Namibia
Towering red dunes at Sossusvlei, desert-adapted elephant in Damaraland, and Etosha's waterholes: big-sky, self-drive country with some of the lowest population density in Africa.
Overview
Namibia is built around space and light rather than density of wildlife. The Namib Desert, among the oldest deserts on earth, holds the dunes at Sossusvlei, some of the tallest in the world, and the ghost forest at Deadvlei, a white clay pan of centuries-dead camel thorn trees against the red sand.
Etosha National Park, in the north, centres on a vast salt pan, and its waterholes concentrate game in a way that makes for reliable sightings even in dry country. Further west, Damaraland is home to desert-adapted elephant and black rhino, animals that have learned to cover long distances between scattered water sources. Namibia is also thought to hold the largest free-ranging cheetah population of any country.
Distances between areas are long, so trips here mix self-drive sections with light-aircraft transfers depending on time and budget. We plan the route, book the lodges and camps, and arrange a guide for the sections that call for one.
Highlights
- Sossusvlei's dunes and the Deadvlei clay pan
- Etosha National Park's waterhole game viewing
- Desert-adapted elephant and rhino in Damaraland
- The world's largest free-ranging cheetah population
Best time to visit
May through October is the dry season, when game concentrates at Etosha's waterholes; the desert scenery around Sossusvlei is a year-round draw regardless of season.
Getting there
Hosea Kutako International Airport serves Windhoek; onward travel is a mix of self-drive and light-aircraft transfer, given the long distances between areas.
How we arrange it
We don't guide inside Namibia ourselves, and we don't publish a fixed Namibia itinerary the way we do for Kenya: no set trips exist yet for this country, so we build each one individually rather than invent a day-by-day plan that isn't real. What we do is put the trip together end to end, flights in and out, the right lodges and camps for your budget and interests, road or light-aircraft transfers between them, and a private guide on the ground who knows that particular park well.
Tell us what you want to see and how many days you have, and we'll draw up an itinerary and put you in touch with the people who can deliver it, with Nissa as your single point of contact throughout.
Outside Kenya we work through ground operators licensed in their own country, and they hold the permits and guiding accreditation required there. Nissa Safaris plans the trip, books it and stays your single point of contact throughout; the local operator runs the vehicles and guides on the ground.
Ready to plan Namibia?
Send us your travel dates and we'll put together a Namibia itinerary around them, flights, lodges and a guide on the ground.
Enquire on WhatsAppHeader photograph by Giles Laurent, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.