20-Day Exploration of Southern Africa

Windhoek International Airport - Windhoek, Yhe Capital

Day 1: Welcome to Namibia!

Today, you will arrive at the Windhoek International Airport. Here you will be met by a representative of the car rental company and he will transfer you to the depot, where you will receive your 4x4 vehicle and the travel documents.

From there, your self-drive journey will begin. You will drive to the Capital of Namibia, Windhoek. Here you will stay at your first accommodation.

Windhoek - Mariental - Kalahari Desert

Day 2: Wander Into the Kalahari Desert

After a hearty breakfast, you will depart for the southeastern part of Namibia, into the Dune Wonderland landscapes. The Kalahari Desert forms a major part of the eastern side of Namibia.

Here, the sandy ground doesn’t allow for sufficient water absorption and due to the extremely high evaporation in this area, this region is characterized as a desert. In reality, it is a vibrant wilderness. On the sparse grass plains, you can see huge herds of antelopes and other animals grazing.

Check in at the lodge where you are staying. You will have the rest of the afternoon at your leisure. The lodge offers activities, which can be booked and paid for on site.

Kalahari Desert - Keetmanshoop - Fishriver Canyon

Day 3: Marvel at the Fish River Canyon

After breakfast, continue further south to one of the world wonders, the Fish River Canyon. Here you will stay for 2 days at your own leisure.

The lodge offers activities, which you can book and pay for on site. The Fish River Canyon is the second largest canyon in the world. Set in a harsh, stony plain scantily covered with drought-resistant succulents and the distinctive quiver tree or kokerboom, the canyon represents a spectacular natural phenomenon. 

Fish River Canyon

Day 4: Spend Time Amidst Baboons and Ground Squirrels

This is the second day you will spend in the Fish River Canyon, which took hundreds of millions of years to evolve into its current shape.

While the full length of the canyon is 161 km, the most spectacular section is the 56 km-long stretch which lies between the northernmost and southernmost viewpoints.

Baboons, rock dassies, ground squirrels, and klipspringer are commonly sighted in the canyon.

Fish River - Helmeringhausen - Sesriem

Day 5: Travel Towards Sesriem Today

The Namib is one of the oldest deserts in the world and possibly even the very oldest, the Namib was already arid at least 80 million years ago. In the south, it extends into South Africa across the Orange River, while in the north it crosses the Kunene into Angola.

The greater part of the Namib lies inside Namibia, where it occupies some 1500km of Atlantic coastline. In width, it generally varies between 80 and 140 km, but in some places, reaches inland for as far as 200 km.

After you check into your accommodation, the rest of the afternoon is yours to spend at your leisure.

Sossusvlei

Day 6: Depart for Scenic Sossusvlei

Enjoy an early departure to the Sossusvlei today. You will have the opportunity to climb one of the highest sand dunes in the world.

Sossusvlei is a dune wonderland, with towering dunes surrounding a huge, dried-up pan. Dunes extend as far as the eye can see and their rich tints vary from pale apricot to vivid reds and oranges. During a good rainy season, the Tsauchab River flows into the pan which creates a haven for water birds.

Even during the dry season, oryx, springbok, and ostriches can be seen feeding off the sparse vegetation along the water courses. This can be followed by a visit to the Sesriem Canyon. Return to your Lodge.

Sossusvlei - Walvisbay - Swakopmund

Day 7: Visit Stunning Walvis Bay

After a hearty breakfast, you will depart via Solitaire and Ghaub Pass to Walvis Bay. Here you will visit the Walvis Bay lagoon to view seabirds. Solitaire gets its name from two meanings: one is the reference to a single solitaire diamond, the other is the solitude or loneliness of the area.

The two meanings combined to create the definition of a distinctive, precious, and solitary place. The small settlement situated in the middle of the Namib Desert features a gas station, post office, general dealer and a restaurant/bar which is widely known for its delicious apple pie.

It is the perfect stopover to break the journey between the Sesreim and Sossusvlei area, and Swakopmund or Windhoek. 

Swakopmund

Day 8: Enjoy Fun Activities in Swakopmund

Today you have the day to spend at your leisure. Swakopmund offers a variety of activities, which can be booked upon arrival.

Activities include a boat cruise, catamaran cruises, quad biking, sandboarding, a "Living Desert Tour" in the dunes, a Sandwich Harbor tour along the coast, scenic flights over the country, and many more.

Swakopmund - Uis - Damaraland

Day 9: Enjoy the Sight of Imposing Mount Brandberg

After Breakfast, depart via Hentiesbaai and Uis into the Damaraland. The imposing Brandberg massif is a challenge to rock climbers, especially its peak "Konigstein", which at 2573 meters is the highest peak in Namibia.

While its name is Afrikaans for "burnt mountain" the Brandberg is most famous for the rock painting known as the "White Lady", which is painted on an overhang in Maack’s Shelter - named after the surveyor who discovered it in 1917. Maack’s Shelter lies in the Tsisab Gorge, a wild and beautiful ravine surrounded by a vast jumble of rocks, remnants of many ancient landslides.

From Uis you will drive to the Twyfelfontein. 

Damaraland

Day 10: Be Amazed at Twyfelfontein

Twyfelfontein, meaning doubtful fountain, lies to the west of Khorixas and resembles a large, open-air art gallery. This treasure house of rock engravings left by stone-age artists is regarded as one of the richest collections in Africa.

The Living Museum of the Damara, close to Twyfelfontein, is the first traditional Damara project in Namibia and the only one of its kind. The possibility to experience the traditional Damara culture in this form exists nowhere else in Namibia or in the world.

