10-day Namibia Under Canvas

Namibia is a vast country, even by African standards, covering an area approximately twice the size of California and four times the size of the United Kingdom, but with a population of a mere 2 million. This gives one of the lowest population densities in the world. It is also an ‘ageless land’; visible through our heritage of rock art created by stone-age artists and geological attractions such as the petrified forest where fossilised tree trunks have lain for over 280 million years. When added to the space and silence, these factors all contribute to a feeling of antiquity, solitude and wilderness.

The climate is typical of a semi-desert country. Days are warm to hot, and nights are generally cool. Temperatures are modified by the high plateau in the interior and by the cold Benguela Current that runs along the Atlantic coastline. Except for the first few months of the year, the country is generally dry with very little rain.

This Namibia Under Canvas Safari affords you the chance to experience this magnificent and memorable country in a very personal way. You will have your own professional and experienced safari guide who will enhance your enjoyment of this unique country by making it a fascinating and stress-free journey of discovery amidst very dramatic scenery. The knowledge, experience, and character of our guides are critical to a successful safari which is why we ensure that they are both personable and very professional. Your Ultimate Safaris guide will have an intimate knowledge of each area and camp/lodge that you visit, allowing them to share the local insights and highlights whilst adding continuity and depth to your safari. It goes without saying that they all know exactly what a “True African Safari” is all about. Not only are our guides highly qualified, each has a specific area of expertise. Together they possess the breadth and depth of knowledge to allow them to answer questions and satisfy the interests of each of our guests. The presence and company of your Ultimate Safaris guide will turn your safari into an experience of a lifetime!  The Under Canvas camps are designed to offer a true “back to nature” experience with the emphasis being on the experiential aspect of safaris, to go back to the roots of safari, to touch, to smell, to feel and to experience the wild, with one’s feet firmly in the dust that covers Africa. This is an experience that is exclusive in the real sense of the word, as well as being very much away from the pressures of ‘normal’ life!

There is a degree of compromise required concerning some of the frills and other ‘add-ons’ that you might expect in a permanent tented camp or lodge, but there is still a strong focus on ensuring guests’ comfort. Those prepared to forego some conventional ‘necessities’, so that they are unencumbered by buildings and all the paraphernalia that goes with them, will be able to go to sleep hearing only the noisy silence of the desert and to wake up to a chorus that announces the start of a new day. It is the kind of intimacy that can only be achieved by taking guests to the most wild, remote and private places, and giving them access to areas away from the beaten path.

Highlights

  • Ongava Private Game Reserve
  • Windhoek
  • Swakopmund
  • Neuhof Nature Reserve
  • Damaraland
  • Namibia

Tour Summary

Full Day by Day Itinerary

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Day 1 : Ongava Private Game Reserve

This morning Ultimate Safaris will collect you from your various accommodation establishments or from the Windhoek International Airport (assuming you land before 07h00). You then depart Windhoek in your safari vehicle with your private guide and set off on your journey.   On your way to the Ongava Private Reserve you will visit the Okonjima’s AfriCat Day Centre, a wonderful highlight with which to start your safari. Okonjima is home to the AfriCat Foundation, a wildlife sanctuary which focuses on the research and rehabilitation of Africa's big cats, especially injured or captured leopard and cheetah. You will arrive in time to embark on an exciting and informative game drive and tour of the center. Here you will learn about the function and vision of the AfriCat Foundation and will also get to meet some of the Foundation’s special captive carnivore ambassadors.

PLEASE NOTE: There will be no tracking of wild cats on this visit and should that be required a pre-overnight extension should be booked.

After the excursion you will enjoy a light lunch before you journey continues further north.   You arrive in time for an afternoon game drive on the Ongava Game Reserve in an open game viewer with Ongava ranger, on shared basis with other lodge guests.

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Day 2 : Ongava Private Game Reserve

Today you will be treated to an exciting morning guided game drive into the Etosha National Park, to see more of the wide variety of game and bird species that are to be found there. There is then time to relax by the refreshing swimming pool before you head out again for an afternoon game drive into Etosha before exiting the park before sunset. Alternatively, you can opt to spend the whole day out in the park and either take lunch by one of the other rest camps in the area or have a picnic while watching game at a particularly productive waterhole in the area. Once you are back (gates close at sunset), the rest of the evening can be spent game viewing at the camp’s floodlit waterhole while enjoying dinner, and afterwards.

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Day 3 : Ongava Private Game Reserve

Another morning dedicated to memorable game drives within the southern section of Etosha National Park with your guide. You return to camp for lunch and an early afternoon rest, spending your final afternoon on a game drive on the private Ongava Game Reserve. You then return after sunset with enough time to freshen up and enjoy your final ‘safari dinner’ overlooking the camp’s floodlit waterhole.

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Day 4 : Damaraland

This  morning after breakfast you  will  continue your safari to  the  heart of Namibia, Damaraland, traveling through farmlands and the small towns. Damaraland is typified by displays of colour, magnificent table topped mountains, rock formations and bizarre-looking vegetation. The present-day landscape has been formed by the erosion of wind, water and geological forces which have formed rolling hills, dunes, gravel plains and ancient river terraces. It is the variety and loneliness of  the  area as  well as the  scenic splendour which will reward and astound you, giving one an  authentic understanding of the word 'wilderness'.  You enjoy a delicious Magic Box picnic en route and arrive in time in time to enjoy fireside sundowners at Camp Doros. Please note that today is a long day of travelling, rewarded with another 3 night stay at your next camp.

