Our first, special, safari to Namibia and South Africa

Highlight Photos

Highlights Map

We wanted to go on a safari for a long time but it is a lot of planning and we always put it off. No more this time, we research and find a few good companies ask them to price our itinerary and find accomodations and finally decide on one offer that seems to cover everything we want.

In our first safari we decide to cover two countries, Namibia and South Africa, on a self drive adventure. We plan to rent a car in Windhoek and then drive it south to Cape Town with detours along the way for major attractions. We focus on safari animals in Namibia and spring flowers in South Africa but we expand this quite a bit. In Namibia we also see petroglyphs and the largest canyon in Africa, the Skeleton Coast and its shipwrecks and even kayak with seals and dolphins. In South Africa we spend time with penguins and visit the Cape of Good Hope as well as Cape Town. Overall it is one of the best trips we made with very varied objective and interesting birds and animals.

To learn more click on the Links below or Markers on the map above to go directly to a specific part of our trip and follow our exploration of this beautiful part of Africa.

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  Windhoek, capital of Namibia and start of our adventureAugust 26, 2012
  We start our adventure in Namibia in Windhoek with an exploration of the downtown area and major attractions before starting the safari proper
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  On the way and a night at Waterberg National ParkAugust 26, 2012
  From Windhoek we drive north to Waterberg NP stopping on the way for a first look at the savannah and seeing our first baboons and mongooses at our lodging
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  Up Waterberg MountainAugust 27, 2012
  After a good breakfast we climb to the top of Waterberg Mountain to enjoy great views and explore a different type of nature versus the predominant savannah
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  Onguma Bush Camp, our first encounter of safari animalsAugust 27, 2012
  From Waterberg we drive to Onguma Bush Camp near Etosha NP for our first elephant and zebra views as well as a night drive in this beautiful camp
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  Into Etosha National Park to NamutoniAugust 28, 2012
  Today we visit Etosha National Park entering via the east gate at Namutoni and already seeing lots of animals including our first giraffe
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  Etosha Pan between Namutoni to OkaukuejoAugust 28, 2012
  We spend the middle part of the day exploring the middle and most popular section of Etosha seeing tens of elephants and innumerable antelopes and zebras
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  Arriving at Dolomite Camp just in the nick of timeAugust 28, 2012
  The last part of our trip through the wild side of Etosha is from Okaukuejo to Dolomite Camp seeing animals and birds all around us and just making it in time to the camp
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  Our first mountain zebras while leaving EtoshaAugust 29, 2012
  Today is our last morning in Etosha filled with wildlife and birds with us seeing our first mountain zebras and a flock of red-headed finches as well as a kudu
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  Exploring the Khorixas Petrified ForestAugust 29, 2012
  We have seen petrified trees before but we want to see them also in Namibia so we stop for an hour at Khorixas Petrified Forest to admire them and to see our first welwitchia plants
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  Exploring the Twyfelfontein areaAugust 29, 2012
  We spend the evening exploring the Organ Pipes and Burnt Mountain as well as the interesting petrogyphs at Twyfelfontein
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  Petroglyphs of Twyfelfontein Unesco WHSAugust 30, 2012
  First stop of the day is at the first Unesco WHS in Namibia the interesting and expansive petroglyphs of Twyfelfontein
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  Passing through the scary Skeleton CoastAugust 30, 2012
  Most of the day today we explore the famed Skeleton Coast with two major stops at the abandoned Toscanini Diamond Mine and the very interesting abandoned oil rig
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  The Seals of Cape CrossAugust 30, 2012
  One of the more memorable stops along the coast is at Cape Cross to view the huge seal colony and the site where the first European explorer landed in Namibia
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  Two nights in historic SwakopmundAugust 30, 2012
  We spend two nights in Swakopmund to recuperate and visit the historic downtown as well as to kayak with seals from Walvis Bay
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  Kayaking with the seals in Walvis BayAugust 31, 2012
  Another highlight of our Namibia trip is kayaking with the seals while also seeing flamingoes on the shore and dolphins in the water
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  Crossing the Tropic of CapricornSeptember 1, 2012
