12-DAY BESPOKE WINGS OVER NAMIBIA

Transcription

1 12-DAY BESPOKE WINGS OVER NAMIBIA Flying safari to Etosha Hoanib Skeleton Coast - Sossusvlei Program highlights: This Bespoke flying safari includes PRIVATE charter flights and allows you to enjoy much of the stunning landscape from the air as well as make the most of your time in camp. Begin your adventure with time in Etosha where game viewing takes place around the waterholes. Continue to Hoanib Skeleton Coast Camp where you will spend three days in a private concession which is rich with game and it borders the Skeleton Coast. End with time at Sossusvlei Desert Lodge where you will witness the dunes at sunrise. In all the parks you will have the opportunity to spend time on game viewing activities East Oakland Park Boulevard, Suite 600 Fort Lauderdale, Florida U.S.A Tel: Tel: Fax: safari@africanadventure.com

2 Day Destination Accommodation 01 Fly USA Johannesburg Travel 02 Fly Johannesburg Windhoek Olive Exclusive Boutique Hotel 03 Fly Windhoek Etosha Afternoon activity Onguma Tented Camp Etosha Onguma Tented Camp 06 Fly Etosha Hoanib Hoanib Skeleton Coast Camp 07 Day of Activities - Hoanib Hoanib Skeleton Coast Camp 08 Full Day excursion Skeleton Coast Hoanib Skeleton Coast Camp 09 Fly Hoanib Sossusvlei Afternoon activity 10 Sunrise excursion to Sossusvlei dunes Afternoon at leisure Sossusvlei Desert Lodge Sossusvlei Desert Lodge 11 Fly Sossusvlei Windhoek - USA 12 USA

3 ITINERARY DAY 01 USA/JOHANNESBURG Depart the USA on your overnight flight to Johannesburg. DAY 02 JOHANNESBURG/WINDHOEK On arrival in Johannesburg you will connect with your scheduled flight to Windhoek, Namibia. On arrival, clear Customs and Immigration. You will be met and transferred to your hotel. Windhoek is the capital and administrative, commercial and educational center of Namibia, situated in the center of the country at 5,410 feet (1650 m) above sea level. Windhoek is also the starting point for most Namibian safaris. The capital has been influenced greatly by German architecture from the early colonial days. Three castles were built between 1913 and 1918, and are located close together in what is now the fashionable suburb of Klein Windhoek. There are a variety of excellent restaurants in Windhoek featuring everything from seafood to international cuisine. Olive Exclusive Boutique Hotel is for the discerning traveler and has 7 suites individually decorated, each with a lounge area, fireplace and spacious decks. The restaurant offers a seasonal menu and features local specialties with a modern twist. Accommodation: Olive Exclusive Boutique Hotel (B) DAY 03 WINDHOEK/ETOSHA Today you will be transferred to the Eros International airport for your private charter flight to your camp in Etosha. On arrival you will be met and game drive enroute to camp. *PLEASE NOTE* There is a luggage limit of 44lbs (20kg) per person on the flight so please pre-pack your luggage accordingly in a soft-sided bag. Scheduled Charter flights times are estimates and may include multiple stops.

