Desert and Fish River Canyon 7 days

Price from:R14350 pps R15 800 sgl
Local Payment: n/a
Summary: Namibia with it's combination of largely untouched vast country and relatively tiny population makes it the ultimate land of discovery and soul-searching. This fully guided tour of southern Namibia visits the highlights of this region, from the second largest canyon in the world in the far south of Namibia, the Fish River Canyon, to the windswept dunes of the Namib Desert. This is a tour of unique sights and vast landscapes
Highlights: Kalahari Desert, semi-arid wildlife area, Fish River Canyon, the largest in Africa, feral horses of the Namib Desert, Aus Information Centre, sand dunes of the Namib Desert at Sossusvlei, Sesriem Canyon which reaches a depth of 30 metres at some points, with a width of 2 metres, Swakopmund
Itinerary
Day 1: (Sat) Windhoek / Kalahari Desert (D) 
Depart Windhoek, drive via Rehoboth into the Kalahari Desert - an arid to semi-arid area, which receives about 3-7.5 inches of rain a year, resulting in large tracts of grazing plains that support an abundance of wildlife. The Kalahari Desert covers a vast area incorporating, Namibia, South Africa, large parts of Botswana, Angola, Zambia and Zimbabwe. On arrival, depart on a scenic sunset drive in open safari vehicles. Animals that survive in the Kalahari include brown hyena, lion, meerkat, several species of antelope and a wonderful variety of bird and reptile species.
Accommodation: Auob Lodge or similar
(B – Breakfast, L – Lunch, D – Dinner)
Day 2: (Sun) Kalahari Desert / Fish River Canyon (BD)
Drive through the Kalahari and visit the Quivertree Forest near Keetmanshop. The quiver tree or 'Kokerboom' is indigenous to this hot and dry area. Stop for lunch in Keetmanshop (lunch for own account). Continue via Naute Dam and see the Fish River Canyon's spectacular northern fringes.
Accommodation: Canon Village or similar
Day 3: (Mon) Fish River Canyon / Aus (BD)
This morning walk along the rim of one of the world's largest canyons, certainly Africa's largest - the Fish River Canyon is the second most popular tourist attraction in Namibia. It is a spectacular gigantic chasm in the earth, that is around 160 kilometres in length and 27 kilometres wide, and in some places up to 550 metres deep. The canyon was created by a powerful ancient river, but now at it's base the river only runs during the summer months and trickles to a stand still into long narrow pools of water.
We then travel on to Aus today, for a visit to the Aus Information Centre. This afternoon there is the opportunity to take an optional sundowner drive (for your own account) to see the feral horses of the Namib Desert. These wild horses of the Namib, powerful and beautiful are descended from domestic horses, but now live in feral herds and survive in this most arid and achingly beautiful environment. It is a pleasure to witness these stately creatures, now reverted back to a wild state, with hooves kicking up the dust of the Namib Desert.
Accommodation: Desert Horse Inn or similar
Day 4: (Tue) Aus / Maltahöhe (BD)
See the ever-changing vistas of the desert landscapes when driving along the Namib Desert on our way to the Maltahöhe region for overnight. In the Nama language, 'Namib' means 'vast', an apt word to describe the Namib Naukluft Park, which is the largest conservation area in Namibia and one of the largest in the world, at almost 50 000 kilometres.
Accommodation: Hammerstein Rest Camp or similar
Day 5: (Wed) Maltahöhe / Namib Naukluft Park (BD)
Depart early this morning to Sossusvlei for a 4x4 scenic drive into the heart of the Namib Dunes. Sossusvlei, which is the Namib Naukluft Park's most popular attraction, consists of the 'vlei', an Afrikaans word, which translated
means 'shallow depression that fills with water', and is an almost circular cracked-earth pan, that shimmers white in the midday heat and by stark contrast, is hemmed in by the towering, ochre red and orange dunes of the Namib Desert that march resolutely off into the distance from the 'vlei' in every direction.
Sossusvlei provides outstanding opportunities for budding photographers, particularly early morning and late afternoon - the red of the dunes and the white of the vlei, and silhouettes of the petrified trees, is a surreal photographers dream canvas.
After the 'vlei', we visit rugged Sesriem Canyon, which has been carved over 2 million years, by the Tsauchab River during times of heavy rain. The canyon is approximately 100 kilometres in length, ultimately sloping towards the Sossusvlei salt pan. In some places, the canyon is only 2 metres wide, and 30 metres deep. The name Sesriem, is an Afrikaans word which means 'six belts'. Early settlers attached six belts made of animal hide together to lower buckets down into the canyon to retrieve water.
Continue onto your lodge for overnight.
Accommodation: Namib Naukluft Lodge or similar
Day 6: (Thu) Namib Naukluft Park / Swakopmund (BLD)
Drive through Kuiseb Canyon towards the coast. Enjoy a packed lunch. See the Welwitschia Mirabilis plants said to grow older than a 1000 years. Visit Moon Valley, an eerie and surrealistic landscape of bizarre rock formations of red lava's and yellow sandstone's. Arrive in Swakopmund late afternoon and this evening enjoy a sundowner near Swakopmund whilst the light fades.
Accommodation: Hansa Hotel or similar
Day 7: (Fri) Swakopmund / Windhoek (B)
This morning you are at leisure to explore the town of Swakopmund unguided. You may choose to visit Swakopmund's museum, her aquarium, the crystal gallery, or simply to wander around town, or perhaps take a stroll along Swakopmund's beaches. The Bavarian history and influence is still evident in the architecture of the town, and lends a unique flavour to Namibia's 'fun town', otherwise recognised as Namibia's 'adventure capital'. Swakopmund enjoys mostly favourable weather and is literally sandwiched between the dunes of the Namib Desert and the Atlantic Ocean. The dunes are a great source of pleasure, not only are they visibly arresting, but the many gut-turning adventure activities from dune boarding, to quad biking and hot air ballooning, are numerous. The Atlantic also provides a range of delightful activities, from seal cruises, to fishing excursions... you may have enough time to just fit in an activity before our departure for Windhoek. After lunch we return to Namibia's capital, Windhoek, arriving in the late afternoon, where your tour ends
Included
Transportation
Tour in air-conditioned vehicles.
Professionally Escorted
Discover southern Namibia with our professional Tour Guides.
Accommodation
Rooms with private facilities, on a twin share basis.
All accommodation is of a 3 star standard.
Dining Inclusions
6 Breakfasts and 6 Dinners
Plus
Non-alcoholic drinks on board the vehicle.
Hotel porterage included.
Please Note
All departures guaranteed in English-German. Please indicate your language of preference at the time of booking.
The Operator reserves the right to offer accommodation of a similar standard subject to availability.
Departures
Starts: Windhoek Finishes: WindhoekDeparts Saturdays – Minimum 2 passengers
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