lodge. Fullboard incl activities - local drinks included.
Situated on over 21,000 hectares of private property and bordering the Namib Naukluft Park, Kulala Desert Lodge lies in the heart of the Namib and offers magnificent views of the famous red dunes of Sossusvlei, as well as magnificent mountainous scenery and vast open plains. Fourteen thatched and canvas chalets or “kulalas” (kulala in the Namibian language Oshiwambo menas “to sleep”) with en-suite bathrooms and showers are set on wooden platforms to provide maximum airflow. For outdoor enthusiasts, mattresses can be moved to the rooftop to sleep under the stars from a private star gazing platform. The main lodge, with décor inspired from Northern Africa, has a lounge, bar, dining area and plunge pool, and offers a wrap-around verandah that overlooks the waterhole and provides a perfect location to view and photograph the desert sunset. Early morning guided scenic drives to the spectacular dunes are through a private gate on the Tsauchab River. Drives and walks are also offered on the private reserve with incredible views, desert game and smaller desert fauna and flora. Another option, at an extra cost, is early morning ballooning. Beginning at first light, the 60 – 90 minute balloon safari offers a truly unique experience to soar silently above the magnificent sand dunes and desert. A champagne breakfast is served at your landing site.
Day 4 and 5:
Seat rate air transfer to Swakopmund airfield. (1.5 hours)
Subsequent road transfer to Hansa Hotel, Swakopmund.
Two overnight stays at Hansa Hotel. Bed & breakfast.
The Hansa Hotel is nestled in the very center of the charming little town of Swakopmund, wrapped in the shape of a timelessly classical building dating from 1905, an integral part of Swakopmund’s architectural heritage. The Hansa offers you a feeling of being enveloped in luxurious and sophisticated hospitality with a satisfying blend of both classic atmosphere and a truly elegant interior, matched with a friendly and personalised service. The hotel boasts 5 family units, 2 suites, 2 executive suites and 49 twin/doubles room. Each room is individually decorated and fitted with under tile and/or carpet heating, 15 channel television station, radio, direct dialling telephones, hair-dryer, safes, coffee/tea facilities and en-suite bath/showers.
Swakopmund, Namibia’s second biggest town and traditional “summer capital”, is one of the most surreal places in this surreal country. You approach the town through the endless expanses of the Namib Desert, one of the world’s largest wilderness areas. Then, through the mists, (it is almost always misty in the morning and late afternoon) Bavarian spires and elaborate Germanic architecture rise through the fog banks. The boom of the surf on the notorious Skeleton Coast is an ever-present reminder of the icy Atlantic Ocean beyond. The town is an eclectic mixture of Bohemian and Bavarian, home to an intriguing mix of artists, hippies, strait-laced descendants of German settlers, stately Herero women in Victorian dress, and hard bitten miners, game rangers, safari operators and fishermen. Swakopmund exudes romance and history, a rich cultural melting pot of old and new.
Once you’ve got over the shock of being in a little corner of old Bavaria wedged between one of the world’s harshest deserts and even harsher coastlines, the bewitching desert beckons. Just outside town is the extraordinary Moon Landscape, a seemingly never-ending series of bizarre hills that look like pictures taken of Mars, or the Sea of Tranquility. It is best visited at sunrise or sunset. A bit further airfield, in the bed of the Khan River, is the oasis of Goanikontes, a lush splash of vegetation in the barren Namib. For botanists, there is the lure of the fields of what have been called “living fossils”, the giant Welwitschia mirabilis. These extraordinary plants never grow more than two metres above the ground, but the bigger specimens have underground stems which are up to four metres wide. The plant has just two leaves, which droop in opposite direction.
Just outside Swakopmund, a section of towering barcan dunes have been set aside for recreational purposes – sand boarding and skiing, quadbiking and camel rides. Swakopmund also offers a host of other attractions, including excursions by boat to see dolphins and seals, shorebased angling (some of the best in Africa) or just simply lazing on the beach. All these activities can be booked at the Palmwag Travel Shop offices at 14A Sam Nujoma Drive, Swakopmund.
