Journeys: Discover Namibia & Victoria Falls

Windhoek

Arrive at any time. Arrival transfer is included. After the evening welcome meeting sit down for an included group dinner at the hotel restaurant.

Exclusive Inclusions:

Airport Transfer

Windhoek Hosea Kutako International Airport - Windhoek

You will be met at the airport and transferred to the hotel to start your adventure.

Arrival Day and Welcome Meeting

1h

The adventure begins tonight. Feel free to explore before your welcome meeting, but make sure you're back in time to meet the group. Check for the meeting time on the welcome note at the hotel. After introductions, your Expedition Leader will review the details of your tour. Please note that normal check-in times apply at our start hotels, but you can usually store your luggage for the day if you arrive early.

• Meals Included:
• Dinner
Accommodations:  Windhoek Country Club Resort

Windhoek/Sesriem

Set off from the Namibian capital towards Sesriem, the gateway to jaw-dropping Namib-Naukluft National Park. Drive past red-hued desertscapes, stark camel thorn trees, and dramatic curved dunes while keeping an eye out for the astonishing creatures that call these arid lands home-the oryx, springbok, jackal, hyena, and more. Settle in to our lodge and relax poolside, watching a fiery crimson sunset over the desert.

Enjoy postcard perfect desert scenery around Sesriem and Sossusvlei - vast desertscapes of reds and orange, stark camel thorn trees and towering dunes with dramatic curved ridges. Also keep an eye out for the surprising amount of wildlife that call this area home such as oryx, springbok, jackal, ground squirrel and hyena.

Exclusive Inclusions:

Private Vehicle

Windhoek - Sesriem 5h - 6h 340km

Settle in and scan the scenery from the convenience of a private vehicle.

• Meals Included:
• Breakfast
• Dinner
Accommodations:  Sossusvlei Lodge
1
Optional Activities for Day 2
Show
Sossusvlei Sundowner & Nature Drive
455NAD Per Person
Sossusvlei Lodge
Depart from the lodge in the late afternoon for a leisurely drive on the private reserve located on the property of Sossusvlei. Enjoy the lengthening shadows as your guide drives you out to a panoramic view point for sundowner drinks as the sky lights up with the twilight colors.
If a cost is not listed above for an optional tour, contact us to find out what it is.

Sesriem

Embark on a thrilling excursion into one of Africa's largest national parks. Explore the Namib desert, the oldest desert in the world; and venture to the massive dunes at Sossusvlei and the white clay pan of Deadvlei. Capture dramatic images of dead camel thorn trees against a backdrop of orange dunes and a crisp blue sky. Then visit the Sesriem Canyon, a natural gorge carved out by the Tsauchab River over millions of years.

Exclusive Inclusions:

Private Vehicle

Sesriem

Settle in and scan the scenery from the convenience of a private vehicle.

Sossusvlei Dunes Visit

Namib Desert

The area is famous for its high, red sand dunes. The most accessible of the larger dunes is Dune 45, aptly named because it is 45km from Sesriem. The group will have a chance to walk up this towering sand hill for epic views from the top. Then visit Deadvlei, a clay and salt pan surrounded by the dunes with older dried-up trees sticking out, making it a spectacularly beautiful sight with a remote and isolated feel. Keep your eyes peeled for the strange dark, circular patches that may pepper the dunes. They are called "fairy circles" and scientists are still not sure of their origins. Theories range from animal dust baths to poisons leaked from plants, or traces of meteor showers, proving there's still so much to learn about the Namib Desert; the oldest in the world. For more fun facts about the landscape check out this in-depth article, "Namib Desert: Ever Changing Dunes" on the National Geographic's website.

Deadvlei Visit

Sossusvlei 1.5h

Venture out into Deadvlei. These drylands boast incredible contrasts of black dead trees amidst the white clay soil, surrounded by red sand dunes reaching up to 300 meters high. We don't want to spoil too much; go and see this unique site for yourselves - it's a must for any traveller to Namibia.

Sesriem Canyon Visit

Namib Desert

Enjoy a short stop at Sesriem Canyon, a small canyon typical of the area. The Tsauchab River flows through the canyon every five to ten years, and this creates the nearby salt and clay pan of Sossusvlei.

4x4

Namib Desert

Roads? Where this rough-and-ready vehicle's going, we don't need roads.

• Meals Included:
• Breakfast
• Lunch
• Dinner
Accommodations:  Sossusvlei Lodge
1
Optional Activities for Day 3
Show
Sossusvlei Sundowner & Nature Drive
455NAD Per Person
Sossusvlei Lodge
Depart from the lodge in the late afternoon for a leisurely drive on the private reserve located on the property of Sossusvlei. Enjoy the lengthening shadows as your guide drives you out to a panoramic view point for sundowner drinks as the sky lights up with the twilight colors.
If a cost is not listed above for an optional tour, contact us to find out what it is.