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Day 5 : Damaraland

Today you will spend an exciting and memorable morning out rhino tracking with the assistance of local trackers. It is worth noting that these black rhino form part of one of the only free-roaming black rhino populations in Africa and tracking animals in an unfenced and uninhibited environment is an absolute privilege. You will return to camp for a freshly prepared lunch and with time to relax at camp during the heat of the day. Later in the afternoon you head out again for a scenic nature drive or walk to explore this vast and astounding ecosystem.  Camp Doros works together with the Save the Rhino Trust (SRT) - an NGO that has been instrumental in the preservation of the rare, endangered, desert adapted black rhino. Having barely survived the slaughter in many parts of Africa during the '80s and '90s, the black rhino population of Namibia increased substantially since the formation of SRT.

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Day 6 : Damaraland

Today you continue your adventures exploring Damaraland, enjoying the freedom to discover the fascinating landscapes with your private naturalist guide both by vehicle and on foot. Damaraland is a surprising refuge for desert adapted wildlife that may include elephant, giraffe, oryx, springbok and even some predators such as lion. However, as with any wildlife sightings in Namibia, this depends on many factors including seasonality so specific sightings are never guaranteed. The wildlife roams large tracks of unfenced desert landscapes and finding game can be challenging, but this is all part of the adventure of exploring this wild untouched gem of Namibia. Today’s focus will be largely on tracking the elusive desert adapted elephants in the ephemeral river systems, an activity which will mean spending most of the day out. Your guide will take along a delicious picnic lunch and you will return to camp in the late afternoon.

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Day 7 : Swakopmund

After an early breakfast the drive today takes you south past Namibia’s highest mountain, the Brandberg which peaks at 2,573m above sea level, and west to meet the coast at Henties Bay. You then continue south to the coastal town of Swakopmund where you can enjoy the pleasant seaside location and cooler coastal air for the night.  You stay on the eastern outskirts of the town, overlooking the Swakop River valley and desolate desert dune landscapes. Tonight, includes dinner at a popular restaurant which specializes in locally harvested fresh seafood as well as other local and international dishes.

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Day 8 : Neuhof Nature Reserve

After an early breakfast you depart on a fascinating drive which takes you south-east through awesome and ever- changing desert landscapes via the impressive Gaub and Kuiseb canyons to meet the dunes at the settlement of Solitaire. A picnic lunch will be had en route and you will continue onto the Namib Tsaris Conservancy, where you will spend your final two nights of your safari at  Camp Sossus. Arrival should be in the mid to late afternoon with enough time to acquaint yourself with the camp and enjoy a hot bucket shower before dinner.

Activities  include  visits  to  Sossusvlei with  your  private  guide  and  general  exploration of  the  private  Namib  Tsaris Conservancy, including nature walks and drives, guided Mountain Plus Biking, magic moments in desert pools (yes, isn’t that intriguing), our famous Trail Treats, star gazing and sleeping out under the stars from your private star bed. In addition to this, Camp Sossus provides a convenient base from which to go on hot air balloon flights as well as scenic helicopter and fixed wing aircraft flights over the local area. It is also a great venue for photographers, offering fantastic landscapes, iconic quiver trees, and the opportunity for nighttime photography which is often very difficult to arrange elsewhere.

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Day 9 : Neuhof Nature Reserve

This morning you will need to rise early for a magical excursion with your guide to Sossusvlei in the Namib Naukluft National Park, normally setting off before sunrise to enter the park at sunrise and capture the dunes whilst the light is soft and shadows accentuate the towering shapes and curves. The Sossusvlei area boasts some of the highest free- standing sand dunes in the world and your guide will give you an insight on the formation of the Namib Desert and its myriad of fascinating creatures and plants that have adapted to survive these harsh environs. Once you have explored Sossusvlei, Deadvlei and surrounding dune fields to your heart’s content you can  enjoy a relaxed picnic brunch in the shade of a camel thorn tree. You will return to camp with time to relax at camp during the heat of the day. Later in the afternoon you head out again for a scenic nature drive or walk to explore this vast and astounding ecosystem and to enjoy a magnificent final safari sundowner.

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Day 10 : Departure

After a leisurely breakfast this morning you will depart from Sossusvlei and return to Windhoek, driving northeast up the Great Escarpment and through the scenic Khomas Hochland highlands. A tasty picnic lunch will again be served en route and arrival in Windhoek should be by the mid-afternoon.

Upon your arrival in Windhoek, you will be transferred to your accommodation establishment of choice, or out to the Windhoek International Airport (transfer to be booked additionally) if flying out in the evening - departure flights must be no earlier than 18h00 to allow sufficient time for the journey back to Windhoek, or a final night in Windhoek can be arranged at additional cost if required. A final night in Windhoek is highly recommended!

Included

Welcome pack
Accommodation as stated.
Transportation in a luxury air-conditioned safari vehicle.
All meals.
Services of a registered and experienced naturalist English-speaking safari guide.
Entrance fees and excursions as described in the itinerary.
Mineral water on board the safari vehicle.
Local drinks at meals (this includes water, soft drinks, beers and table wine).
Two Ongava afternoon property drives in open game viewer with lodge guide.

Excluded

International, regional & local flights to Namibia and airport taxes.
Return airport transfers from Windhoek International Airport – Windhoek – Windhoek International Airport.
Pre and post safari accommodation in Windhoek.
Any entrance fees and excursions not included in the above itinerary such as scenic flights.
All premium and imported wines, champagnes and spirits
Laundry (laundry service available at lodges at extra cost) – Camp Doras will offer a limited complimentary laundry service to assist with a ‘mid-point laundry’ opportunity.
Gratuities.
Items of personal nature (telephone expenses, curios, medicines etc).