  We continue south to Sesriem through dunes visiting canyons and seeing rare plants while being followed by ostriches
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  A couple of special nights at Sossus Dune LodgeSeptember 1, 2012
  One of the best lodges on the trip is Sossus Dune Lodge with beautiful views of the dunes, great food and our own personal springbok
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  The impressive dunes of SossusvleiSeptember 2, 2012
  Today we spend most of the day in Sossusvlei, an Unesco WHS, exploring the magnificent dunes with dead trees and lizards all around us
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  Sesriem Canyon, the Namibian slot canyonSeptember 3, 2012
  Before leaving the national park we visit the Sesriem slot canyon a small but interesting narrow canyon created by the Tsauchab River
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  Duwisib Castle, a castle in the middle of nowhereSeptember 3, 2012
  We cannot resist stopping at the impressive Duwisib Castle built as a residence in the early 1900s exploring it from the outside and discovering a few more interesting birds
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  Exploring the desert plants at Namtib Desert LodgeSeptember 3, 2012
  Tonight we stay at Namtib Desert Lodge mostly due to the great botanical trail allowing us to learn about the different plants in the area and to see our first klipspringers
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  The wild horses of GarubSeptember 4, 2012
  The first major stop today is to see the Wild Horses of Garub descended from the Kubub stud farm breeding horse abandoned in World War I
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  Quiver tree forest and Giants playgroundSeptember 4, 2012
  Last major stop of the day is the Quiver Tree Forest and the nearby Giant’s Playground to say goodbye to the quiver trees and see some interesting rock formations
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  Exploring Fish River Canyon, the largest in AfricaSeptember 5, 2012
  Last stop in Namibia is the impressive and beautiful Fish River Canyon said to be the second largest canyon in the world after the Grand Canyon in USA
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  One night in Namaqualand at Naries Namakwa RetreatSeptember 5, 2012
  We stay our first night in South Africa at a beautiful retreat right in the middle of the blooming spring flowers with some great trails and good food
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  Flower watching in Goegap Nature ReserveSeptember 6, 2012
  Goegap Nature Reserve is the first stop of the day to explore the fields of flowers that are covering the desert
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  Skilpad Wildflower Reserve, an orange wonderland in springSeptember 6, 2012
  We end our wildflower tour at the magnificent Skilpad Wildflower Reserve with orange flowers covering the fields as far the eye can see
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  A night in Clanwilliam between major destinationsSeptember 6, 2012
  We spend the last night before Cape Town in Clanwilliam enjoying the relaxing B&B and the many birds in the gardens as well as drinking lots of rooibos tea
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  Impressive Sevilla Rock Art Trail petroglyphsSeptember 7, 2012
  We make a detour to see the surprisingly interesting and varied pictographs of the Sevilla Rock Art Trail and also enjoy the spring flowers and beautiful trail
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  The amazing penguins of Boulders BaySeptember 8, 2012
  This morning we start with a visit of Boulders and then Foxy Beach while seeing countless African penguins, both adults and chicks
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  Exploring the Cape of Good HopeSeptember 8, 2012
  We finish the nature part of our safari at the Cape of Good Hope exploring the protected area and the flowering fynbos and discovering that ostriches like the ocean shore
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  A couple of nights overlooking Cape TownSeptember 9, 2012
  We spend our last two nights in South Africa in a special room that we splurged on in a B&B overlooking the downtown area with some great views
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  Company Gardens, the center of Cape TownSeptember 9, 2012
  We start our visit of downtown Cape Town with the Company Gardens a major attraction anchored by multiple museums and steeped in history
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  Castle of Good Hope, the oldest building in South AfricaSeptember 9, 2012
  We stop for a relatively short visit of the Castle of Good Hope the oldest standing building in South Africa built by the Dutch to protect their interests
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  Dinner at the V&A WaterfrontSeptember 9, 2012
  We end the day exploring the shops at the V&A waterfront and a great dinner at a recommended restaurant
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  Exploring the museums of Cape TownSeptember 10, 2012
  We spend the last day in Africa exploring the Slave Lodge and National Museum before driving to the airport to leave after a very special trip