Together with the Bushmen, the Damara belong to the oldest nations in Namibia. Their original culture was a mixture of an archaic hunter-gatherer culture and herders of cattle, goats, and sheep.

Damaraland - Outjo - Etosha National Park

Day 11: Visit a Himba Village

If you would like to visit another Himba Village north of Namibia, you are welcome to drive today via Kamanjab (a detour) to the Himba Village just outside this little town. 

From here you will continue your trip via Outjo to the lodge situated outside Etosha National Park, in a cluster of low hills is the town of Outjo, the southern gateway to Etosha National Park.

The town developed around a spring where a trader, Tom Lambert settled in 1880. Depicted in the Outjo Museum are the history of the town and its surroundings, with a focus on gemstones and wildlife.

Etosha Park

Day 12: Spend Today in Etosha National Park

Today you have the opportunity to book an open game drive at the lodge in Etosha National Park or you can drive into the Park with your own vehicle.

Etosha National Park, consisting of 22,270 sq km of saline desert, savannah, and woodlands, is one of the largest parks in Africa. Its definitive feature is the Etosha Pan, a vast, shallow depression of approximately 5,000 sq km. For the greater part of the year, the pan is a bleak expanse of white cracked mud which shimmers with mirages on most days.

Witnessing vast herds of game with this eerie white place of dry water as a backdrop, makes the Etosha experience unique. Before sunset, you will have to leave the park and return to your lodge.

Etosha West - Etosha East - Tsumeb

Day 13: Visit the Tsumeb Museum

After a hearty breakfast, you will drive through the Etosha National Park on a game drive with your own vehicle. In the late afternoon, you will leave the park before sunset on the eastern side and drive to Tsumeb.

The town of Tsumeb, gateway to the north, has been linked to the mining industry since 1905. The history of Tsumeb is depicted in the Tsumeb Museum, where a comprehensive collection of rare minerals can be viewed.

In the Khorab room a collection of restored canons and other armaments, which were dumped into Lake Otjikoto by the German forces, are displayed.

Tsumeb - Grootfontein - Rundu

Day 14: Visit the Lovely Tree Park

Today you will drive via Grootfontein to Rundu, which lies North of Namibia, at the river, which is also the border to Angola. A historic fort from the German era, built in 1896 houses the Grootfontein Museum.

The fountain which gave rise to the town’s name is encircled by "Tree Park", which features a collection of exotic trees. These were planted by the South West African Company many years ago. Rundu, the capital of the Kavango Region, is 248 km north-east of Grootfontein.

Situated on a high bank, the town overlooks the Kavango River and the derelict settlement of Calai in Angola. It is also the home of Namibia’s well-known Kavango woodcarvers. Arrive here in the afternoon and enjoy the following days at leisure!

Rundu

Day 15: Spend Time in Gorgeous Rundu

Today is yours to relax and spend as you desire!

Explore the area of Rundu at your own pace and enjoy the scenery and natural beauty of the region.

Rundu - Divundu - Mahangu Park

Day 16: Drive to Beautiful Popa Falls

After a relaxing breakfast, you will continue your journey in the Caprivi direction. Today you will drive to the Mahangu National Park/Popa Falls, which is situated near Divundu.

Check in and enjoy the rest of the afternoon at your own leisure. In the afternoon you have the opportunity to book a game drive or a coat cruise at thelodge. The Mahango Game Park is a protected area in Namibia within Bwabwata National Park.

It is situated at the country's eastern border with Botswana in the flood plains of the Okavango River basin, close to Popa Falls. The Caprivi Strip encloses the western part of the park.

Divundu - Kongola - Kasane

Day 17: Spend Time at the Caprivi Strip

Enjoy a late breakfast, then drive through the Caprivi Strip and Kongola to your next lodge.

At the far north-eastern extremity of Namibia is the Caprivi Region, gateway to Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe and the Chobe National Park in Botswana. The area is highly populated with scattered settlements of subsistence farmers cultivating mahangu and other crops, tending their cattle, or living off freshwater fish, which they catch from mokoro or dugout canoes. The major center in Caprivi is Katima Mulilo.

The curious shape of Caprivi – a finger-like projection, which takes Namibia’s borders into the center of Southern Africa – was the result of negotiations between Germany and other colonial governments at the end of the nineteenth century.

Chobe Nationalpark

Day 18: Marvel at Chobe National Park

Today you will spend time in the Chobe National Park!

It was agreed at the Berlin Conference that the narrow strip of land extending for 450 km from east to west would be added to German South West Africa, as Namibia was called then.

This allowed the German colony to gain access to the Zambezi River and the name of the chief negotiator at this conference, Count von Caprivi, was given to the region. Here you will spend the following two days at your leisure, with the opportunity to book optional game drives and boat cruises.

Chobe National Park - Kazangula - Zimbabwe

Day 19: Drive to Victoria Falls

After a hearty breakfast, drive through Kasane (Botswana) to Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe. Here you will spend the last day of your holidays at your leisure!

Many optional activities are offered in Victoria Falls that you can partake in during your stay! Victoria Falls, one of the Seven Wonders of the World, is the largest sheet of falling water.

In full flood, some 500 million liters of water cascade downwards at a speed of 100 meters per minute, resulting in a thunderous roar, and towering columns of spray, hence the local name “mosi – u – tunya" - meaning the smoke that thunders.

Zimbabwe

Day 20: Farewell, Africa!

Today you have at your leisure until the time comes to drive to Victoria Falls Airport. There you will meet a representative from the car rental company, who will take your car key, do a handover of the vehicle, and leave you to catch your plane.

Safe travels home, and visit again soon!