Namibia Landscape Tour 2023

Ongoshi awaits your arrival at Hosea Kutako Airport in Windhoek. After all formalities have been completed, we take you to your accommodation to freshen up. A short while later we travel through the city of Windhoek to see some of the historic –and modernsites. We will have you back at your accommodation early afternoon for a rest. Early evening we pick you up for an evening meal at the well known Joe’s Beerhouse, to give your pallet a first taste of Namibian cuisine.

After a wholesome breakfast we depart to the east and then south east, driving through the Kalahari. Notice the different ecological formations as we drive through hills, flatlands and red dunes. We stop for lunch under a shady camelthorn tree before arriving at the Bagatelle Lodge in the early afternoon. After checking in and refreshing ourselves, we embark on a nature drive on the Bagatelle Ranch Lands, looking for the plains game to be found here. The team take you to view the cheetahs being fed, before we climb onto a dune for our first sundowner in Namibia’s nature.

After returning we have time to freshen up before dinner.

After breakfast we continue our travels south eastwards, following first the Nossob and then the Auob Riverbeds leading south, enjoying the meandering and changing landscape as we head south.

After a picnic under a tree we should arrive at the Auob Country Lodge in the early afternoon. After checking in and a rest, we embark on a nature drive through the dunes of the Kalahari. If at all possible (this depends on the number of guests attending) we will have our sundowner and dinner under the stars.

We arise early today as we have quite a ways to go. After an early breakfast we head south-west, travelling through the dune belts. As we near Keetmanshoop, the landscape changes completely as we drive into dolomite hills and quiver tree forests. We stop at rock formations called “Giant’s playground, so named as it looks like a giant played with his Legos and put them on top of each other. Interspersed with quiver trees, this is quite a dramatic site.

After a short stop in Keetmanshoop to replenish supplies, we turn off towards the Fish River Canyon.

About 40km outside of Keetmanshoop we have our lunch at the scenic Naute Dam which is Keetmanshoop’ s water supply. Directly below the dam we find wine and palm orchards being irrigated from the dam’s water. Here we have a short stop at the Naute Kristall Stall, either for a cup of really decent coffee or to sample their gin/wine/spirits that are locally made there.

As we continue south we come into an arid mountain region through which the Fish River flows.

But, as it has been a long day, we travel straight to the Canyon Lodge. After check-in and a short rest or swim, we have a great sundowner before dinner.

Travelling a short way back, we find the turn-off to the Fish River Canyon, about a 30km drive. Enjoy the unbelievable scenery from the different view points, looking at this canyon; depending on which time of the year you visit, water can be seen some of the time.

We travel further south until we reach the South African border at Aussenkehr. Here we meet up with the Orange River which we will follow to the Atlantic. Driving this scenic route is slow but beautiful. We stop on the riverbank somewhere and have a small lunch picnic.

At a mining town called Rosh Pinah we re-join the main tar road leading to Oranjemund. Oranjemund was inaccessible for many year due to it being in the Diamond “Sperrgebiet” and thus completely closed to the public. Now however, the town has opened up and we reach our accommodation, the Oryx Guesthouse in the late afternoon. Here Attie welcomes us with a refreshing drink, as we settle in for sundowner and a “braai”, cooked by Attie.

Driving through the town after breakfast, you will notice that not only humans inhabit this town. Oryx antelopes trundle down some of the streets, completely ignoring their human co-inhabitants. The town has refreshing green gardens and pathways after the brown, dusty desert. We drive past the golf course to the river mouth of the Orange River, where it meets the Atlantic.

On our way back, towards Rosh Pinah, we follow a little mountain pass for a short while and stope here for some terrific views of one of the hardest places on earth.

Climbing out of the Valley we reach Aus, 120km away from the coast. Here we turn into the Klein Aus Vista Lodge. We relax for the rest of the afternoon, sundowners and dinner at the lodge.

We have an early appointment in Lüderitzbay at the ghost town. Here we are in a diamond protected area, having a look at the history of this little enclave that reminds of the old American goldrush. When diamonds were found here lying in the sand, a town very quickly sprang up around the site. While most of the buildings have been reclaimed by the desert, a few have been renovated to show the interested guest how people lived beginning of the 20th century, what they did, how things functioned. After this 2 – 3 hour tour, we drive into Lüderitz and the surrounding bay where a concrete copy of the Diaz Padrao (a Portuguese cross erected by the first sailors to land here) is to be found.

We have a late lunch in Lüderitz before driving back to Aus. On the way we visit the wild horses that have lived and survived here for over 100 years (probably descendants of South African military horses from the first world war).

Sundowners and dinner will be held at the lodge.

We leave Aus for our drive northwards through the very beautiful Tiras mountains towards Sossusvlei. Here we have the flatlands and mountains on the one side and the large dunes of the Namib Desert on the other. Geologically the environment changes every 30 – 40 km. A detour will take us past Schloss Duwiseb, a castle built by a German and his American wife prior to the first world war. As this is a travelling day, we take our time to travel to our next lodge, the Namib Naukluft Lodge.

Arriving in the late afternoon, we enjoy a relaxing sundowner and dinner.

As we want to have perfect light for photography at Sossusvlei, we leave an hour before sunrise to arrive at the gate at sunrise (the earliest the gate opens). It is a 70 km drive through the dunes to get to both Dead Vlei and Sossusvlei. At Sossusvlei you have the chance to climb big Mamma ( a very high dune at the vlei) after which we will have breakfast which we have brought with us. We then drive to Dad Vlei very famous for its color schemes of orange dunes, white crusty ground an millennia old dead trees that stand in this vlei.

