Kaokoland 4x4

The very first day of your tour will give you numerous impressions of the diversity of Namibia's landscapes as we drive across the centre of the country to the former mining town of Uis and the Brandberg in southern Damaraland. From the winding hills and mountain ranges of the Khomas Highlands with their extensive commercial farms, we travel via Wilhelmstal to the flatter region around Omaruru. Here, the mighty Erongo Mountains and isolated inselbergs dominate the landscape. After a lunch break, we continue westwards. Upon arrival in Uis, we have reached both the beginning of communal areas and the starting point for the adventurous part of the journey.

On today's route to Kamanjab, we skirt the Brandberg closely along its southern side and then cross the wide riverbed of the Ugab. Our route is not marked on any official map. We follow old prospectors' trails through the typical Damaraland landscape to the north, an almost uninhabited area. Here you need to concentrate hard to stay on the tracks, some of which are barely visible, but thanks to GPS guidance, there is no chance of straying from the route. Through lonely landscapes, dotted with charming views of mountain and rock formations as well as perfectly adapted flora and fauna, we reach the sandy Huab Valley and finally dive into the impressive Huab riverbed, famous for its lions and elephants. From there, the route continues into northern Damaraland and, after a final stage on gravel roads & asphalt, we finally reach the OppiKoppi Rest Camp.

Today we rise with the birds and, equipped with packed lunches, tackle a challenging stage that requires full attention, concentration and good physical condition. Only a few venture to our northernmost destination – the Kunene River – by land. The first part of the route leads along poorly maintained tracks through scattered bush villages. Here, we mainly encounter members of the Ovahimba tribe, a Herero-speaking population group that still practises ancient customs and traditions and lives a partly nomadic lifestyle. The unusual traditional costumes of the Himba, made from animal skins, their iron jewellery and the complete covering of their bodies with a mixture of ochre paint and fat are documented in numerous illustrated books about the Kaokoveld. Our journey through their settlement area offers the opportunity for direct contact. Finally, the notorious Van Zyl's Pass lies ahead of us – for many, the greatest challenge of the trip and certainly one of the outstanding highlights. After conquering it, we reach the wide valley of the Marien River far below. The remoteness, so far away from any civilisation, is impressive; hardly anyone can resist the impression of having landed in another world. Along the wild and romantic mountain ranges with their freely roaming wildlife, the route now leads us through more open areas to the northern border of Namibia.

Now we set off early in the morning again. We still have several days of wilderness in Kaokoveld and Damaraland ahead of us before we reach civilisation again. Our journey south takes us through the outskirts of Skeleton Coast Park, one of the most interesting ecological areas in southern Africa. While the coastal strip itself is protected and not accessible to visitors, we can admire the impressive inland desert landscapes on the way from the Marien River to Orupembe. Many dry river beds, mountain valleys, sand and stony tracks await us. We cross oxide-red sandy areas, drive along the river bed of the Khumib past inhabited or abandoned Himba kraals and finally reach Purros via black and red scree slopes. It is hard to imagine that we are only about 50 km from the coast, on the edge of another lifeline of the Namib Desert – the Hoarusib River. We look for a suitable place to spend another night under the beautiful starry sky in the solitude of the desert...

In the morning, we start off at a leisurely pace on a gravel road heading south towards the coast, but soon we leave the main road and take a very special route where you can test your driving skills. You will need all the experience you have gained so far on Namibia's ‘wild’ trails within a few hours today as we head through the westernmost Damaraland towards our distant destination in the south. Breathtaking landscapes, table mountains, springs, petrified wood, quaint rock formations, dry river beds, bizarre flora and wildlife such as oryx, springbok and possibly elephants will line our first stage to the Ugab River. Then the landscape changes noticeably again as we approach the Atlantic Ocean, with the vegetation becoming sparser and the climate noticeably cooler. The rest of the stage takes us directly to the coast on a salt road, where we finally reach Cape Cross with the Cape Cross Lodge.

Once everyone has had a good night's sleep and a leisurely breakfast, we reluctantly set off on the last leg of our journey. Although today's route is back to normal gravel roads, it offers pure driving pleasure – it goes up and down and is extremely winding by Namibian standards. Towards the afternoon, we reach our base station, the Windhoek Mountain Lodge, where our team is waiting for us. Once again, we enjoy the ‘Bushman Fondue’ and have the whole night to discuss the past few days.