Swakopmund I Damaraland I Brandberg I Ugab River I Doros Crater I Huab River I Sosode I Sesfontein I Hoanib River I Hartmann Valley I Marienfluss Valley I Kunene River I Lady pass I Otjitanda I Opuwo I Kamanjab I Etosha Nat. Park I Otjihaenamaparero I Ekuta farm I Omandumba Farm I Ameib Farm I Spitzkoppe I Windhoek
DURATION: 23 days from Europe
ACCOMODATION: Camping and Hotel in Swakopmund
TRANSPORT: 4×4 off road cars equipped
GUIDE: english speaking
1st day: FLIGHT FROM EUROPE
Flight Europe – Windhoek.
2nd and 3rd day: SESRIEM, SOSSUSVLEI
Upon arrival at the airport, meeting with the guide and the other participants, then immediate departure for the Namib Desert, passing through the Spreetshoogte Pass from which you can admire a spectacular view of the pre-desert area. Accommodation at the campsite in the Sesriem area in FB. The next day, after breakfast, full day dedicated to visiting the famous dunes of Sossusvlei and Sesriem Canyon. The Namib Desert, the oldest in the world, extends for 400 km from south to north (and about 120 km from east to west) and is a real “living desert”: from the nearby Atlantic Ocean comes the cold Antarctic current of Benguela which, bringing a good dose of humidity, especially at night, influences a very rich system of life unimaginable for a desert apparently so arid. Oryx, springbok and ostriches are the most visible animals and then again insects and birds, more rarely reptiles; all have developed wonderful survival techniques by adapting their metabolism to such an extreme environment. We enter, along 60 km of asphalted road, in a fantastic scenario of dunes gradually higher and higher, where the soft colors of the sand contrast with an almost always clear sky. We arrive in Sossusvlei, where a depression forms a “miraculous” lake (the presence of water depends on the amount of rainfall during the rainy season) surrounded by high dunes: from here we reach Deadvlei, “the dead lake”, dominated by the ” Big Papa ”(the highest dune in the area) which offers an exciting scenery, what is perhaps the most beautiful and photographed landscape in Namibia. Return to the campsite in the late afternoon. Accommodation on the 2nd and 3rd day in Campsite in FB.
4th and 5th day: SWAKOPMUND, WALVIS BAY, SANDWICH BAY.
Stay in Swakopmund for two nights. The 2nd day, excursion with our off-road cars to Sandwich Bay in the day. Accommodation on the 4th and 5th day in Hotel / Guesthouse in BB.
6th, 7th and 8th day: DAMARALAND, BRANDBERG, UGAB RIVER, DOROS CRATER, HUAB RIVER
Departure for Damaraland to visit the famous rock art site “the White Lady” in the Brandberg massif. Walking excursion of about 3 hours, accompanied by a local guide to reach the rock paintings. Photographic Game Safari in the Ugab River in search of lions, elephants, giraffes, rhinos and mountain zebras … animals that live in the desert thanks to their adaptation to this arid climate and with particular physical characteristics that easily integrate them into the environment. The 6th, 7th and 8th day in Campsite / Wild Camp in FB.
9th and 10th day: SOSODE, SESFONTEIN, HOANIB RIVER
We cross from south to north all of Damaraland and its fabulous landscapes, possible sightings of animals along the way. Visit to the little known rock art site of Sosode just north of Damaraland on the edge of the Namib Desert. Where the ancient river created two large water basins and hindered navigation, primitive peoples testify to their past world with beautiful engravings on the rocky walls at the river’s edge. Sosode in the Damara language means “pool of water”, there are two small basins of water dug into the rock, the nomadic shepherds of the place still today after the summer rains use the lower one for animals and the upper one for their consumption: up, cleaner and not accessible to livestock! Before entering the beautiful valley of the Hoanib River (river is still called today by the locals even if in lack of water, if not during the rainy season), we make a short stop at the now forgotten Sesfontein, once an insurmontable point for those who wanted to enter the harsh land of Kaokoland from Damaraland: a fort of the German legion presided over what is naturally called the “gateway to Kaokoland”. Accommodation in Campsite / Wildcamp on the 9th and 10th day in FB
From 11th to 16th day: KAOKOLAND: HARTMANN VALLEY, MARIENFLUSS VALLEY, KUNENE RIVER, LADY PASS, OTJITANDA, OPUWO and KAMANJAB
We drive along the bed of the ephemeral river Hoanib river and in addition to the enchanting landscape we encounter groups of oryx, springbok and mountain zebras. Elephants and Giraffes eat the tenderest leaves of the large trees which, with their long roots, fish for water deep in the great underground river! Sometimes, with a little luck, you can meet the lion of the desert. We leave the Hoanib and go up north along the Skeleton Coast to reach and go up another important canyon carved over the millennia by the Hoarusib River. Permanent pools of water characterize this place, the water emerges from time to time from the river bed creating small “pools” where the elephants can immerse themselves and make their “mud”. Accommodation at the Purros Campsite on the edge of the river bed, giraffes and elephants frequently accompany us in the starry nights of the desert.
