On arrival in Cape Town, you will be met and transferred to your hotel in the waterfront. The rest of the evening is at your leisure.

We will enjoy a meal together before calling it an early night in preparation for our flight to Namibia the next day. 

Overnight: Derwent House Boutique Hotel, Cape Town

Meals: Dinner

Late this morning you will be transferred to the airport in time for your flight to Walvis Bay in Namibia. On arrival you will be met and transferred to your guesthouse perched on the edge of the desert. Enjoy dinner in town at a local restaurant. 

The Tug Restaurant is popular amongst both tourists and locals in Namibia and has a reputation for providing delicious meals in a setting which creates and unforgettable ambience. Seating is available both indoors or outdoors on the terrace overlooking the Atlantic Ocean and the historic Swakopmund Jetty.

Overnight: Desert Breeze Lodge, Swakopmund

Meals: Breakfast and lunch

Early this morning we will depart by light aircraft for a day trip to Sossusvlei. The drive to Sesriem Gate takes about 1 hour. Upon arrival we will enjoy breakfast among the sand dunes before setting out on a full day adventure! 

Sossusvlei

Sossusvlei is where you will find the iconic red sand dunes of the Namib. The clear blue skies contrast with the giant red sand dunes to make this one of the natural wonders of Africa and a photographer’s heaven. Aside from the attractions at Sossusvlei - Dune 45, Hiddenvlei, Big Daddy and Deadvlei - other attractions in the area include the Sesriem Canyon and Namib-Naukluft National Park, where the mountains of the Namib meet its plains.

Dune 45

Named for its location 45 kilometers past the town of Sesriem, Dune 45 is renowned for its elegant shape, which – along with its position close to the road – have earned it the distinction of ‘most photographed dune in the world’. If you’re not keen for the strenuous hike to the top of Big Daddy, Dune 45 is a more forgiving alternative, standing at only 80 meters and featuring a much gentler gradient.

Dead Vlei

This ancient clay pan was once an oasis, studded with acacias and fed by a river that suddenly changed course, leaving the earth to dry up along with the trees it previously supported. So dry were the climatic conditions that the trees never decomposed – instead they were entirely leached of moisture so that today, 900 years later, they remain as desiccated, blackened sentinels dotting the pan’s cracked surface. Surrounded by the red-pink dunes of the Namib Desert, they create a surreal spectacle that is a photographer's dream.

After a thrilling day of desert adventures, we will return to Sossusvlei lodge for a buffet lunch before our light aircraft flight back to Swakopmund. Enjoy your evening at leisure. 

Overnight: Desert Breeze Lodge, Swakopmund

Meals: Breakfast and dinner

After breakfast, we will depart for an amazing and unique tour of the desert! 

Known as the Living Dunes Experience is an extraordinary exploration of the coastal dune belt just outside Swakopmund. To the untrained eye the dunes are just a pile of sand, however, the skilled and experienced guides will introduce visitors to a wealth of desert life. Often referred to a "Living Desert Tour", we will track Palmetto geckos, sand diving lizards, the famous fog-basking tok-tokkie beetle, sidewinder snakes, spiders, scorpions, and chameleons. As we explore this breath-taking terrain, we will share a lot of information on origin, weather and the special adaptations of its inhabitants.

Following our guided tour, we will go on a dune drive where we can have will have the opportunity to take some amazing photos! 

We will then return to our lodge for some leisure time before getting ready for a sundowner cocktail and dinner. 

For dinner this evening we will depart our lodge for a very special surprise dinner in a stunning location! 

Overnight: Desert Breeze Lodge, Swakopmund

Meals: Breakfast, lunch, and dinner

Today, after breakfast you will be transferred to Swakopmund airport for your light aircraft flights(s) to Etosha National Park. 

Once at Etosha National Park we will enjoy full and half day game drives in Namibia’s prime savannah wilderness area, allowing you to see the massive salt-pan and perennial springs that provide the water required by the Park’s high-density big game population.

Guided afternoon/evening game drives take place on the private Ongava Game Reserve. The reserve is famed for its population of rhino and lion, as well as other game such as the endemic black-faced impala.

Optional Activities at Ongava

As well as our planned safari drives Ongava Game Reserve also offers some incredible optional activities! 

Guided Nature Walks

Offered seasonally and subject to an available walking guide, the guided nature walks through the reserve will proudly showcase the abundant array of life, from the unusual plants to the arid-adapted animals with a chance of potentially approaching white rhino. 

Game Hide

Andersson’s hide allows for unobtrusive game viewing of the camp’s waterhole. Often frequented by plains game including warthog, zebra, giraffe and an array of antelope, the waterhole also attracts larger game such as rhino and sometimes even lions.

Ongava Information System and Visitor Centre 

Guests can interface with science and research across Anderssons and part of this experience is an immersion into the world of natural history and science at the new Ongava Visitor Centre. With dozens of in-depth displays that feature information on the geology, animals, plants and ecological functioning of this fascinating region, guests are encouraged to meander through the self-guided exhibition area.

Overnight: Anderssons At Ongava, Ongava Private Game Reserve

Meals: Breakfast

After breakfast, we will check out of our accommodations and be transferred to the airstrip in time for your flight to Windhoek and onward connection to the United States

Alternatively, if you are joining us for the post trip extension on the Skeleton Coast, we will have a safety briefing before departing for the rugged skeleton coast!