4x4 Self-Drive Tour: South Africa & Namibia (West Coast)

Thirteen nights from Cape Town to Swakopmund, self-driven with a guide and crew, up the west coast of southern Africa, with the price quoted on application.

The driver training on the first morning is the detail that matters. A hands-on sand and recovery session in Cape Town before anything else means the group learns to deflate tyres and dig a vehicle out before the day they need to, which on this route they will.

The untamed west coast follows north out of South Africa, then the Orange River crossing into Namibia and the Fish River Canyon, a gorge well over a hundred miles long and among the largest in the world. The restricted zone of the Namib comes next, which is the heart of the trip: a stretch of desert reachable only with special permits, with no roads, no settlements and nothing but gravel plain, dune and the odd shipwreck. Swakopmund closes it, where the desert runs straight into the cold Atlantic.

The 4×4, the driver training, an expert guide and crew support throughout and the accommodation are included; international flights, fuel, the permit costs for the restricted zone and some meals are not, so the permits are worth pricing before committing. The price is given on application. The cooler months from May to September suit the desert best. This is a genuine wilderness route rather than a scenic drive, and the crew support is what makes driving it yourself sensible. Fourteen days from the Cape to Swakopmund covers two countries and a complete change of landscape, from fynbos and farmland to gravel plain and dune.