As it gets very hot very quickly, we leave the dunes at around 11.00 to 11.30 and visit the Sesriem Canyon, a 30 – 60 meter deep channel cut into the soft sediment ground millions of year ago, a testament to very large rivers flowing through the area many millions of years ago.

We return to the lodge in the early afternoon for a light lunch. The rest of the afternoon is at your disposal to explore the area, have a swim or take a nap. Sundowners and dinner will be at the lodge.

As early as we had to rise yesterday, today we can sleep in, have a late leisurely breakfast before departing. Our travel time is a very short one, we are going to spend a day and a night at one of the most pristine, hidden jewels in our accommodation line up. Barkhan Dunes Retreat is a little lodge, nestled at the foot of a mountain with spectacular views of the Khomashochland Escarpment. The chalets are hidden withing dunes but have luxurious rooms, in-and outdoor showers and a large glass front so you can take in the views. Whether you would like to go on a little hike in the mountains, ride a fat bike through this pristine nature or just relax by the pool, this is a day of leisure.

Relax, enjoy this day off. A light lunch, sundowners and dinner will be served at the lodge.

Today we intend reaching the Atlantic Ocean again. By way of the Ghaub and Kuiseb passes, that lie along the massive dune ridge which stretches all the way from Lüderitz to Walvisbay, we turn off into the Namib Naukluft National Park on the lookout for Oryx, Springbok, Hartebees and Giraffe, we follow the mountains northwards, then traversing west which will bring us into the vicinity of Swakopmund. Here we will have a look at our moon landscape ( a large field of dolerite hills that follows the Swakop River for about 60 kilometers. We will also have a chance to see the first really old Wewitschia Plants that grow only in the Namib. They reach an age of approximately 2000 years, the specimens we intend showing you vary between 1200 and 1500 years.

We have a lunch picnic on the road.

In the late afternoon we arrive in Swakopmund and look up our accommodation, which is situated in the middle of the town, right on the beach. After a rest and freshening up, we will leave for dinner in one of the many excellent restaurants in Swakopmund. Or should you prefer this, we can arrange a romantic dinner for you and your partner anywhere in town.

Today is your day. This coastal region offers so much in terms of activities, we do not wish to diminish your options, so here, today, every guest can follow his or her own interests. Whether you wish to see the ocean wildlife from the deck of a catamaran (with oysters and champagne of course), take a tour into the desert to see its plant and animal life, go skydiving, quad biking, camel- or horse riding, do scenic flights over the desert or just wander through town, your guide will give you advice on all the options and arrange them for you.

We meet again early evening for another culinary experience in Swakopmund.

We leave the coast rather early as we have ways to go. Our road takes us some 70 kilometers up the north coast before turning inland. We visit the Spitzkoppe (the Matterhorn of Namibia) where a guide shows us some of the San rock art. We also have lunch here and marvel at this beautiful environment. Then we turn north again. Near the mining town Uis, we pass the Brandberg Mountain on our way to Twyfelfontein Country Lodge. After freshening up or a swim, we have sundowners and dinner at the lodge.

Due to the extreme heat in this area, we leave for the San engraving early in the morning. A guide from the Heritage Council will accompany us into the mountains to show us the San engravings that abound in these mountains. After the brisk hour walk we will visit a Damara Living Museum. While this concept is for show to visitors, it helps keep the Damara culture alive by teaching younger generations how their ancestor used to survive in this harsh environment. You will be shown how tools were made, how they hunted and built snares to trap animals, how clothing was made, how millet would be pounded to make one of the staple foods of Africa.

We return to the lodge for a light lunch. The early afternoon is for your leisure, either having a nap or laze by the pool. Later in the afternoon we meet one of the Twyfelfontein Country Lodge guides, who will take us into the dry river systems, looking for the desert adapted elephants. Here there are no guarantees, nature being what it is, there is always a chance of seeing Giraffe, Hartebees, Kudus, ostriches, springbok and hopefully the elephants.

We do our sundowner on the way back to the lodge, somewhere in nature.

Dinner at the lodge.

As we make our way to the Etosha National Park, we stop at the Petrified Forest to view these ancient trees that were swept away by massive floods many millions of years ago, buried in kilometers of mud and then calcified. Every tree rind is still visible in these giants that turned to stone. We continue our trip, bypassing Toshari Lodge and entering the Etosha National Park. We have a picnic lunch on the way and now we search the waterholes for all wildlife the park has to offer. Here we find every animal Africa has to offer except the river animals like hippo, crocodile and cape buffalo – of course, nature being what it is, we rely on our luck to spot as many animals as we can. In the late afternoon we leave the park for our nightly accommodation, the Toshari Lodge.

Here we have our sundowner and dinner.

We leave rather early and re-enter the park. Today we want to explore the western areas of the park, visiting all waterholes to spot the wildlife. We will have a lunch picnic at one of the picnic spots along the way.

In the afternoon we return to Toshari Lodge for a swim or a rest.

Sundowners and dinner at the lodge

We re-enter the park, but today we travel eastwards, partly along the Etosha Salt Pan, partly into thick bushy areas. We lunch at Halali, about halfway to our next destination all the while visiting the man-made and natural waterholes to look for animals.

In the late afternoon we leave the park at the Von Lindequist gate to reach our last destination on this tour, the Mokuti Lodge. This lodge has just been completely rebuilt and offers everything from a spa to a pool in luxurious surrounding.

We have our sundowner at the pool bar before having dinner.

We re-enter the Etosha National Park for the last time, this time exploring the eastern and northern waterholes. We have a picnic lunch at one of the picnic sites before returning to the lodge in the late afternoon for a swim or a drink at the pool bar.

Sundowners and dinner at the lodge.

We return to Windhoek today. The guests leaving right away will be dropped off at the airport in good time while those extending their stay will be dropped off at their arranged meeting places to take them to their accommodation.