Paige's Journey: Namibia

I was blown away by the sheer beauty of Namibia, and it has become one of my favourite to visit. This is one of the world’s least densely populated countries, with some of Africa’s most abundant wildlife. It is one of Africa’s youngest nations, with the world’s oldest rock art.

On our Namibia holidays you travel by road and rough tracks to experience the wilderness and incredible landscapes and to have the opportunity for the best wildlife-watching. It’s a true once-in-a-lifetime holiday destination – and these are my highlights:

Damaraland

My favourite region was Damaraland in north-central Namibia, situated between Etosha National Park and the coast. It is unspoiled, dramatic, and rugged, and there’s no one around. You can find desert-adapted elephants roaming against backdrops of impressive rock formations, and there are thousands of fascinating rock engravings in Twyfelfontein, estimated to be around 6,000 years old.

Desert Elephant, Damaraland

Etosha Safari Lodge

Etosha Safari Lodge is located just ten kilometres from the Anderson Gate into Etosha National Park. The lodge is located on a hilltop, offering great views over the surrounding mopane bush, which you can enjoy from the restaurant, bar, or your own chalet’s veranda. Enjoying the sunsets and the calmness of the area was a highlight.

Sunset at Etosha Safari Lodge

Sossusvlei & Deadvlei

The expanse of huge, rolling sand dunes found in the Namib-Naukluft National Park is awesome. In Sossusvlei, I climbed the rusty-red Dune 45 and then explored Deadvlei, a bleached white clay pan with dead camelthorn trees up to 600 years old. The dead trees with the orange dune background make for some stunning photos.

Dune 45, Sossuvlei

Desert-adapted wildlife

Namibia offers amazing big game viewing, including desert-adapted lions, rhinos, elephants, and giraffes that you will not find in other safari destinations. This makes Namibia a perfect destination for both for first-time safari and for veterans.

Giraffe, Kalahari

Game Drives

In many places, game is sparse, which makes it all the more rewarding when you see something, and it also means that in most areas you can walk quite safely. Namibia has the largest free-roaming rhino population in Africa, and you can track rhinos on foot, which is a completely thrilling experience and highly recommended! Seeing a white rhino up close in the Kalahari Desert is one of my fondest memories.

White Rhino

Epic Road Trip

Our Namibia holiday covers long distances, and bumpy gravel roads are common, with some journeys taking up the majority of the day. However, this is one of the great things about visiting Namibia, as the journeys are stunning, with plenty of good photography opportunities, and ever-changing landscapes ranging from mountains to red sand dunes and endless grass plains with acacia trees. There are also stops where you get out and the guide will point out something fascinating. Our tour vehicle was very comfortable, and I was lucky as everybody had a window seat, although this is not strictly necessary as windows are large, so you get a good view from anywhere in the vehicle. It is not guaranteed that all passengers will have a window seat for the whole journey, and if there are more people than window seats, the guide will move people around to make sure everyone gets a window seat for some of the journeys.

Zebra crossing, Etosha

Guides

On a trip like this, a good guide can make a real difference, and I was fortunate that Herunga, our guide, was extremely knowledgeable, great at spotting wildlife, and made sure everybody was well looked after. He got to know what we were interested in, for example taking us on a detour to show us the welwitschia plant, endemic to the Namib desert.

There were so many highlights of my trip, but what I love most about Namibia is the diversity of landscapes, the year-round sunshine, and the true wilderness experience.