If you crave empty and exotic landscapes combined with some of the best game viewing in Southern Africa, Namibia has exactly what you're looking for. This African country is famous for the dune sea along its Skeleton Coast inside Namib-Naukluft National Park. The barren landscape belies a rich assortment of wildlife that is well-adapted to the area. In addition to desert-loving species like ostrich and oryx, Etosha National Park in the north has some of Africa's best Big Five game viewing (lion, elephant, buffalo, leopard and rhino).
Andrew Harper travel partner and conservation organization Wilderness Safaris are Namibian experts and have a number of wonderful lodges across the country. We've crafted a luxury African safari tour that highlights the country's three most memorable sights.
Note: One of the best times to visit Namibia is during the dry winter months of May to October, because of the large concentrations of wildlife around water holes.
Our itineraries are for your inspiration. Please contact a travel advisor to customize this itinerary to fit your needs.
Depending on the arrival time of your connecting flight from either Johannesburg or Cape Town, you may want to spend the night in Windhoek, Namibia's capital, before heading out into the wild on an early-morning flight. Wilderness Safaris runs its own small air carrier that will ferry you between lodges. It's the fastest way to travel the vast spaces of Namibia, which can best be taken in from the air.
The Sossusvlei is a vast, dry salt pan along the Atlantic coast. Its tall red dunes are one of the major attractions in Namibia. At Little Kulala camp, you can explore the harsh desert and return to the comfort of your luxury villa.
One of our favorite desert activities is a hot air balloon ride over the dunes. Night game drives are also available, when more of the fauna emerges after the heat of the day.
After a few days of desert solitude, you fly northeast to Hoanib Skeleton Coast Camp in Skeleton Coast National Park, which is accessible only by air. A gate with skull and crossbones warns 4x4 vehicles to stay out of this section of the park, lest they be stuck in the sand like countless shipwrecks along the coast.
While at the camp you can explore shipwrecks and giant fur seal colonies along the coast, or turn inland to find rare desert elephants or the Welwitschia mirabilis, one of the oldest plants on the planet.
Etosha National Park is an almost 9,000-square-mile park that gets its name from the Etosha pan, which supplies the wildlife with water throughout the year. Hundreds of species of animals, including endangered species such as the black rhinoceros, live within the park. You'll fly in to one of the Ongava lodges that sit on a 125,000-square-mile private game reserve adjacent to the park.
For the next few days, spend your time on game drives in your private safari vehicle. Water holes in the area attract large concentrations of wildlife, including a large number of cheetahs the area is famous for.
Fly back to Windhoek for your trip back home.
If you're not quite ready to go home, Wilderness Air can take you on to Botswana, where the Okavango Delta and Victoria Falls are a nice contrast to the desert heat.
Contact a travel advisor to book your custom itinerary. Fill out the form or call (630) 734-4610.
Andrew Harper members have access to full travel-planning services through Andrew Harper Travel.
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