First things first: we’ll start the day with breakfast at the restaurant of Penduka Village, just a stone's throw away from the busy streets of Windhoek on the shores of a quiet reservoir.

Penduka is a social enterprise and training center for underprivileged women in Namibia (https://www.penduka.com/en/), an exemplary social commitment with a remarkable track record of providing training to hundreds of women. By having breakfast here, we will not only fill our stomachs but contribute to their livelihood too. 

Following the breakfast & project visit, we’ll hit the road driving southwest through spectacular scenery to the famous giant sand dunes of the Namib Desert. Along the way, we will make photo stops and have a picnic lunch.

After setting up our camp at our campsite inside the Namib-Naukluft National Park, we climb the Elim Dunes for sunset and enjoy our campfire BBQ dinner under the dark night sky.

We’ll rise early today to watch the sunrise over the red dunes of the Namib Desert, a truly epic sight. We’ll hop in our vehicle while it's still dark and drive the 60 km through the sand dunes towards Sossusvlei public car park. From here it’s a short walk to the base of the Big Daddy, the highest dune in the park. The climb would take anywhere from 30 minutes to 1 hour depending on your fitness level and determination, but the tough hike on soft sand is worth it all. We’ll be rewarded with breathtaking views and a sense of achievement. After admiring the 360-degree views, we’ll run off the side of the dune into the Deadvlei and explore the salt pan filled with dead camel thorn trees. If you don’t want to hike or want to have more time for photography in Deadvlei, you can take the 4x4 shuttle (own expense) into Deadvlei and back to the parking lot.

We’ll spend most of the day exploring the desert floor and sand dunes on foot as this is the best way and with a bit of luck we might spot wild animals like oryx. We’ll stop at Dune 45 and 40 on our way out of the national park and take our time to explore and photograph the beauty of the desert for as long as we need. We’ll have breakfast and lunch at appropriate spots in the park.

Our last stop will be Sesriem Canyon before we exit the park and continue to our next campsite, roughly 1 hour away, where we’ll enjoy the sunset and starry night in another stunning landscape at the base of the rugged mountain range. For those who are still fit to move, there will be the option of a short guided night walk to spot nocturnal desert creatures after dinner (optional activity bookable at the campsite reception).

• Included Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
• Accommodation: Camping near Solitaire
• Included Activities: Dune 40/45, Deadvlei, Sossusvlei, Big Daddy, Sesriem Canyon

Today after breakfast, we’ll make our way to the town of Walvis Bay driving through Solitaire and the Kuiseb pass. We'll make photo stops as we travel through impressive rock formations and seemingly lifeless gravel plains.

Once in Walvis Bay, there will be time to have lunch by the lagoon accompanied by flamingos before we embark on a special safari in search of the tiny inhabitants of the desert dunes. While the untrained eye can only see sand, our guide will spot unique creatures like the Dancing White Lady, the Desert Chameleon, the sand-diving Gecko, and many more. With an enriched perception of the desert, we'll head to our guesthouse to wash off our desert dust before going out for dinner at a great local restaurant.

This morning, we’ll board a catamaran to get to Pelican Point, rich in wildlife and home to one of the largest colonies of Cape Fur Seals in Namibia. We’ll be the first ones landing on the beach where our guides will be waiting to take us on a kayak tour amongst the curious seals. No previous kayaking experience is necessary, fun and up-close encounters with the seals are guaranteed; pelicans, dolphins, and other mammals can be spotted if lucky.

When we return to the beach following the thoroughly entertaining morning, we jump in our 4 x 4 vehicles and drive across the epic sand dunes of Sandwich Harbour, where ancient sand dunes meet the crashing Atlantic Ocean. We’ll spend an exciting, educational roller-coaster afternoon in this wild and dramatic location featuring otherworldly scenery with an endless view of sand and sky.

As part of this full-day combo excursion, we’ll have lunch on the beach or in the dunes. At the end of this fabulous day, we’ll have a short drive to Swakopmund, the adventure capital of Namibia, where we will spend the next two nights.

Today is a free day to spend at your own leisure. Have a well-deserved lie-in, or take part in some of the amazing optional activities, like skydiving, sandboarding, fat biking, paragliding, scenic flight, township tour, shopping, and much more. Swakopmund has also great cafes and restaurants, and sunset bars on the beach if you fancy. To optimize flexibility and time management, our accommodation in Swakopmund is centrally located within a couple of blocks from the beach and the best restaurants in town.

After a leisurely breakfast, we’ll head towards the Skeleton Coast and Cape Cross Seal Colony. We’ll stop by one of the famous Skeleton Coast shipwrecks on the way before reaching the largest breeding cape fur seal colony in the world.

We'll spend hilarious moments with the seals before we continue to the stunning and majestic Spitzkoppe, aka ‘The Matterhorn of Africa’ that highlights Namibia's uniqueness and diversity.

Today we will be heading out on an educational drive to track the endangered desert elephants of Namibia in the wild. A super exciting day dictated by the movement of elephants.

Namibia’s desert elephants are one of only two populations worldwide that have adapted to live in a desert environment. Our guide will tell us all about these majestic creatures and how they survive in a such harsh environment, as well as the problems for humans living alongside them. Depending on the location of the animals, this activity may take an entire day, and if we are lucky we might spot other desert-adapted wildlife.

Please note that there are several places offering elephant tracking tours in Damaraland, however, we've handpicked this activity where all proceeds go directly to conservation projects and research aiming to reduce conflict between elephants and humans. Your contribution will make a difference to ensure that Namibia’s desert elephants live a long, happy, healthy life and help rural communities. In turn, you'll get a chance to discover the true meaning of engagement and respect for nature. 

