Namibia Expedition

Cheetah tracking, desert-adapted elephants, Himba tribes, sea kayaking among seals and dolphins, and a walking safari amid towering dunescapes and infinite blue skies—this is adventure travel! We track leopards and cheetahs at Okonjima, the largest rescue-and-release program in the world, safari in Etosha National Park’s newly opened western reaches (formerly restricted to wildlife researchers), climb the dunes at sunrise in Namib-Naukluft National Park, and top off our expedition with an amazing 3-day walking safari across the stunning wilderness of the NamibRand Nature Reserve, with its incredible variety of landscapes, from majestic mountains to red dunes. This is a once-in-a-lifetime experience of one of Africa’s most intriguing realms.

Itinerary at a Glance

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Days 1-5
Windhoek, Namibia / Okonjima / Etosha National Park

At Okonjima Bush Camp, home to the renowned AfriCat Foundation, our adventures include radio-tracking leopards by 4WD and up-close encounters with cheetahs. World-famous Etosha National Park’s salt pans boast an immense variety of wildlife, and we look for elephant, black rhino, springbok, and hartebeest congregating at the waterholes. Our camps are at Okaukuejo, with its famed floodlit waterhole, and Dolomite Camp in incredibly scenic western Etosha, where endangered black rhinos have been successfully bred.

Days 6-7
Damaraland / Himba Tribes / Twyfelfontein

Exploring amid Damaraland’s magnificent table-topped mountains, we make a special trip to a remote Himba settlement where our Trip Leader’s connections help create wonderful cultural encounters. Our 4WD explorations take us in search of rare desert-adapted elephants, and we walk the trail at Twyfelfontein, a World Heritage Site with the finest collection of petroglyphs in Africa.

Days 8-11
Swakopmund / Sossusvlei

From charming Swakopmund, we head to dune-lined Walvis Bay to sea kayak among Cape fur seals and bottle-nosed dolphins, then enter the heart of magical Namib-Naukluft National Park for dune-climbing at sunrise and sunset, capturing the fantastic colors of Sossusvlei in perfect light.

Days 12-15
NamibRand Nature Reserve / Tok Tokkie Trail

Our grand finale is a fantastic three-day hike across the NamibRand Nature Reserve, the largest privately owned nature reserve in southern Africa. Walking at a leisurely pace, we enjoy incredible mountain vistas, breathtaking views of the dunes and plains, and a chance to experience the “coming alive” of the desert each morning. In our comfy nightly camps, we sleep under a canopy of stars with the wondrous desert silence pierced only by the occasional cry of a hyena and the hoo-hoo of spotted eagle owls. Depart via Windhoek on Day 15.

For a more complete description, Download Full Detailed Itinerary

What the Trip is Like

The trip is Level 3, Moderate, according to our trip grading system. This is a camping and lodge safari with gameviewing by 4WD vehicle and nature walks. There are a few long driving days over rough roads and rugged dirt tracks. On Days 12, 13, and 14, we will be walking on desert trails (1-2 hours on Day 12, up to 7.5 hours on Day 13, up to 3 hours on Day 14 ). The walking is not particularly strenuous (and there is a backup vehicle available should you wish to cut a day’s walk short), but you will need to bring well broken-in hiking boots for these days as well as for hikes on the Sossusvlei Dunes. Although this is not a particularly rigorous trip, we still recommend that each participant undertake a preparatory program of physical conditioning (especially if you want to climb the sand dunes in Sossusvlei, which can be quite challenging). Daily walking or regular hiking, jogging, and stair-climbing are excellent preparatory exercises. Any African safari is an adventure, and the traveler to Africa should bring along flexibility, a sense of humor, curiosity about new peoples and places, and an openness to the unexpected.

Explanation of Trip Levels