Namibia is go!
Short break
If you are keen to experience some of the best Namibia has to offer but have only a few days to spare we’d highly recommend a Skeleton Coast flying safari. The Schoeman family has been operating these extraordinary flying safaris along Namibia’s wild Skeleton Coast region since the 1970s, and over the course of four days you fly into remote areas, landing on dirt strips, or just on the beach, gaining access to isolated camps, wildlife and cultural encounters with barely another soul around. Flying at low level from place to place you can simply sit back and admire a bird’s eye view of this landscape of haunting beauty as it unfolds below. Those of us in the office fortunate enough to have done the trip rate it as one of the very best African adventures there is.
Beach landing with Schoeman Skeleton Coast Safaris
A week in Namibia
A week in Namibia would allow enough time to explore two of the contry’s most iconic regions – Damaraland and the Sossusvlei Dunes. Damaraland, with its stark scenery, is home to rare wildlife species including desert adapted elephant and desert rhino. Stay at Onduli Ridge and you can join trackers to learn about conservation work protecting the world’s last population of free roaming black rhino. Take a scenic flight along the Skeleton Coast, flying over deserted diamond mines and the Eduard Bohen shipwreck before touching down in Sossusvlei. It’s here that you will find the magnificent Sossusvlei Dunes towering over the desert landscape. Little Kulala is a great spot with the added advantage of easy (and early morning) access to the dunes, offering wonderful photograph opportunities.
Magnificient sand dunes at Sossusvlei close to Little Kulala
Two weeks in Namibia
If time is on your side, Namibia is a fantastic place to self-drive. The road network is good and well maintained and you have the flexilibily to travel at your own pace. From Windhoek, head north to Etosha National Park which will be your main wildlife fix. Stay in one of the private reserves adjacent to the park, somewhere like Onguma Tented Camp, and you can expect to tick off plenty of animal sightings with much of the wildlife drawn to waterholes. Take a full day driving across the national park, spotting wildlife as you go and overnight at Etosha Heights before continuing on to Damaraland. Camp Kipwe is the perfect spot for a couple of nights in this far-flung region. It is within easy access of the Twyfelfontein rock engravings and is also in a good area for spotting desert adapted elephant. The coastal town of Swakopmund is a five hour drive away, where The Strand Hotel has the perfect waterfront setting. Although it’s not a typical beach resort the range of fun activities includes sand boarding and kayaking amongst seals in Walvis Bay. Your final stop is Sossusvlei which is home to a wonderful lodge called Desert Homestead. The magnificent orange dunes are a photographers’ dream and the iconic landscapes of Dead Vlei and the Sesriem Canyon make a great finale.
Camp Kipwe is a charming spot from which to enjoy a range of activites
What next?
We would be delighted to help you plan a safari in Namibia. Our team of experts has travelled widely throughout Africa and the Indian Ocean and can offer expert advice on every type of safari from family and beach holidays to riding and primate safaris. Do get in touch – chatting to people by phone or email is what we do best. We listen, we explain, we answer all sorts of questions even those you didn’t know to ask, and finally we make suggestions. If this is your first time to Africa or your twenty first, we have a team standing by to help make the planning easy and the journey the best ever. Please get in touch whatever stage you’re at.
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