Namibia Classic

After the first "day-briefing" at morning with the tour guide, your round trip through Namibia begins with a drive on relatively flat gravel roads to the south-eastern part of the country. Thorn bush savannah and barren pastureland, where Karakul sheep graze, is typical for the region, determining the image of the peripheral area to the Kalahari. Via Uhlenhorst we drive through the charming Auob valley and finally arrive at our accommodation close to village of Mariental.

An eventful day awaits you once we have left the southern administrative and economic center of Keetmanshoop behind us after the first hour of driving. An interesting route with views of lonely mountains and seemingly endless plains leads us to our southernmost accommodation near Aussenkehr on the South African border. We also reach the mighty Fish River Canyon with its unforgettable panoramic views, a very special attraction in Namibia. With its length of over 100 km and its deep winding gorges, it is considered the second largest canyon in the world. We follow the gravel road on the eastern edge of the canyon, which is lined with fascinating landscapes, in a southerly direction. We then continue along the Orange to our destination for today, the Norotshama River Resort. We sleep here in chalets located directly on the Orange River.

Die heutige Route führt nach Norden, durch die Tirasberge hindurch lassen wir uns begleiten von einem wunderbaren Farbenspiel der scheinbar unendlich weiten Namibwüste und ihren Bergzügen im Randgebiet des Nationalparks. Heute geht es zu den unfassbar hohen Sanddünen dieser ältesten Wüste der Welt – nahe dem Sesriem-Canyon, wo sich auch unsere nächsten Unterkunft befindet … hier sind wir dem berühmten Sossusvlei schon ganz nahe …

After a good breakfast, we set off towards "civilization" again today, passing the famous Tropic of Capricorn and continuing on a pass over the wild and rugged landscape of the Gaub River to the Kuiseb Canyon, another deeply furrowed river valley, where two German geologists hid for years during the Second World War and fought to survive. The impressive book "Wenn es Krieg gibt, gehen wir in die Wüste" is well worth reading. The Kuiseb Pass leads us over the rough gravel road into the huge Namib-Naukluft National Park and across to the cool Atlantic Ocean. The lonely expanse, which seems so lifeless,  surprises us again and again with oryx antelopes, springboks, ostriches and mountain zebras, which can cross our "pad" at speed. Only just before the coast do high dune belts reappear and the air becomes noticeably fresher. In Swakopmund, we stop off at a good hotel and have the opportunity to explore the historic coastal town and dip our feet in the cold sea.

From Swakopmund, the route leads us about 200 km northwards along the Atlantic Ocean through the Dorob National Park on a smooth, hard salt road and gives us a lasting impression of Namibia's beach landscapes of the "Skeleton Coast" - whose obvious hostility to life from a human perspective belies the unique, sensitive habitat for many rare plants, small animals and breeding birds. A detour to the seal colony in Cape Cross is possible before the route leads into the much hotter interior towards Uis. Passing the Messum Crater, we then pass the huge Brandberg massif with its rugged, black and red rocky landscape. A special companion on our route here is the Welwitschia, another rare, bizarre giant plant that can live to be well over 1000 years old. After the small mining town of Uis, we immerse ourselves in the wild, vast landscape of Damaraland for the last few kilometers - on the edge of the massive Brandberg massif, the lodge is located on the gallery forest of the Ugab River, which is known for its desert elephants, which occasionally pass by here to eat the nutritious tree pods ...

You should stop when it's at its best - so they say - we leave the Grootberg Lodge early in the morning, just for another beautiful destination: the Mount Etjo Safari Lodge. Over the Grootberg Pass, we take the winding roads down the table mountain steps of the Etendeka Plateau, pass the huge dry riverbed of the Huab and refuel in the small village of Khorixas. We drive through eastern Damaraland past settlements to the unique landscape of the Ugab Terraces, where the famous "Vingerklip", a gigantic rocky outcrop, adorns the landscape. Here we travel on smaller farm roads and reach the village of Kalkfeld through typical Mopane shrub savannah and very soon Mount Etjo, a striking table mountain, at the foot of which is the large game reserve and safari lodge of the same name. All kinds of game can be spotted at the lodge itself, including hippos if you're lucky! The barbecue dinner is a real treat and the second dessert is a close-up lion feeding.