Namibia Self-Drive Safari

Thirteen nights in a loop from Windhoek, self-guided, across Namibia in a 4WD, with guided activities at the camps.

Namibia is the easiest country in Africa to drive yourself and this itinerary plays to that: the hire car covers the distances and the game viewing is done in the lodges’ own vehicles with their own guides, which is both safer and far more productive.

Windhoek opens it for a night, then Okonjima for two in the Omboroko Mountains, home to the AfriCat Foundation, whose work covers leopard and brown hyena alongside research on pangolin and aardvark, with nature drives, walks and cheetah tracking. Ongava follows for two on Etosha’s southern boundary, with a waterhole that draws lion, rhino and giraffe, and rhino tracking on foot. Camp Kipwe comes next for two in Damaraland, built into granite boulders, with drives looking for the desert-adapted elephants and a guided visit to Twyfelfontein, a world heritage site holding over two and a half thousand rock carvings. Swakopmund follows for a night, then Sossusvlei and the NamibRand.

The 4WD hire, the accommodation, daily breakfast, house drinks at Wolwedans, the scheduled activities at Camp Kipwe and Wolwedans and all the listed sightseeing and guiding are included; flights, most meals and unlisted excursions are not. The price shown is per person sharing. The dry season from May to October is the window. No wildlife sighting can be promised, at Ongava or anywhere else. Fourteen days with two nights at most of the camps is the right allocation for Namibia, since the drives between them are long and arriving with time left in the day is what makes the game viewing work.