Sesriem/Swakopmund

Continue by road through changing desert landscapes towards the coastal city of Swakopmund. Look out for roaming zebra, kudu, springbok, and oryx on the way and stop at a local bakery renowned for its delicious homemade apple pies. Enjoy one of these tasty, fresh baked treats before the group gathers with our local guide for the bushman walk through the desert. Along the walk, learn about the survival strategies of bushmen who lived in this inhospitable area thousands of years ago and search for the smaller wildlife that has managed to survive here, such as snakes, geckos, spiders, and an array of insects. Continue on to Swakopmund later in the day for free time, or join an orientation walk. Dinner will be at your leisure with options in town and at the hotel.

Exclusive Inclusions:

Private Vehicle

Sesriem - Swakopmund 8h - 8.5h 375km

Settle in and scan the scenery from the convenience of a private vehicle.

Living Desert Walk

Swakopmund 2h

Set off on foot into the desert with an expert guide who will point out signs of plant and animal life while emphasizing the survival strategies of the local Bushmen that called this harsh landscape home.

• Meals Included:
• Breakfast
• Lunch
Accommodations:  Hansa Hotel

Swakopmund

Rise early for breakfast at the hotel. Our local guide will meet the group there before beginning our excursion to Sandwich Harbour and the Skeleton Coast. Travel on scenic roads to Walvis Bay while our guide provides background information on the Namib Desert landscape and wildlife. After stopping at a few different viewpoints the group will enter Namib Naukluft Park, and depending on the tide, drive along the beach to Sandwich Harbour. Enjoy a deeper immersion into this ever shifting environment on an exhilarating 4x4 ride through the towering dunes. Stop for lunch along the route at a private location in the park to fully appreciate the desert meeting the ocean.This afternoon, take a tour of Mondesa township with a local guide, learning about its people and history. Visit the local market for an introduction to traditional foods such as wild spinach, mopane worms, and dried sardines or kapenta. Stop by an arts and crafts shop; chat with the locals; and round off the day with dinner and a performance at a cozy family-run establishment.

Exclusive Inclusions:

Sandwich Harbour & Skeleton Coast Excursion

Swakopmund 6h

Travel along scenic roads to Walvis Bay and arrive at the nearby salt pans and pink lakes for photographs of the unique environment. Drive along the beach at the high tide waterline passing seals and birdlife. Along this route the guide will conduct a mini living desert tour in the lower Kuiseb Delta, searching for the small five; geckos, sidewinder snakes, chameleons, scorpions, and toktokkies. Learn more about the Namib Desert from our guide as the group drives to the entrance of Naukluft Park, where we might see oryx, springbuck, and ostrich. In the park, if the tide allows we will drive along the beach towards Sandwich Harbour. If it's high tide, the drive will be through the dunes above the ocean. Pause at various viewpoints like Kodak Viewpoint and admire the wonder of desert meeting the ocean-a truly remarkable sight. Cap off the experience with a thrilling 4x4 ride through the towering dunes and stop en route to enjoy lunch at a private location. Search for more wildlife as the group exits the park returning to Swakopmund.

Mondesa Township Walk

Swakopmund

Visit the community of Mondesa Township with an expert resident guide. Learn about its daily life, history and traditions through an immersive experience with the welcoming people that live here. Visit its lively market for an introduction to traditional foods like wild spinach, mopane worms, and dried kapenta fish. Also visit an arts-and-crafts shop that helps train the township's youth in traditional crafts. Drop by a shebeen (tavern) to enjoy a favourite drink, and meet some local residents. Finally, continue on to a nearby family run establishment for dinner and local entertainment.

• Meals Included:
• Breakfast
• Dinner
Accommodations:  Hansa Hotel

Swakopmund

Enjoy a free morning in Swakopmund, getting a taste of the town's unique Afro-German culture; or opt to try different activities like, sandboarding in the Namib desert, sea kayaking, or a fat tire bike tour of Old City Swakopmund. In the evening, come together as a group for an included dinner at the hotel.

Explore the town's unique mix of German and African culture and opt to visit curio shops, the museum and restaurants. Optional activities include sandboarding.

Exclusive Inclusions:

Free Time

Swakopmund Full Day

Enjoy the entire day on your own and partake in any of the nearby optional activities. You could choose to go sandboarding, fat tire biking, or sea kayaking.