Our ultimate destination today is Etosha National Park, however, before we get there we'll hit two unmissable cultural sites along the way. We’ll first visit the ancient rock engravings at Twyfelfontein, a UNESCO World Heritage Site which has one of the largest concentrations of rock engravings in Africa. From there we’ll head to the Damara Living Museum where you will learn about the traditional Damara culture, one of the oldest tribes in Namibia.

We’ll stop for lunch at a local restaurant in the town of Outjo. From there we’ll head into Etosha National Park and safari our way to the campsite. Our camp has a floodlit waterhole where you can watch the animals as they come to drink.

We’ll spend the next two days on full-day game drives, departing early in the morning, and proceeding through the Etosha National Park exploring the south side of the Etosha pan from Okaukuejo to Halali and Namutoni. We will be spending time at waterholes, and enjoying unexpected encounters with the paradise-like wildlife found here in the endless vistas. Today and tomorrow are all about game viewing.

Before sunset, we will move to our new campsite inside the national park, which has one of the best waterholes in Etosha. If you wish you can simply sit down and watch the animals come and go the whole night. African Bush TV at its best!

This morning you can have a well-deserved lie-in or if you’ve still got the safari bug you can join a ranger for a guided sunrise bush walk in the private game reserve (own expense), or simply watch the animals come to the waterhole in front of the lounge/restaurant.

After breakfast, we’ll head northeast into the narrow part of Namibia known as Caprivi Strip between Angola, Botswana, Zambia and Zimbabwe.  We'll arrive in the afternoon at our lovely lodge on the banks of Okavango River, where we will enjoy the welcomingly lush setting before we embark on a sunset boat cruise along the Okavango River to spot hippos, crocs, buffalos among other wildlife.

Today is a free day to spend at your own leisure. Have a well-deserved lie-in, relax and unwind in the spectacular tranquility of the lush nature while enjoying a drink at the comfortable deck of our lodge, wander around, get refreshed in the natural pool, or take part in some of the amazing optional activities, such as,  Khwe Living Museum, traditional village visits, fishing trips, or additional safaris in nearby Mahango and Buffalo National Parks. Rest assured that whatever you choose to do will be nothing short of amazing!

Today we will travel further east, making our way through the fertile Caprivi Strip before crossing into Botswana. After the border formalities, we will drive into Chobe National Park and enjoy game drive until late afternoon where we can see large concentration of animals grazing and drinking water. Then we arrive in our bush camp to freshen up and admire the sunset over the fields for a perfect end to the day, while our crew prepare a two-course bush dinner cooked on open fire.

We'll spend the night in our mobile bush camp in the true wilderness of the Chobe National Park listening to the sounds of the African bush.

• Included Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, Mineral water
• Accommodation: Camping in a spacious walk-in tent with a bed roll (shared facilities with rustic open air bucket showers and long drop-style toilets)
• Included Activities: Chobe 4x4 safari, bush camping

We'll raise early today to a friendly Botswana "dumela" (good day)  along with a quick cup of tea or coffee and a light continental breakfast before setting off on an early morning game drive in search of the big cats, or possibly the endangered wild dogs as they are the most active at this time. Around mid to late morning, we will return to camp for a delicious “bush brunch” and have the opportunity to take a refreshing shower and a siesta.

In the afternoon, as the day starts to cool off, we go on a sundowner game drive. All game drives take place in 4x4 safari vehicle with local Botswanan guides with excellent knowledge of the area. Stunning sunsets and outstanding game viewing await you in Botswana's Chobe National Park.  It's not uncommon to find herds of elephants, buffaloes and zebras numbering several thousand individuals! With a high prey density comes great predator populations.

We return to camp after sunset for a reflective fireside chat, bush dinner and as always accompanied by the unforgettable sounds of the African night.

• Included Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, Mineral water
• Accommodation: Camping in a spacious walk-in tent with a bed roll (shared ablutions)
• Included Activities: Chobe 4x4 game drives, bush camping

Following another "dumela" dawn wake-up call and breakfast, we go on an early morning game drive in search of more exciting wildlife in action. We head back to our bush camp to pack and freshen up before we exit the park in game drive mode. But before leaving Botswana, we still have an absolute must-do activity on agenda, namely a boat cruise on Chobe River! Chobe riverfront is incredibly scenic and is home to many large lion prides who take advantage of the great abundance of prey. So, while we enjoy our lunch on boat, we may get a front row seat to the hungry lions' play.

Once we arrive back from the boat at around 2pm, we proceed to Victoria Falls town in Zimbabwe. Our accommodation tonight is within walking distance from the Victoria Falls National Park, one of the most beautiful natural wonders in the world. Time and fitness permitting, we might choose to go for a sunset walk to view the falls or get ready for a traditional boma dinner to celebrate our incredible African adventure (own expense).

• Included Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Mineral water
• Accommodation: Hotel (ensuite)
• Included Activities: Chobe 4x4 game drive, Chobe River safari boat cruise

With our hearts full of the impressions of the past weeks, today after breakfast, we bid farewell to those who can't extend their stay in Victoria Falls, the adventure capital of Africa. If you can, however, we recommend you stay a couple of nights longer to truly enjoy the activities on offer ranging from scenic flights to swimming under the waterfalls. Depending on your flight schedule, you might be able to squeeze in a quick zipline activity this morning perhaps? Or simply browse the local markets for last minute souvenir shopping.

Airport transfers can be arranged upon request.

• Included Meals: Breakfast
• Accommodation: None
• Included Activities: None