Secret Namibia · Self-drive safari · 8 days
Experience a self-drive adventure to the notorious Etosha National Park, Okonjima & Erongo Mountains. Spend one night at Okonjima’s Africat Foundation, five nights just outside Etosha National Park, and your last night at Hohenstein Lodge (Erongo Mountains) in Damaraland.
At a glance
Experience a self-drive adventure to the notorious Etosha National Park, Okonjima & Erongo Mountains. Spend one night at Okonjima’s Africat Foundation, five nights just outside Etosha National Park, and your last night at Hohenstein Lodge (Erongo Mountains) in Damaraland. This safari includes four complementary activities.
Self-drive is the way most of our guests see Namibia. The roads are quiet and well kept, the distances are honest, and we plan each day so that you arrive in daylight with time for a sundowner. Every lodge is booked and every transfer arranged; the driving is yours.
May to October is the classic season: dry, cool at night, and the best game viewing in Etosha as the waterholes draw everything in. Desert mornings can be close to freezing in June and July, so pack a warm layer for early starts. November to April is the green season, hot inland with short afternoon storms that clear quickly, newborn antelope and, in a good year, water on the pan. Swakopmund is cool and often foggy in the mornings whatever the month; the fog burns off by late morning.
What is decided: the shape of the trip: the areas, the order, the properties and the number of nights in each. It is the version we would build first for most travellers.
What we confirm together: your dates, who is travelling, room categories and any extensions before or after. Every safari is tailored from here, and nothing is held until you ask us to.
The route
The loop runs from Windhoek through Okonjima, Etosha East, Etosha South and Damaraland and back to Windhoek. Most travelling days are four to five hours of driving with stops, and we plan each leg so that you arrive in daylight. Roads are gravel between the desert and the coast and in Damaraland, tar elsewhere, and none of it needs low range: the 4x4 is for comfort and clearance. Roughly 1300 km in all.
Distances shown are approximate road distances. Fuel and park entry fees are paid as you go. We plan the daily legs so that you are never driving after dark.
Day by day
On arrival at Windhoek Airport, you will be met by one of our team members, who will assist you with the collection of your rental vehicle. He will also hand you your complimentary care package. Make your way north to Okonjima Nature Reserve. Here you will spend the night in the Plains Camp; Okonjima is home to the AfriCat Foundation, whose primary focus is the conservation through education, research and rehabilitation of captive cheetahs. An afternoon and early morning game activities are included; make sure to arrive before 16:00.
Spend the next three days at your own pace, going for game drives into Etosha National Park or just spending time at the lodge. And if you don’t feel like driving yourself around, we can arrange a scheduled game drive for you, which is one of the activities offered at the lodge.
This is undoubtedly the adventure capital of Namibia. With an almost endless choice of activities! Skydiving, paragliding, sandboarding, or a quad bike tour through the dunes. There is an activity to suit every age group and adrenalin level!You will spend your last two nights in Etosha, just outside the park on the southern border. You can explore the park’s west side, but only on scheduled game drives as it is a restricted area. And these are options that attract additional costs. Or you could take a day and go and visit one of the local Himba tribal villages.
After Etosha, you will head south to Damaraland; here, you will spend the last night of your Namibian safari tour at the foot of the Erongo Mountains. Hohenstein Lodge is located on the bottom of the highest peak of the Erongo mountains. In the evening, spectacular sunsets bathe the mountain in great red light. The view over the vast landscape extends as far as the Spitzkoppe peak, protruding as a prominent relief from the plain. The lodge is the perfect starting point for exciting outings at the Hohenstein and day trips to the Spitzkoppe or the neighbouring Ameib farm.
On arrival in Windhoek, you need to return your rental vehicle. We can either arrange a transfer to the airport or book you one last night in Windhoek before your departure.
Overnight · Departure dayWhere you stay
Okonjima Plains Camp, your base in Central Namibia for one night, on a dinner, bed and breakfast basis.
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Onguma The Fort, your base in Etosha East for three nights, on a dinner, bed and breakfast basis.
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Toshari Lodge, your base in Etosha South for two nights, on a dinner, bed and breakfast basis.
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Hohenstein Lodge is located on the bottom of the highest peak of the Erongo mountains.
+ Read moreThe lodge is the perfect starting point for exciting outings at the Hohenstein and day trips to the Spitzkoppe or the neighbouring Ameib farm.
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The practical side
Included
Not included
Next steps
This page is a sample itinerary, not a quote, and nothing on it is booked or held. If it suits someone you know, send them the link; we are just as happy to start from scratch for them.
Eight days is the shape most of our guests choose for this route; a night or two more lets you linger where you like it best, and many guests swap a property for one they have heard about. Tell us roughly when you are thinking of travelling and who is coming, and we will turn this sample into a firm itinerary within a day or two.
