“Best of Both” Botswana & Namibia

Description:  Namibia is a hidden gem, a land of contrast, open spaces and rugged beauty.  We explore the coast before taking a journey into the heart of Namibia to the oldest and most photogenic desert in the world, the Namib. From oceans to deserts,  you can lose yourself in this land lost in time, Namibia.

Botswana is famous for its wildlife. Here we visit the Kalahari, Moremi Game Reserve and camp wild on the banks of the Okavango Delta. This is where you may be able to get “National Geographic” type photos and wildlife footage. The way the desert has been brought to life by these waterways is astounding.

 

Highlights:  

Watch the sunrise over the red dunes of the oldest desert in the world, the Namib | Marvel at the German architecture in Swakopmond | Walk with bushmen in the central Kalahari | Glide silently through the Okavango Delta on a mokoro | Search for Big Game in one of the most densely populated wildlife areas in Africa

 

Includes:	Excludes:
Small group safari maximum 4 people	Beverages
10 nights’ accommodation in lodge, guest house or chalet	Travel insurance
Meals as per itinerary	Flights
Bx10, Lx9, Dx6	Departure taxes
Entrance fees	Airport transfers*
Professional passionate guide	Optional activities
Transport in a comfortable, air-conditioned vehicle	Tips

 

Price:

€ 2 190 + ZAR 1400 local payment per person

*based on 4 people travelling

*airport transfers can be arranged, price on application

Day 1 – Swakopmond

Arrive in Walvis Bay, get collected from the airport and head into Swakopmond to our accommodation. Do shopping for the next two nights in the desert and explore the town.  Eat out at a local seaside restaurant. Stay at local guest house.

Day 2- Namib Desert

Next morning we are up early and after breakfast and packing the car we make our way through the gravel plains and strikingly beautiful (and sometimes barren) Namib-Naukluft Mountains towards the Namib Desert. We should arrive in time for a late lunch. We will check into our accommodation and then make our way to see the life-saving (in the old days) Sesriem canyon.

Return to camp to freshen up before a meal under the starry Namibian night sky. Stay in en-suite permanent tents. (BLD)

 

Day 3 – Namib Desert

The next day we will be up early and head into the Namib Desert, travelling through corridors of red dunes and gravel plains. We make our way to Deadvlei and Sossusvlei, two rivers which were cut off by the dunes some 600yrs, all the trees died and have been left like skeletons as a reminder of what it was like. We can climb the highest dunes and even slide down them on boards too. There are some interesting desert animals like gemsbok/oryx, Namib sand lizards and birds of prey.

In the afternoon we can climb one of the rocky outcrops around our camp for an amazing view over this vast landscape of stone and sand. We will have dinner under the stars again. Stay in en-suite permanent tents.(BLD)

 

Day 4- Windhoek

After breakfast we pack up and make our way to the capital city Windhoek to see an interesting mixture of German, South African and local Namibian cultures.

We will eat out at a popular local restaurant and stay in a comfy guest house. (BL)

 

Day 5- Kalahari

After sleeping the night in Windhoek, we leave early and drive to the Namibia/Botswana border. From here we will make our way the Kalahari cattle post of Ghanzi (home of some of the last San Bushmen) in Botswana. There is the option of taking a guided walk with some of the Bushmen and an interpreter to learn how they have managed to survive in a place that before boreholes no other humans could. Sleep in traditional Bushmen huts in Ghanzi.(BLD)

 

Day 6 – Maun – Gateway to the Okavango

The next morning we continue on to Maun, gateway to the Okavango Delta. We should arrive in time for a late lunch. After checking in at our lodge we head back into town to do all our shopping for the next night in the Delta. This afternoon there is also the option of doing a low-altitude flight over the Okavango Delta (own expense). We eat out at a local restaurant. En-suite rooms at riverside lodge. (BL)

 

 

Day 7 – Okavango Delta

The next morning after breakfast we will pack everything we need for a night’s wild camping into a 4×4 open vehicle and head into the delta. We drive through rivers and over islands to get to the poling station on the periphery of the Delta. Here we meet our guides and polers who will escort us for the night. Everything we will need is packed into the mekoro (traditional dugout canoes) and we begin our journey into the Okavango Delta.

We will be taken to a secluded island where we will set up camp, have lunch and relax. That afternoon we venture out to walk the islands in search of game, birds, tracks & signs and of course photos. Enjoy a scrumptious meal around the fire. Stay in canvas 3 man tents for 2 people. Sleeping bags and camping mattresses included. (BLD)

 

Day 8 – Moremi

This morning there is an optional early morning walk or you can choose to rest in. After breakfast we pack up camp and get it all into the mokoro to slowly cruise the Delta’s waterways back to the poling station. Here we will be picked up and taken back to our lodge in Maun. En route we will go past town to do any shopping that needs to be done for the next 2 nights.

After repacking our bags and freshening up we will pack our open game viewer, and head off to Moremi. We will have lunch en route to our camp. We should arrive at our camp by late afternoon, here we can freshen up and settle and then go for an optional night drive. The night drive may not be necessary as our camp provides the only waterhole for miles around, the fantastic thing about this is that the animals will be coming to us! We have dinner around the fire or in the open-sided lounge area on stilts. Relax, take a deep breath and enjoy the feeling of having the whole of Africa to ourselves. Tonight we sleep in permanent tents with the sounds of the African night all around us. Stay in spacious permanent, en suit tents, in a private camp with a raised open lounge and dining room. (BLD)

 

 

Day 9 –Moremi

Today is all about the bush and its inhabitants. We will have a local guide that knows the area back to front, a vehicle which can go nearly anywhere, access to Moremi Game Reserve and its game-rich surrounds and absolutely no time constraints. We can do lunch out in the bush, on the grassy banks of a river or in the company of whichever animals you wish to spend time with. We will focus on birds, animals, tracks and signs as well as the history and ecology of the area. The photographic opportunities here are amazing and unlike some other reserves, it is quite normal here to have a group of animals all to ourselves. We will have dinner back at our private camp, probably to the sound of elephants and buffalo sloshing through the waterhole in the darkness. Stay in spacious permanent, en suit tents, in a private camp with a raised open lounge and dining room.  (BLD)

 

Day 10 – Maun

After an optional early morning game drive and a leisurely breakfast we pack up and depart. We can game drive for the rest of the morning before heading back to Maun to arrive for a late lunch. The afternoon is free to relax around the pool, go into town for shopping, or take a Delta flight before dinner at a local restaurant. Stay at lodge with pool and bar on river bank, simple clean, en suite. (BL)

 

Day 11 – Tour Ends

Have a relaxed morning, breakfast at the lodge and pack up all your kit before being transferred to the airport to catch your onward flights. (B)

 

 

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