4 The Onguma Game Reserve borders onto Etosha National Park and situated next to the von Lindequist gate which is the eastern entrance to the park. The Reserve covers an area of acres and incorporates ecological substrata such as savannah, bushveld, omuramba and dry pan. Plains game roam freely and there are over 300 species of birds in that area. Onguma Tented Camp is located on the Onguma Game Reserve, bordering on the eastern side of Etosha National Park. The camp is exquisitely styled for the more exclusive safari experience and consists of seven luxury tents, each with spectacular views. The main lodge overlooks a waterhole and includes a reception area, lounge, wine cellar, bar and dining room. Enjoy watching zebra, giraffe, lion, a variety of antelope and superb birdlife during your stay. Accommodation: Onguma Tented Camp (Full Board) DAY ETOSHA Enjoy two days of game viewing. Etosha is Namibia's premier game viewing destination. It is one of Africa's largest game parks being nearly the size of Switzerland. Large herds of plains game concentrate around the waterholes in the dry season and provide exciting game viewing. Species that can be seen year round include elephant, lion, leopard, cheetah, giraffe, zebra, wildebeest, springbok, oryx, kudu and the damara dik-dik. Etosha National Park covers over 13,700 square miles and is one of the finest parks in Africa. The heart of the park is the Etosha Salt Pan - an enormous shallow depression over 60 miles across - which has numerous perennial springs around its circumference. Accommodation: Onguma Tented Camp (Full Board) DAY 06 ETOSHA/HOANIB Transfer to the airstrip for your private charter flight to your next camp. Arrive to your next camp in time for lunch followed by an afternoon game activity.

5 Hoanib Skeleton Coast Camp is located in a private concession straddling the Palmwag area and Skeleton Coast National Park, in one of the most remote areas of the Kaokoveld. The land offers rugged scenery, including a historic coastline, mountains, vast plains, and dry riverbeds inhabited by desert-adapted plant and animal life. Despite the arid environs, one of the greatest concentrations of desert elephant and lion can be found within this unique area along with sightings of giraffe, antelope, black rhino, leopard and cheetah. Hoanib Skeleton Coast Camp, located next to the wildlife-rich Hoanib River, is a new Classic camp with northern views of the Hoanib and flanked on the east and west by the rugged hills. The camp offers 7 standard tents and 1 family tent, stylish in design and well-insulated with canvas roofing. Each en suite unit includes a private shaded outdoor lounge area. The main guest area features a lounge, bar, dining room, library and fire pit. Between activities, cool off in the refreshing plunge pool. Activities include nature walks, game drives, dune drives and use of hides. During a three night stay, one full day will be spent on an excursion to the Skeleton Coast. Accommodation: Hoanib Skeleton Coast Camp (Full Board) DAY HOANIB Enjoy two days of activities. During one of these days you will have a full day excursion to the Skeleton Coast. The arid desert environment of the Skeleton Coast is within the northern reaches of the Namib Desert. The Benguela Current brings cold water that helps to moderate temperatures. The cool air off the ocean current meets the hotter desert air and, nearly every morning, a cold mist envelops the coastline, bringing moisture to the desert. The Skeleton Coast has everything from roaring dunes, windswept plains, towering canyons, salt pans to seal colonies, and shipwrecks along this part of the coast. Fresh water springs create rare oases in the desert that sustain pockets of wildlife including springbok, gemsbok (oryx), the desert elephant, ostrich, jackal and brown hyena. Vegetation like welwitschia has adapted to the harsh conditions.