Hartmann Valley, Hartmann Berg, Hartmann Zebra … landscapes, flora and fauna … a true paradise of nature along the valley and along the Skeleton Coast with its endless dunes.
We continue to the north west: we are in the Marienfluss Valley, one of the wildest places in Africa. The track winds along a plain of tall grasses yellowed by winter, a sea of gold-colored stems that covers the valley, interrupted only by dark red sand rails. We reach the top of the valley to find the great Kunene River, swollen with green waters, full of crocodiles. In this corner of paradise, under the Ana Tree, the camp is set up for dinner and overnight stay.
The next morning we continue southwards again, retracing the Marienfluss valley, leaving behind us Onyuva Plain, an immense plain of red sand to enter the most rugged part of Kaokoland where the Himba of the mountains live. Ancient ethnicity, blacks of Bantu stock and formerly belonging to the nucleus of the Herero tribes, descended in 1600 in this country from central Africa. Shepherds and explorers, masters of the mystery of iron smelting, came down here and ruled over those who lived here before their arrival, the Nama and the San … And precisely because of the bitter struggles with the Nama some restricted groups of Herero were isolated on the mountains and to escape the massacre they climbed more and more towards harsh lands isolating themselves from the original tribe and giving, by pure chance, life to a new subculture, different from the one from which they derived: and the Himba were born, the “beggars”, deprived of everything from war and reborn with new customs and new customs.
They emerge from the forest, the women first of all, covered only with a drape of battered skin wrapped around their shoulders, their naked bodies made livid by the cold air of the winter morning. We stop in their villages to perceive the archaic flavor, the sense of prehistory that still survives in this remote corner of the mountains of the Namibian Kaokoveld… and off we go.
The deciduous forest becomes more intricate and the altimeter reaches 2000 meters, the track is now a narrow mule track between the forest upstream and the cliff downstream we are on the Lady Pass one of the most difficult and unknown passes in Southern Africa, dating back to to the period of the South African occupation at war with Angola, now practically abandoned due to the more famous Van Zyl Pass, a test and competition track for South African off-roaders … things we do not compete with, not for lack of capacity, but for our sense of respect for nature and for the local people! A first hill, at more than 2000 meters, gives breath: the green meadows of Otjtanda and its water pump are a panacea and a reference point in this arid region. The camp is set up under ancient trees, while nearby the hearths of the Himba shepherds color the mountain with dim light. The few who come to cross the Lady Pass are lucky enough to see authentic Himba villages, flawless with their external fencing to protect them from bush animals, their clay huts, kraal, sacred fire and the atmosphere of a time away, not finished yet!
We touch Opuwo the last town in the north Kaokoland, in the local language Opuwo means “the end”, and continue south reaching Kamanjab, a town southwest of Etosha. Here, a few kilometers inside a farm, there is the Peet Alberts Koppie, a large rock literally carpeted with petroglyphs An engraved 3.2 meter giraffe characterizes this location and represents one of the oldest engravings in Namibia Accommodation from 11th to 16th day in Campsite / Wild Camp in FB.
17th and 18th day: ETOSHA NATIONAL PARK
It takes a couple of days to the great Etosha Park, also to slow down the pace of this journey, always full of emotions and many interesting things to see. Accommodation on the 17th and 18th day in Campsite in FB.