• Meals Included:
• Breakfast
• Dinner
Accommodations:  Hansa Hotel
3
Optional Activities for Day 6
Show
Fat Tire Bike Tours
480NAD Per Person
Swakopmund
Discover the beauty of Namibia's landscapes on a fat tire bike tour, from a scenic ride through the world's oldest desert to the historic streets of Swakopmund. Whether you choose to partake in a thrilling adventure or take your time exploring the desert's unique flora and fauna, this is a unique way to journey through one of the most breathtaking regions of Namibia.
Sandboarding in the Namib Desert
700NAD Per Person
Swakopmund
Head out into the desert, grab a board, and surf the sand dunes. Choose to lie down headfirst, or stand up, surfer-style.
Sea Kayaking
800NAD Per Person
Swakopmund
Experience the beauty of the Namibian's Coast visiting the Bird Island near Swakopmund and admiring the ocean nature beauty. Keep an eye out for playful seals as your guide offers information about the area.
If a cost is not listed above for an optional tour, contact us to find out what it is.

Swakopmund/Etosha National Park Area

Depart from Swakopmund right after breakfast and travel towards Etosha National Park, arguably Namibia's most spectacular wildlife sanctuary. Stop in Outjo for a refreshing break in this charming town before continuing your journey to Etosha National Park. Opt to enjoy lunch at one of the local cafes or restaurants, savor a taste of Namibian hospitality, and stretch those legs. Continue onwards to our lodge, located outside of the park and spend the evening at leisure, or on an optional wildlife drive in the surrounding area.

Exclusive Inclusions:

Private Vehicle

Swakopmund - Etosha National Park 7.5h - 9h 610km

Settle in and scan the scenery from the convenience of a private vehicle.

Free Time

Outjo

Along the way to Etosha from Swakopmund, the group will make a pit stop in the quaint town of Outjo. There will be enough time here for you to grab some lunch on your own. The local bakery/cafe is known for it's cozy atmosphere and homemade dishes.

• Meals Included:
• Breakfast
• Dinner
Accommodations:  Etosha Village

Etosha National Park Area

Spend a full day on safari in Etosha National Park, where open grasslands converge on a massive salt pan. Etosha harbours some of the largest populations of lions, elephants, and other endangered species, so keep your camera on the ready as you explore in your open vehicle. Enjoy lunch at one of the park's rest areas, where you can also take a swim; and sit back and watch all manner of creatures-including hundreds of species of birds-flock to the nearby watering hole.

After the vast desert, Etosha National Park, offers a contrast of wide open grasslands, a massive salt pan that covers 4731km2 and tall camel thorn trees intermixed with Mopani trees. With a combination of natural waterholes, and diverse vegetation, wildlife flock to the park. Some of the largest elephants in Africa can be found in areas of thicker vegetation, as well as leopards. Lions, giraffe, ostrich and many antelope species can be found in the grasslands, while birders will love the salt pans which attract flamingos in the rainy season. More than 340 bird species have been counted in Etosha National Park including the European bee-eater, the kori bustard and numerous migratory birds.

Exclusive Inclusions:

Etosha Open Vehicle Wildlife Safari Drive

Etosha National Park 7h - 8h

Set off in an open 4x4 safari vehicle with a naturalist guide in search of the stunning wildlife in the park. Wildlife often come to the many watering holes to drink, so keep your eyes peeled for many animals on the move.

• Meals Included:
• Breakfast
• Dinner
Accommodations:  Etosha Village

Etosha National Park Area/Windhoek

After breakfast, visit the Cheetah Conservation Fund, a global research and education center founded by National Geographic Grantee Dr Laurie Marker. Tour the facility to learn about the important conservation and community outreach work they do to protect the world's fastest land animal, and enjoy a talk by one of the researchers. Then head out on a drive through the grounds to meet some of the center's rescued and rehabilitated cheetahs. Continue to Windhoek for our final evening.

Exclusive Inclusions:

Cheetah Conservation Experience

Otjiwarongo - Etosha National Park 3h - 4h

The Cheetah Conservation Fund is a global field research and education facility founded by Dr. Laurie Marker whose research has been supported by National Geographic. Tour the centre and learn about the important conservation and community outreach work they perform as one of the world's leading organizations dedicated to saving the cheetah in the wild. One of the program's researchers will give us a lecture before we head out on a cheetah drive to view some of these incredible creatures up close in their natural habitat. Conclude the experience by sitting down as a group for lunch on the veranda that overlooks the magnificent Waterberg Plateau.

Private Vehicle

Etosha National Park - Windhoek 5h - 6h 415km

Settle in and scan the scenery from the convenience of a private vehicle.