6 You will leave camp after breakfast and spend a full day exploring the park, one of the planet's driest deserts, in 4x4 Land Rovers. Travel is through harsh, rough and rugged terrain traversing the sand dunes. A picnic lunch is enjoyed out in the wild with return to base camp in the late afternoon. Enjoy the breath-taking landscape scenes with springbok, ostrich and oryx dotted here and there. Accommodation: Hoanib Skeleton Coast Camp (Full Board) DAY 09 HOANIB/SOSSUSVLEI Today you will transfer to the airstrip for your scenic flight to Sossusvlei via Swakopmund. The flight takes you south over the Damaraland and from Swakopmund it flies past the port of Walvis Bay and the Sandwich Harbor towards to coast, where (weather dependent) you will see deserted mines, shipwrecks and seal colonies and the great Namib Sea Sand (declared a natural World Heritage Site), past the famous Sossusvlei dunes on the way south. A highlight is the flight over the Eduard Bohlen, a German cargo ship that ran aground in 1909 while it was on its way to Table Bay from Swakopmund. It is believed that thick fog caused the ship to founder close to Conception Bay. Years after the ship ran aground the desert began to encroach on the ocean and the ship that was once stranded in the ocean slowly became stranded in the desert. The wreck currently sits about 500 meters from the ocean, ensuring that it s the best preserved shipwreck along Namibia s Skeleton Coast and making it a must see for photographers. On arrival you will be met and continue to camp. Enjoy an afternoon activity. The Namib-Naukluft Park covers 19,215 square miles of desert savannah grasslands, gypsum and quartz plains, granite mountains, an estuarine lagoon, a canyon and huge, drifting apricot-colored dunes. The five main regions of the park are the Namib, Sandvis, Naukluft, Sesriem and Sossusvlei areas. The Kuiseb River runs through the center of the park from east to west and acts as a natural boundary separating the northern grayish-white gravel plains from the southern deserts. Herds of mountain zebra, gemsbok, springbok and flocks of ostrich roam the region. Many small, fascinating creatures have uniquely adapted to this environment and help make this one of the most interesting deserts in the world. The dunes are home to numerous unique creatures, such as the translucent Palmato gecko, shovel-nosed lizard and Namib golden mole.

7 Sossusvlei, in the southern region, has the highest sand dunes in the world, exceeding 1,000 feet. The base of the second highest sand dune in the world can be closely approached by vehicle. The hike along the knife-edge rim to the top is strenuous, requiring minutes of taking two steps up and sliding one step down. The view from the top into other valleys and of the mountains beyond is marvelous. Even up there, colorful beetles, ants and other desert critters roam about. Sunrise on these magnificent and colorful dunes is spectacular. Ballooning safaris are offered. Sossusvlei Desert Lodge is surrounded by the mountains and sand dunes of the Namib Desert. The lodge features ten individual villas that blend seamlessly with its surroundings. Each air-conditioned unit has a split-level bedroom and sitting area, with large en suite bathrooms and floor-to-ceiling glass doors that open to the private patio. The main lodge has a refreshing swimming pool, extensive wine cellar and open dining room with fire places to warm up on a cool desert night. Scenic drives in open vehicles, star gazing, quad biking and guided nature walks are offered. Optional trips to Sesrien Canyon, scenic flights over the desert and ballooning are available at an additional fee. Accommodation: Sossusvlei Desert Lodge (Full Board) DAY 10 SOSSUSVLEI This morning you will rise early for a magical excursion. Enter the Park gates at sunrise to capture the dunes whilst the light is soft and shadows accentuate their towering shapes and curves. This area boasts some of the highest free-standing sand dunes in the world. Your local guide will give you an insight on the formation of the Namib Desert and its myriad of fascinating creatures and plants that have adapted to survive these harsh environs. Once you have explored the dune fields to your heart s content you can enjoy a relaxed picnic breakfast in the shade of a camel thorn tree. Return to your lodge in the early afternoon for a late lunch. The rest of the afternoon is at your leisure. There is a choice of other activities on offer on the Namib Rand Nature Reserve. Accommodation: Sossusvlei Desert Lodge (Full Board)

8 DAY 11 SOSSUSVLEI/WINDHOEK/JOHANNESBURG/USA Today you will be transferred to the airstrip for your private charter flight to Windhoek. Depart on your scheduled inter-africa flight to Johannesburg. Continue onward overnight to the USA. DAY 12 WELCOME HOME! USA 2018 LAND ARRANGEMENTS: Jan 11 - May Jun Oct Nov-Dec 19 Per Person Sharing $10, $12, $10, Single Supplement $1, $2, $1, * All rates are per person sharing a room Departures: daily AIR ARRANGEMENTS: (Subject to change until ticketed) Please note the following sample airfares. Lower promotional airfares are offered throughout the year so please take a moment to contact our in house air department for even better pricing options! INTERNATIONAL: Economy Class: From $1, $2, per person (low-high season) Business Class: From $5, per person (via Europe or on SAA) (low season) New York/Johannesburg/New York - Please call for add-on fares from your departure city. INTER-AFRICA: from $ $ per person Johannesburg/Windhoek/Johannesburg (*from $ only when booked in conjunction with South African Airways from the USA and is subject to availability at time of booking) LAND COSTS INCLUDE: - Accommodations - All meals and game activities on safari (Full Board) - Breakfast (B) in Windhoek - All road and air charter transfers - Park and guiding fees - Drinks (excludes champagne and vintage wines) in camps - Laundry at Hoanib Skeleton Coast Camp and Sossusvlei Desert Lodge (excluded in Windhoek & Onguma) - Shared game activities in the camps - PRIVATE charter flights on a single engine C210 (Windhoek/Etosha/Hoanib/Sossusvlie - via Swakopmund) /Windhoek