In the costs of this tour, we have included a boat cruise on the Walvis Bay Lagoon. You will be transferred to the Yacht Club in the neighboring town of Walvis Bay. Enjoy the scenic drive between the magnificent dunes and the awe-inspiring Atlantic Ocean. On arrival at the Yacht Club, embark on a boat cruise that promises exceptional viewing of the Walvis Bay international wetland bird life. The tour takes you to the lighthouse at Pelican Point where a large colony of Cape Fur Seals have established themselves. The waters around Pelican Point are also the home of such creatures as the Heavyside Dolphin, a social animal that rides the bows of the boat as we explore the area for Sunfish, Leatherback Turtles, which often frequent Namibian shores. Return to the Yacht Club for transfer to Swakopmund.
Day 6 and 7:
Road transfer from the Hansa Hotel to Swakopmund airfield.
Charter flight to Desert Rhino Camp (2 hours)
Two overnight stays at Desert Rhino Camp. Fullboard incl activities.
Desert Rhino Camp, situated in the 400,000 hectare (1 million acre) private Palmwag Reserve, offers an original and exclusive wilderness experience. The reserve’s freshwater springs support healthy populations of the famous desert-adapted black rhino, elephant, Hartmann’s mountain zebra, giraffe, oryx, springbok and kudu, as well as large numbers of predators such as lion, cheetah, leopard, and brown and spotted hyena. The camp has eight meru-styled tents with en-suite bathroom comprising hand basin, flush toilet and a classic bucket shower that is filled with hot water whenever needed.
.JPG)
A tented dining and living area offers uninterrupted views of the desert and mountains, while the extraordinary Welwitschia plants dot the plain in front of camp. Activities include rhino tracking on foot or by vehicle, full day outings with a picnic lunch, and day and night nature drives. Desert Rhino Camp is run in conjunction with Save the Rhino Trust, an organization that has been responsible for the survival of the rare black rhino in the area. Guests gain an amazing insight into the ecology and conservation of this area, while at the same time a portion of guest revenue contributes to the Trust and rhino conservation operations.
Day 8, 9 and 10:
Charter flight to Mushara Lodge. (2.5 hours)
Three overnight stays at Mushara Lodge. Dinner, bed & breakfast.
Located only 8 kms from the von Lindequist Gate on the eastern outskirts of the Etosha National Park, Mushara Lodge is ideally situated for travellers visiting the Park. The Lodge consists of ten spacious chalets, one family unit and two single rooms. The name Mushara derives from the Purple Pod Terminalia tree, which grows in abundance in the lodge grounds and the surrounding area. The thatched public area consists of a small library with a selection of good books, a bar with an extensive wine cellar, airy lounge with welcoming fireplace for winter evenings, a dining area and well-stocked curio shop. Great attention has been paid to the décor, which is an eclectic blend of traditional African and modern art works combined with original paintings.
In a horseshoe shape around the swimming pool there are ten well spaced thatched chalets. Each chalet and the rooms are extremely spacious and are furnished with air-conditioning, mosquito net, mini bar fridge, safe, tea- and coffee making facilities, electric lights, direct dial telephone, wardrobe and luggage rack. The bathrooms are en-suite with separate toilets. Seven of the chalets have just a shower and the other three chalets, the triple room and the single rooms have a bath and shower. A feature of Mushara is its large, tiled, bright blue swimming pool surrounded by green lawn that is kept well manicured by the occasional visiting local wildlife.
From here you will be exploring the Etosha National Park (3x pm and 2x am game drives included in the rate).
Etosha is one of the largest and best game viewing parks in the whole of Africa. The reason is in the Ovambo name Etosha, which means 'huge white area' or 'place of dry water', depending upon whom you ask. For most of the year a vast shallow pan, which was once a lake the size of Holland, shimmers a glaring bright white from crystallized salt across its entire surface. Surrounding the pans is a variety of grass and woodlands amongst which live a wonderful variety of animals and birds, insects and reptiles. Etosha has dozens of waterholes, some are natural while others are artificially fed from boreholes. During the dry season, staking out a position at a waterhole viewpoint is a rewarding way to watch game without moving from one spot. A veritable 'Noah's Arc' of species queue up to take a drink, with elephants hogging the lion's share!
