Southern Namibia Adventure Camping Tour | 7 Days

Day 1: Kalahari, Namibia
(Bagatelle Kalahari Game Ranch Campsite or similar)

You will be collected at your Windhoek accommodation between 07:30 & 08:00. We start our journey on the main highway, travelling south through the thin strip of Kalahari Desert that protrudes into the eastern side of Namibia. We pass several small towns along the way including Rehoboth, traditional home of the Baster people. We bid farewell to the main road at Kalkrand and head off into the Kalahari. The Kalahari Desert is not a true desert as it receives too much rain. Its red dunes are very different from those of the Namib, but often equally beautiful. They are long, not very high, have a sharp crest and are often covered by tufts of grass, and with this vegetation comes its ability to support more flora and fauna than a true desert.

Bagatelle Kalahari Game Ranch is located on the fringe of the Southern Kalahari, surrounded by a mix of tree and scrub savannah. The reserve itself is crisscrossed by rolling, vegetated dunes, typical of the Kalahari.

Late this afternoon we hop onto an open vehicle for a late afternoon sunset drive.

Day 2: Fish River Canyon
(Canyon Roadhouse Campsite, Gondwana Collection Namibia or similar)

We depart early and travel south to Keetmanshoop. Just outside the town we will stop at the Mesosaurus Fossil Site and Quiver Tree Dolerite Park. Here, on the dry bed of an ancient lake, history is recorded in beautiful rock formations bearing the fossils of a prehistoric creature known as Mesosaurus tenuidens. The area is dotted with unique and striking Quiver trees. They are a type of aloe (Aloe Dichotoma) which are locally common, but one of the world's rarest flora species.

Our campsite is located 20 km east of the Fish River Canyon. Fill up with smiles at this innovative lodge that celebrates the good old days of the automobile. It boasts a pool, an inviting terrace and the most extraordinary restaurant in southern Namibia.

Day 3: Lüderitz
(Kairos Cottage, Shark Island)

The Fish River Canyon in Namibia is (allegedly) the 2nd largest canyon in the world after the Grand Canyon. The immensity of this magnificent landscape is truly breathtaking. The towering rock faces and deep ravines were formed by water erosion and the collapse of the valley due to movements in the earth's crust over 500 million years ago. Today the canyon measures 160km long up to 27km wide and almost 550m at its deepest. It is fair to say that when you arrive at the canyon though, its exact location is a bit of a mystery as the 500m vertical drop from the flat dry plateau is completely out of view.

Early morning, we head to the main view point where we can see how impressive this canyon actually is. This is an ideal opportunity for photos and to spend some time experiencing this amazing sight. Viewing from the top we can see the river sparkling in the sunlight far below us, and can barely imagine how many millennia it took for the forces of erosion to carve such a magnificent vista.

Time to pack up camp and move on to our next destination, the coastal town of Lüderitz where its colonial-style buildings cling to the rocks overlooking the bay, on some days a deep iridescent blue, on others grey and stormy, the crisp fresh climate, fishing boats bobbing up and down on the Atlantic horizon, penguins and seals diving beneath the waves, give the town a curious other-worldly allure.

We aim to arrive at our guest house during the late afternoon. This unique bed and breakfast accommodation boasts stunning sea and sunset views. Dinner will be at client's own expense tonight.

Day 4: Aus
(Klein-Aus Vista Desert Horse Campsite, Gondwana Collection or similar)

There is time, in the morning, to join an optional excursion, a cruise around Lüderitz bay and, weather permitting, to Halifax Island to see the Jackass Penguins. N.B: The boat cruise is subject to availability and, if undertaken, will be at the clients own risk and expense.

You can also explore the town of Lüderitz, with its German bakeries, colonial buildings, German art nouveau architecture and windswept beaches. Later we drive out to Diaz Point to see the bird life, hopefully a few seals and the replica of the stone cross originally erected by the Portuguese mariner, Bartholomew Diaz. Afterwards, we drive to Kolmanskop, a desert ghost town about 20 km outside of Lüderitz. It was built in the 1920s during the diamond rush and abandoned when bigger and better diamonds were found further along the coast. The desert has encroached over the entire town, giving an eerie feeling and real meaning to the word “ghostly”.

We sleep tonight at Klein Aus Vista, a private reserve, beautifully located in the Aus Mountain Range. The road takes us through the “Forbidden Zone” so named because in years gone by, the alluvial diamonds found in Namibia were simply scattered across the desert. We again have time to enjoy a sunset over the mountains.

Day 5: Sesriem
(Sesriem Campsite)

Turning north, we once again head deep into the ancient southern Namib, travelling on small gravel roads and passing some tiny rural communities along the way. The scenery is harsh, and sometimes forbidding. The process of erosion in these areas is well advanced and we pass time rounded “koppies” arid terrain and outcrops of tortured rock.

Traversing this bleak yet beautiful landscape, the terrain begins to change and we cross some open grass savannah and farmlands before the terrain begins to give way to the immense red sand dune desert of the Namib. We aim to arrive at our camp during the late afternoon and watch the colours glow and change on distant mountains to the east.

Elim Dune is roughly 100 metres in height and the climb takes under an hour.

Day 6: Sesriem
(Sesriem Campsite)

A pre-dawn start is essential as we want to catch the soft light of sunrise over the desert. After driving into the heart of the dune field, we reach Sossusvlei itself by walking the last 5 km through the dunes. The walk in the cool of the morning is like nothing else. Soft sunlight is just beginning to play over the dunes, creating a sharp light and shadow contrast across the whole desert. Ancient mineral pans, stunted camel thorn trees and the chance of seeing a gemsbok, springbok or maybe an ostrich make for spectacular photographic opportunities.

Sossusvlei's iconic dunes rise to almost 400 metres, some of the highest in the world. We spend the morning in and around Sossusvlei, visiting Dune 45 and Deadvlei. Deadvlei is an ancient clay pan studded with dead acacias which never decomposed and today, 900 years later, remain as desiccated, blackened sentinels dotting the pan's cracked surface and creating a surreal spectacle that is a photographer's dream.

We return to Sesriem for lunch.

As the day cools off in the late afternoon we will take a short excursion to Sesriem Canyon, a deep chasm carved through the rocks by water and a striking natural feature which is best explored on foot. Stony walls rise up sharply on both sides, while birds roost in its crags and lizards dart along the ledges. The canyon's name was coined when early settlers used it as a water source, using six lengths of leather (‘ses riem’ – six thongs) tied together to lower buckets into the water at the base of canyon.