• Meals Included:
• Breakfast
• Lunch
Accommodations:  Windhoek Country Club Resort

Windhoek/Victoria Falls

Catch a flight to the town of Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe, named after one of the most powerful waterfalls on Earth. Visit a nearby village and go grocery shopping in the bustling market. Then sit down with a local family for dinner, helping your hosts prepare a traditional Zimbabwean meal using the ingredients you picked out, and hear stories about local life and culture.

The mist off Victoria Falls can rise to a height of more than 400m (1312 ft). Local tribes used to call the falls Mosi-o-Tunya or "the smoke that thunders." Explorer and missionary David Livingstone renamed the falls after Queen Victoria when he first saw them in 1855.

Exclusive Inclusions:

Plane

Windhoek Hosea Kutako International Airport - Victoria Falls 3.5h

Look! Up in the sky! It's a bird! It's a plane! It's... yup, it is a plane, actually.

Zimbabwean Family Dinner

Victoria Falls

Flatter Ncube is the head of her family which includes two sisters and numerous children. She's the youngest of a family of 10 and, now in her early 40s, lives in the village she was raised in near Victoria Falls. There she takes care of her extended family on their homestead, which she and they have been proudly building by hand, brick by brick, for years. Flatter's story highlights that life isn't easy in Africa, but despite its challenges, there is much love and laughter and a strong sense of family here. Visit Flatter's homestead in her rural village; meet her and some of her family, and walk with some of them throughout the property, among the fruit and vegetable plants the family grows for consumption. (They even plant hot chillies among the vegetables to discourage nosy elephants.) Then help the family prepare a traditional Zimbabwean dinner, which we'll all eat together outside on the property, weather permitting. Ingredients for the meal will have been hand-selected earlier in the day, at the bustling and friendly local village market. This experience offers great insight into typical African life, and ultimately reinforce how we all really want and need the same things in life: a stable home full of love, a good education, and plenty of opportunity for our children.

• Meals Included:
• Breakfast
• Dinner
Accommodations:  Explorers Village Lodge

Victoria Falls

Set out for a tour of magnificent Victoria Falls. Scottish explorer David Livingstone named them after Britain's Queen Victoria, while their older, indigenous name is Mosi-oa-Tunya-"the smoke that thunders." Opt to take a day trip to wildlife-rich Chobe National Park or enjoy a sunset river cruise.

If you have an activity planned for this morning, we will reschedule your Falls tour for this afternoon, or tomorrow morning.

Exclusive Inclusions:

Victoria Falls Guided Tour

Victoria Falls Morning

Head out for an unforgettable experience at Victoria Falls. Explore the rainforest and learn about the geology, history, and local legends of this world wonder. After your immersion, get up close to the falls and discover the beauty of "the smoke that thunders." Be sure to have your camera ready!

• Meals Included:
• Breakfast
Accommodations:  Explorers Village Lodge
3
Optional Activities for Day 11
Show
Full Day Excursion to Chobe National Park
Victoria Falls
Depart Victoria Falls in the morning for a full-day guided tour of Chobe National Park in Botswana - a wildlife-abundant region covering about 11,700km2 of the Northern Kalahari. Begin your adventure with a cruise down the Chobe River, taking in the sweeping views and witnessing the wildlife grazing along the riverbank. Enjoy an included lunch on land before boarding 4x4 safari vehicles for an afternoon wildlife safari drive with an expert guide. Keep an eye out for lions, elephants, and buffalos. Transfer back to Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, arriving in the early evening. Please note that this activity includes two border crossings between Zimbabwe and Botswana. The ordering of activities is susceptible to change. ** Please note that you need to get a double-entry visa or a Univisa when arriving in Zimbabwe to ensure you can return again without needing to pay an extra visa fee.
Victoria Falls Historic Bridge Tour
55USD Per Person
Victoria Falls
Journey through over 100 years of history in this engaging, theatrical, and educational tour. Led by an enthusiastic team of guides, wander through the history of this remarkable structure, from its design and initial prefabrication in England, to its construction in Africa. The bridge, an engineering masterpiece has a history that is entertaining and tragic in equal measure.
River Song Sunset Cruise
82USD Per Person
Victoria Falls
End the day with a sunset cruise. Relax on one of the sofas on board as the sets and keep an eye on the water for wildlife sightings. There will be an abundance of snacks throughout the cruise and a selection of cocktails, juice, water, and soft drinks.
If a cost is not listed above for an optional tour, contact us to find out what it is.

Victoria Falls

Depart at any time.

Exclusive Inclusions:

Departure Day

Not ready to leave? Your Expedition Leader can help with any onward travel arrangements you require.

• Meals Included:
• Breakfast