Plains game such as zebra, wildebeest, giraffe, springbok, impala and eland abount in great numbers on the grasslands and congregate at waterholes in the dry season. Herds of fifty elephants are not unusual and often walk right down the middle of the road giving people in cars an incredibly close and thrilling encounter. Lions and hyenas must be searched for, but silver-backed jackals trot around almost oblivious to you. The desert dwelling oryx, upon which the mythical unicorn must surely be based, will certainly be seen here along with the impressive curly horned kudu. Etosha also contains endangered black rhino and unusual species like the blackfaced impala - a larger and darker subspecies found only in southwestern Angola and northwestern Namibia.
Etosha birdlife is absolutely wonderful with every kind of feathered friend. One to look for is the ground hornbill – looks like a downhearted widow with a red scarf around her face. Other less terrestrial hornbills are the cheeky yellow-billed hornbills whose squawk and loping flight becomes a familiar sight. Lilac breasted rollers are colour enough as they sit on their favourite perch, but when they take off in pursuit of an insect, their underwings give blinding flash of electric blue. Eagles and vultures cruise high in the warm air currents or perch on branches with beady eyes alert.
Day 11 and 12:
Charter flight to Lianshulu. (3 hours)
Two overnight stays at Lianshulu Lodge. Fullboard incl activities.
Cradled between the enigmatic Okavango River to the west and the mighty Zambezi River to the east, Lianshulu Lodge nestles beneath a canopy of shadey Jackalberry and Mangosteen trees, on the banks of the meandering Kwando River. Here, in the heart of the Mudumu National Park, dry Mopane woodlands meet the allure of a fragile Kwando wetland ecosystem. For visitors to Lianshulu Lodge, located on the periphery of Botswana’s legenday wildlife reserves, the attraction will be found in a quintessentially African experience, blending exceptional service with superb scenery and a fascinating array of wildlife.
The future of this unique natural heritage will depend on the active involvement of the people who live in the East Caprivi. Lianshulu Lodge has been instrumental in creating new opportunities and actively encourages projects that utilise indigenous products and knowledge on a sustainable basis. The staff and management are concerned about environmental education and promote wildlife conservation in its broadest sense, in order to create direct economic and social benefits to local communities.
Nature drives in the Mudumu National Park are conducted in open 4x4 vehicles. Other activities include guided morning walks in the park, bird watching, boat excursions and sunset cruises on the Kwando River. Optional night drives are offered between May and November. All these activities are conducted by experienced, resident naturalist guides. An optional visit to the Lizauli Traditional Village, a long standing community tourism project, can be arranged.
Although game populations fluctuate through the seasons, many typical savannah species occur in the area - including buffalo, waterbuck, Roan, with Elephant, Zebra and Hippo being particularly abundant.
Day 13 and 14:
Charter flight to Okonjima .
Two overnight stays at Okonjima Bush Camp. Fullboard incl activities.
Okonjima lies nestled in the unspoilt beauty of the Omboroko mountains, part of the well known Waterberg Plateau. In the Herero language Okonjima means 'place of the baboons'. Okonjima is so much more than just a luxury lodge. It is also home to the AfriCat Foundation, which is committed to researching and rehabilitating Namibia’s threatened wild cat population. AfriCat is known internationally after featuring in an award-winning documentary filmed for the Discovery Channel.
Okonjima’s luxury Bush Camp, 3 km from Main Camp, is situated on the edge of a wilderness area. Each exclusive chalet enjoys complete privacy and is a combination of earthy, ochre walls and khaki-green canvas, under a thatched roof.
Bush Camp has 8 luxury, thatched African-style chalets, a secluded swimming pool, mini-bar, telephone, private safe, a queen-size bed as well as a 3/4 bed in each chalet. The front 180° of canvas paneling may be rolled up for a spectacular view. All chalets are very well spaced with 80m -100m between each other. Please note that children under the age of 12 years are not permitted at the Camp.
• Bush Camp closes for renovations during February
Day 15:
Charter flight from Okonjima to Hosea Kutako Airport. (1 hour 15 mins)
Check-in for your outbound flight.
Please contact us for 2008 rates.