NAMIBIA TRACKS AND TRAILS - NOTES FROM THE FIELD
January 2010
A Classic Namibian Escape:
NT&T have a 6 night classic Kaokoland trip running in 2010. Departing and returning to Palmwag Lodge, the journey takes you through the great Hartmann Valley and Marienfluss to the banks of the Kunene where meetings with himbas and camping under the stars provide an unforgettable experience. This is the full itinerary while all costs and departure dates for 2010 are available here under PTS02.
Sept 2009
Jockel Gruttemeyer the owner of Namibia’s most adventurous mobile safari operator has spent thousands of hours enjoying wildlife in remote corners of Africa. So when he sends a trip report that contains more than four lines on wildlife sightings you know it must have been a good trip. I thought I would share the feedback we received from his latest safari through Namibia’s Kaudom Game Reserve and Caprivi Strip.
Just back from a fantastic trip into the North East, Kaudom is teeming with game! Exceptionally good roan antelope sightings, leopard and hyena scrapping with honey badger. No chance to sit in the hide at Tari Kora water hole because the elephants where crowding the shaded area beside the hide and a lioness was blocking the access path. We later ran into a herd of around 220 elephant up in the northern section of the park, what a fantastic sighting. The Kaudom flood plain is exceptionally beautiful at the moment with lots of good grass, solitary elephant bulls and several small breeding herds around. Lucky to see a hyena with cub, then caracal and finally porcupine with four babies.
Bwabwata Game Reserve has plenty of buffalo and we saw a herd of 250 animals with attendant lions. We found two further prides of lion the following morning, attracted by the good hunting opportunities around Susuwe. The river guides are seeing sitatunga every day at the moment and the water is still very high. As a result we were treated to a lioness dashing through a shallow pan that we were using as a sundowner spot!
NT&T operates a safari which covers the wildlife areas mentioned above. The Classic North East Camping Experience (PTS 05) is an 11 day guided safari which starts and finishes in Windhoek. There are scheduled departures operating throughout the year and the itinerary is attached:
PTS05May 2009
Namibia Tracks and Trails are both a ground handling solution for safaris throughout Namibia and a specialist outfitter of fully-supported mobile safaris. The last 12 months has seen an increasing demand for their services in the rugged Kunene region. The most popular of their 'standard' tours has proven to be the 3 day, 2 night adventure (PTS 04) 'On the tracks of Desert Elephants and Black Rhino.' The duration of this safari makes it an ideal inclusion within a standard Namibian itinerary.
The truly unique selling points of the Kunene Region are the desert adapted mega fauna and the nomadic Himba community. To allow for an introduction to the human face of the north west, an extra night has been added to this safari which will cover the Puros area and Hoarusib River system. The Himba community are spread throughout this beautiful valley and time spent here also allows for the chance to see the most northerly elephant herds in the region. The route then heads south through the large village at Sesfonteine and back to Palmwag Lodge. This extended 4 day / 3 night itinerary is called PTS 04 A.
Palmwag Lodge itself can be accessed via charter flight or good gravel road. It offers a practical point from which to head east to Etosha or south towards the Erongo Mountains or Swakopmund. Self-drive clients can leave their rental vehicle safely at the lodge for the duration of the safari and refuel before their onward journey.
April 2009
Hoanib camp is closed with immediate effect - all confirmed group bookings via Namibia Tracks and Trails will be honoured. This means that sadly we will be taking the 5 night Hoanib Camp and Palmwag Lodge combination tour off-line.
This wonderful area is still accessed by a number of Namibia Tracks and Trails mobile safaris, including the classic 'On the Tracks of Desert Elephants and Black Rhino' (PTS 04) which will now include an extra night spent near the remote Himba community at Puros.
November 2008
Everyone loves camping right? Actually most people will opt for the safety of a thatched roof and brick walls to separate them from the great African outdoors. The folks at NT&T know this and yet they continue to highlight the wonderful world of the real mobile tented camp. They offer bite-sized chunks of adventure for the curious but cautious creature that is the modern British traveller. This is not safari-lite though, the massive empty spaces of Namibia are as wild as it gets and if I had to pick a word to describe the experience, I would use ‘Authentic’.
So if people are nervous about wild camping, why do NT&T have such a high level of repeat business? The same safari lodge devoted guests come back for bigger, longer and more ambitious safaris. They bring their friends and they even bring their children. They come back because it is exciting, fun, liberating and provides them with a holiday experience that crosses the line from a nice trip to the trip of a lifetime.
October 2008
Mobile safaris in Namibia offer a superb antidote to the recession wary traveller. Not only does some serious wild camping turn the most routine of lodge itineraries into the trip of a lifetime, but I can guarantee that the lack of news stands and mobile phone coverage will be a welcome relief from the media gloom.
July 2008
Namibia Tracks and Trails have developed a superb new range of safaris which offer another dimension to 'standard' Namibian self-drive or fly-in itineraries. These range from three days tracking desert elephant or meeting the Himba communities of the north west, to a complete desert route which visits both the Kalahari and Namib Deserts. The most recent safari is built around the secluded Hoanib Camp and can be seen here.
