If you are thinking of planning the perfect safari tour in Namibia, then you are in the right place. People say that Namibia is a land of true contrasts and an amazing place to travel to for a holiday. Namibia is a country that has recently gained independence in 1990 and is considered one of the world’s youngest democracies. But nothing stops it from breaking records in either the ancient things or the latest ones. Namibia is known as the ‘Land God Made in Anger’ because it is also home to more than a thousand shipwrecks. All these are scattered along with the Skeleton Coast and in the ancient Namib Desert archeologists have found more than 2,500 prehistoric rock paintings.
But you are looking for the perfect safari tour and Namibia won’t disappoint you either. This country is home to approximately 40% of Africa’s free-roaming cheetahs and a staggering number 210,000 Cape fur seals are found here. This place is double the size of California and less than 2.4 million people live here. This means that it is a very big place with very few people to guide you on your safari tour. So, if you are planning to enjoy your Namibia Holidays to their fullest, we recommend that you follow our guidelines for planning the perfect tour in the country.
Where to Go
When planning a trip to Namibia, you must select the ideal places for yourself. Namibia has an enormous variety of massive safari destinations to experience. So, let’s discuss them so you can choose the perfect safari tour for yourself. It’s a part of the planning process.
Etosha National Park
Difficult to pronounce for some foreigners, Etosha National Park is one of the largest natural reserves in the world. If I were to tell you the literal meaning of the name of this place, I’d say that Etosha means ‘Great White Place’. This is true as the area has been named after an enormous salt pan located in its center. In this lovely reserve, you can come across 114 mammals and 340 bird species. There are four of the Big 5 African animals living here too. The one exception is the buffalo as the environment of Etosha does not support them. There is also the floodlit Okaukuejo waterhole that is world-famous for safari enthusiasts to see numerous animals coming to drink water.
Namib Desert
Ancient and huge, this place is sometimes even referred to as the oldest desert on the planet Earth. This is the only place around the world where you can see the desert-adapted African elephants roaming about. These animals are distinct from their non-desert cousins as they have longer legs, smaller bodies, and bigger feet. Since this is a desert, you must have the right safari gear with you. You can buy it from the stores in Namibia or order it online before reaching here. There is a unique place that offers all the elements of an African Safari and also a rare dune bashing experience that is found only in the desert-rich areas such as Dubai. Apart from the elephants, you can also spot herds of wild horses here along with crashes of desert-adapted black rhinos. All you have to do is to go off the beaten track and you will come across them all.
Sossusvlei
This area can also be considered little Mars on Earth as the sand here is red. The redness of the sand is attributed to the tiny particles of iron ore that has been oxidized here. These intense shades of red have made this place rank high on the 45 most photographed sand dunes in the world. Many people who come here, enjoy climbing up the giant sand dune here at dawn to experience amazing views of the surroundings. If you have never climbed a sand dune before, let me give you a pro tip. Let go of your shoes and wear only socks. Climbing up that sandy mountain will become really easy.
Deadvlei
African safari consists of watching animals living in their natural habitat. You get on a jeep with a guide and a bunch of other tourists and take a ride into the jungle finding wild animals here and there. It’s pretty much like the zoo, except there are no animals in the cage, except you. But if you are in Namibia and are looking to add another otherworldly place like Sossusvlei, then you have to add Deadvlei to your list. It is a photographer’s dream for some people as this location contains the petrified remains of 50 ancient trees that lived more than 260 million years ago. They have black silhouettes that stand out magnificently contrasting the ochre sand and people with a good eye can take back home some really great pictures of this place.
Swakopmund
This one is a coastal town that you have to add in your safari adventure in Namibia. Swakopmund is famous for its untouched 19th-century German colonial architecture. This is an anomaly in Africa because no one could have thought that the Germans would come all this way to colonize this remote part of Africa. But Germans are known to have the best eyes in the world and due to their colonization, today nearly a third of Namibians speak German. ‘Swakop’ is an adventure center and here you can enjoy all the crazy adventures that you can think of. You have skydiving here, imagine telling your friends that you actually popped out of the sky and the parachute landed in Africa! People can also enjoy quad biking, hiking, and sandboarding in the Namib desert.
If you thought that Namibia was keeping it all dry with the safaris, you can find a nearby town of Walvis Bay here as the starting point for marine safaris in Africa, here you will get to see dolphins and whales in the Atlantic. Another great thing about this place is that nearly 90% of South Africa’s flamingos come here every year in winters.
Twyfelfontein
If you are a fan of history and like prehistoric paintings, Twyfelfontein is the center of the ancient San Bushman art. Twyfelfontein is a unique word that is also quite difficult to pronounce for some people but it has an interesting meaning. In the Afrikaans language, Twyfelfontein translates to ‘I Doubt It Fountain’. And just like its name, people here claim that the ancient paintings and etchings here date back to 6 000 years at the very least. Now that’s a claim that would make me get in the car and drive over to this place to see those paintings.
These were the places you are bound to enjoy when you are visiting Namibia on a safari tour. There are also other locations such as the Fish River Canyon which is older than the US-based Grand Canyon and Kolmanskop that is an abandoned mining town near Luderitz. It dates back to the 19th-century diamond rush. For a camping adventure, you can head over to the Hoanib Valley that houses the loveliest lodges and camps in Namibia. Wherever you travel here, you can get one thing as a guarantee here and that is the sunshine. So if you are from the north of the world or a place like the UK, you are simply going to love this country in Africa.