Discover Namibia
Day 1: Arrive Windhoek
Arrive at Windhoek International Airport where your Fairfield Tours guide will meet you to begin your journey on the Discover Namibia Group Tour. The city of Windhoek was built across several low hills and is surrounded by the Auas and Eros Mountains. Windhoek is a handsome city, whose streets are filled with the evidence of a recent colonial past. Enjoy an orientation city tour and view the imposing Germanic buildings, such as the Lutherin Christuskirsche, Parliament Building, Tintenpalast, Hotel Heinitzburger and the Old Fort. Visit a Windhoek craft market. Continue to your hotel where you can freshen up before dinner. Tonight you will enjoy a welcome dinner at Joe’s Beerhouse, indulge in the atmosphere of this unique pub and restaurant with its very original décor (included). Sit indoors or under the lapas.
Overnight: Safari Hotel OR Kalahari Sands, Windhoek (BB)
Day 2: Windhoek to Etosha National Park
Today you will continue to Okahandja where you can buy and enjoy the “biltong” which is locally produced (dry beef or game meat). Continue via Otjiwarongo and Outjo to Etosha National Park. Enter the Park at the Anderson’s Gate. You will now find yourself in the biggest National Park in Africa, Etosha National Park. Look around you to view the great, white lake dazzling with heat waves and mirages for most of the year. Continue to your Rest Camp, with its own floodlit waterhole where the nocturnal animals comes to drink in the evening, enabling you to view the animals at night from the comfort of the camp.
Overnight: Rest Camp in Etosha National Park OR a Lodge close to Etosha (BB)
DAY 3: Etosha National Park
Today you can settle comfortably in the coach and wait for animals to come to the watering pans and springs, flavoured by mineral salts such as lime, the mineral of the pans are very palatable to wild animals and you might see them licking the surface. Of the twenty species of antelope found in Namibia, you could spend the day in the company of the largest, the Eland, the smallest, the Damara dik-dik or one of Namibia’s rare and endemic antelopes, the black-faced Impala. You will spend another evening in one of the Rest Camps or just outside of Etosha.
Overnight: Rest Camp in Etosha NP OR a Lodge close to Etosha (BB)
Day 4: Ethosa National Park to Khorixas
Exit the Park via the Anderson’s Gate again. Continue to Outjo. From Outjo you will continue to Khorixas, en route you will stop to view the “Vingerklip” or rock finger, surrounding it is flat-topped mountains which are so typical of much of Damaraland. Amidst this beautiful scenery, Vingerklip is a striking pinnacle of rock, balancing vertically on its own. Continue to Khorixas where you will spend the night.
Overnight: Igowati Lodge, Khorixas (BB)
Day 5: Khorixas to Swakopmund
After an early breakfast you will take on the road and continue to the Petrified Forest. Here you will find fossilized remains of trees of more than 250 million years old, among the remains are a few specimens of “living fossils” – welwitschias. Turn-off to the Burnt Mountain and on to Twyfelfontein, where you can view the rock engravings. Continue to Torra Bay and drive along the coast to the Cape Cross seal Reserve where you have the opportunity to view the Cape fur seal colony, which is part of the sea lion family. Arrive in Swakopmund, an attractive seaside resort and well known for its strong German influence which is visible in its architectural style.
Overnight: Strand Hotel, Swakopmund (BB)
Day 6: Swakopmund
Spend your day at leisure. You have the time to enjoy the following options:
Walk through the town and view the following historical points:
- The Prison which was completed in 1909 and is now a National Monument
- Lighthouse which is 11 meters in length and was built in 1903.
- The War memorial, commemorating soldiers who died in World War 2.
More adventurous options include a balloon safari or quad-biking on the nearby desert dunes. (Own account)
You can also book a transfer to Walvis Bay from where you can do a boat cruise. You have the opportunity to see the dolphins or seals in the area. (Own account)
Overnight: Strand Hotel, Swakopmund (BB)
Day 7: Swakopmund to Sesriem Area
After breakfast and check out it is time to continue to another part of this arid semi-desert landscape. You will first stop to view the natural lagoon in Walvis Bay, home to huge flocks of flamingos, pelicans, and over 70 other species of sea-birds. Continue via Solitaire to your Lodge situated in the vicinity of Sesriem where you will spend the night.
Overnight: Hammerstein Lodge, 60km South from Sesriem (BB)
Day 8: Namib Naukluft Park
Today you will enter the Namib-Naukluft National Park, one of the largest National Parks in Africa, protecting one of the oldest deserts on earth. The vegetation of the Naukluft complex has been classified as Semi-dessert savanna. Sesriem canyon, approximately 2 to 4 million years old, is up to 40 meters deep and about 3 kilometers long. Delight in the stillness and strange beauty of this unique area. You have the option to continue to Sossusvlei by shuttle where you can view the huge red sand dunes, the highest on earth. (Own account) The desert’s changing patterns and subtly adapted life forms will fascinate you. Return to your lodge where you will spend the night.