Day 19, 20 and 21: ERONGO REGION: OTJIHAENAMAPARERO, EKUTA FARM, OMANDUMBA FARM, AMEIB FARM and SPITZKOPPE
We leave Etosha heading south along the track that takes us to the Erongo Mountains, stop at Otjihaenamaparero to visit the site where there are the footprints of the ceratosaurus and coelophysis rhodesiensis dating back to 180 million years ago. Days dedicated to the Erongo Mountains area, known for its countless rock paintings located in a particular environment of rocky mountains and, specifically, of granite formations. Traveling by car and then walking we will see real “drawings” that date back to 7000 years ago and that tell us the story of an Africa that was born and grew up with the migration of the peoples of North Africa, before, during and after the Egyptians. Ekuta, Omandumba and Ameib farm preserve small “natural museums” of rock art, among the richest and most beautiful in Africa. And with a visit to one of the largest and most scenic areas of rock sites, Spitzkoppe completes this circle of visits to one of the largest areas of rock sites, an authentic setting.
The stay in the farms makes us think of the genuineness and hospitality of the settlers who arrived in this area, more than 100 years ago.
A story of their life and childhood takes us back in time … when at the Swakopmund school the children did not know the world around them except the one told by their parents who had reached Namibia with the ships from Germany. One of them, Karl, says that one day the Swakopmund school decides to take them on a school trip to Windhoek. At that time (about 70 years ago) there was a museum on top of the hill and they were accompanied there for the visit. The boy thought it was a place where they gave ice creams because, as is well known, at that age children are always hungry or rather they were always hungry! Karl was a 10-year-old boy and did not know what a museum was, he entered the large hall with the others.At the entrance seated at a table there was a very dignified curvy lady. After some explanations from the teacher they found themselves in front of a large wall where a large photo illustrated some cave paintings discovered at the beginning of the century. Karl with an expression of amazement in a loud voice said: “we too have those figures on our farm!” …. the lady at the entrance stood up and hastily turned to Karl with an imposing tone: “what did you say? ”Karl with a trembling voice thinking he had said something that could compromise the” promised ice cream “, and repeated in a low voice:” on our farm, on the rocks there are figures like these “… And that’s where it all began; the experts of the various European museums, universities, archaeologists and then over the years photographers and televisions carried out inspections of the rock site of Ekuta, hypothesizing what today is the story of those characters represented in the granite “abri” in the beautiful middle of the farm. Like these, many others were the discoveries at the beginning of the 1900s and in the Erongo region there are today a few thousand rock paintings. Accommodation on the 19th, 20th and 21st days in Campsite in FB.
Day 22: WINDHOEK, FLY OUT
Arrival in Windhoek in the early afternoon and transfer to the airport in time for the return flight to Europe.
23rd day: ARRIVAL IN EUROPE
Arrival in Europe in the morning.
The itinerary can be carried out in the opposite direction
2021 – INDIVIDUAL QUOTATION IN DOUBLE:
– NAD … a day (from 2 to 4 pax)
– NAD … (from 5 to 6 pax)
– Single Room Supplement for all tour: NAD ….
No registration fee
No single supplement for the tent
We provide the single tent free of charge for those sharing a double room
The quotation includes:
Use of 4×4 off-road vehicles (3 passenegers per car) with guide / driver and fuel
All camping accommodations in FB and hotel / guesthouse in the 2 days in Swakopmund in BB.
Guide: Michele Dutto
The quotation does NOT include:
International flights and airport taxes
Possible hotel accommodation in Windhoek based on flight schedule!
Any accommodation in the lodge (as an alternative to the campsite) during the trip (where possible) requested by the participant
Lunches and dinners in Swakopmund and in any lodge / hotel / guesthouse chosen by the participant
All drinks, tips and personal extras in general
The entrances to parks and protected areas
Optional activities
Health insurance (mandatory also for entry into Namibia) and trip cancellation (optional)
Anything not expressly indicated in “the price includes”.
USEFUL INFORMATION
Accommodation: in this Covid19 period the trip is planned on the basis of camping accommodation (campsite or wildcamp). Each participant in the registration of the trip or during the course of the trip can choose to stay in the lodge as an alternative to the campsite on dates chosen by him and if possible.
Groups: groups start with a minimum of 2 participants.
Means of transport: off-road vehicles (3 passengers per car). Each passenger has their own window seat.
Baggage: must be limited to a maximum of 20 kg and ONLY soft bags (even with wheels).