9 NOT INCLUDED: - Tips to staff and guides - Airport departure taxes - Additional meals and drinks in Windhoek - Laundry as noted - Optional Ballooning safari at Sossusvlei (approx $ per person) - International and Scheduled air fares to/from Windhoek - Travel insurance - Personal expenditure TOUR: NAM12WING NOTES: 1) This program can be customized by adding additional nights at Onguma, Hoanib Skeleton Coast Camp or Sossusvlie Desert Lodge. Trip report: Skeleton Coast/Hoanib- Loved this camp!!!!! This was such great camp and experience- it was highlight of trip (2nd would be the sand dunes). I can t say enough about the staff, accommodations, and activities. Clement, the manager was the best we experienced. He was so involved and also there to talk with (or pour wine) and make us feel welcome. He was always there and we felt like special friends staying at his home. He set the tone but everyone we met at the camp gave us the same positive feeling. We were in the farthest tent and the views were amazing and we had feeling of being on another planet. The setting is so amazing. All the meals were excellent and we had a great guide Elias. He was so enjoyable to be with and we spent a lot of time out looking. Think we had longer drives than the other 2 camps. He was very knowledgeable and showed us even the very small animals (spiders) but also saw giraffes, elephants, oryx, seals, springbok, and a brown haired hyena walking across from water hole while we were having breakfast. We were very fortunate to have time with MC and to hear of her work with the brown haired hyenas plus Dr. Phillip Stander was there. One evening he spotted a leopard stalking a giraffe with a baby and all of us went out and were able to see the leopard. Then Dr. Stander came back and sat around the fire pit having a glass of wine and talking about his work. What a wonderful opportunity we had. The next evening Elias let us stay out during our sundowner to watch the mother giraffe over the deceased baby and observe all the animals that were trying to scavenge. We also enjoyed the trip to the coast and was surprised how much we saw on the drive over to coast. They had a wonderful lunch set up on the beach that was great and the pilots who flew us back managed to find group of elephants that we flew over. It is amazing how the camp operates on solar power only and with food, water, supplies all trucked in. It was a 5* experience. They showed the movie that Nat. Geographic made about Dr Standers 17 year work with the mother lion and the 5 lions. I have been finding on line other videos of his as was so impressive for conservation and protection of the desert lions. In summary, we had a wonderful trip and I would recommend your organization and also Wilderness Safaris. In fact, I want to go to Botswana and stay at Wilderness camps. While expectations were that we would not see many animals, knowing it is a desert environment we were very fortunate and I feel saw a lot. They had rain the month before so that helped as many animals in the riverbed. And our guides were very good. Having been in Kenya on safari, this was such a neat change as felt like we were only ones in the parks or reserves. We would drive for hours and not see other cars. So different from Kenya. Plus as most people were also staying at the different camps you ran into them multiple times-either at a camp or airport. All the information and documentation you provided were valuable and everything we needed. (The camps did such a good job with laundry we realized we had over-packed.)

10 Thanks for your planning and support and this was a trip my daughter and I will remember for a very long time. Sydney Bland