Overnight: Hammerstein Lodge, 60km South of Sesriem (BB)
Day 9: Sesriem Area to Fish River Canyon Area
After breakfast you will continue to the South of Namibia. En route you will visit Duwisib Castle; Baron Captain Heinrich von Wolf hired an architect to build the castle in 1909 to reflect his commitment to the German Military cause in Namibia. Much of the raw materials for the construction of the fort were imported from Germany. After landing at Luderitz the materials were transported by ox-wagon for over 600km through the Namib Desert. Continue via Bethanie, one of the oldest settlements in Namibia and a place rich in history. View the original church built in 1859 as well as Schmelenhause which is the oldest building in Namibia and now a National Monument. Continue via Seeheim to your Lodge, close to the Fish River Canyon Conservation area.
Overnight: Canon Lodge, Fish River Canyon area (BB)
Day 10: Fish River Canyon Area to Springbok (Okiep)
Today you will enter the Fish River Canyon Conservation area and continue to a point where you will be able to view the second largest canyon in the world, situated along the lower reaches of the Fish River, it is one of the most impressive natural beauties in the southern part of Namibia. Continue on your journey and cross the Namibian border at Noordoewer and enter via Vioolsdrif into South Africa. To Springbok and the Goegap Nature Reserve, 15 kilometers outside Springbok is this 7,000 hectare nature reserve. 581 Different indigenous plants are seen here and some succulents are so rare they are found nowhere else in the world. The park incorporates the Hester Malan Wild Flower Reserve which literally bursts into colour in the spring. (Time permitting). Springbok is also the capital town of the Namakwaland region where the locals are well-known for their hospitality and warmth. You have time to take a leisurely stroll through the town and relax in one of the restaurants. Tonight you will overnight in Okiep, adjacent to Springbok.
Overnight: Okiep Country Hotel, Okiep (BB)
Day 11: Okiep to Lamberts Bay
After breakfast you will check-out and continue past small towns with quaint names such as Kamieskroon, Garies, Bitterfontein, Nuwerus and Van Rhynsdorp to Klawer, situated on the banks of the Olifants River snaking its way through the vineyards in the area. Stop at the Klawer Wine Cellar where you can taste the wine produced in this area. Continue to Lamberts Bay, a west coast village, located at the mouth of the Jakkals River it has developed from a small fishing village into a popular seaside resort attracting many visitors with its white sandy beach and azure blue sea. Visit Bird Island, 100 meters off-shore from Lamberts Bay and an important breeding site for seabirds, particularly Cape gannets and cormorants. You have the option of enjoying some of the West coast’s most delicious seafood dishes for dinner at either the “Muisbosskerm” or “Bosduifklip” restaurant. (Own account)
Overnight: Lamberts Bay Hotel, Lamberts Bay (BB)
Day 12: Lamberst Bay to Cape Town
Today you will continue to Cape Town. Travel past Citrusdal, Piketberg, Moreesburg and Malmesbury to Cape Town. En route you will visit the Westcoast Ostrich show ranch where you have the opportunity to meet the largest bird on earth. From here you will continue to the beach at Bloubergstrand, take your shoes off and walk on the beach while enjoying a spectacular view of Table Mountain. To Cape Town and your hotel.
Overnight: Cape Town Lodge, Cape Town (BB)
Day 13: Cape Peninsula Tour
Enjoy breakfast before departing on a Cape Peninsula Tour. Take the Cable car to the top of Table Mountain (weather permitting). View what Sir Francis Drake described as “the fairest cape in all the circumference of the earth”. Continue to the “Republic of Hout Bay” where you will enjoy a cruise to Duiker Island, seal and sea bird sanctuary (weather permitting). Continue to the Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve and Cape Point where supposedly the Atlantic Ocean and the Indian Ocean meet. Visit Boulders at Simonstown to see the Jackass Penguins and one of only two mainland breeding colonies in the world. Return to your hotel.
Overnight: Cape Town Lodge, Cape Town (BB)
Day 14: Cape Winelands
After breakfast start your day by visiting the historic town of Stellenbosch, the second oldest town in South Africa. Stroll down Dorp Street with the longest row of preserved homes from the early Dutch settler days, now a declared national monument. Continue to Franschhoek over the “ Helshoogte Pass”. Land was allocated to some 200 Huguenots that fled persecution in France, in what is known as “ Le Quartier Francais”.
Visit the Afrikaans Language Monument, commemorating the survival and dynamic growth, against all odds, of this young language. Situated in Paarl Rock Nature Reserve, from where you can enjoy breath taking views of the surrounding mountains and valleys. From here you will continue to Fairview wine Estate for a wine and cheese tasting. Fairview is one of the leading producers from the Paarl region in South Africa, which adjoins Stellenbosch but has a slightly warmer climate. Return to Cape Town where you check into your hotel.
Overnight: Cape Town Lodge, Cape Town (BB)
Day 15: Cape Town & Departure
Today you have the option of spending your last day at leisure relaxing at the beach or doing some last minute shopping. Another option is a Fairfield Tours Cape Town Day Tour and your tour guide will advise you of the details to book such a tour. Recommended options include:
- Township – Cultural Experience
- Coastal Route to Hermanus (Whale season – Aug. to Nov.)
- A boat trip to Robben Island. The ferry departs from the Nelson Mandela Gateway, situated in the Clock Tower Precinct at the V&A Waterfront. This was once the notorious prison where former President Mandela spent 27 years of his life. Transfer to Cape Town International Airport for your outbound flight.
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