namibia
tracking desert rhino
Twelve nights across Namibia, from the Namib dunes and the Atlantic coast to rhino tracked on foot in Damaraland and at Ongava.
- Private Safari
- From $12,735 pp
- 2 guests
- 12 nights
trip highlights
- At Little Kulala a private gate reaches the Sossusvlei dunes and Deadvlei in the low light of sunrise, before the public Sesriem gate opens.
- A full-day expedition from Hoanib runs down the dry riverbed to the Atlantic at Möwe Bay, returning by scenic flight over seal colonies and shipwrecks.
- At Serra Cafema the permanent Kunene River forms the border with Angola, with Nile crocodiles on the rocks and Himba homesteads across the water.
- On the private Ongava reserve you can track white rhino on foot with an armed guide and watch a floodlit waterhole below the villas.
Scroll for the full itinerary
Across Namibia's Deserts and Etosha
This 13-night route crosses Namibia in six stays, beginning and ending in the high-plateau capital of Windhoek. In between it links the red dunes of Sossusvlei and Deadvlei, the lower Hoanib Valley within reach of the Skeleton Coast, the Kunene River on the Angolan border in the far north-west, and the rhino country along Etosha’s southern boundary.
You travel largely by light aircraft, with guided drives, walks and 4×4 outings at each stop. Days move from desert-adapted wildlife and dune photography to a full-day run to the Atlantic, quad-bike tracks across gravel plains and rhino tracking on foot. The camps are small and solar-run in the bush, while the Windhoek guesthouses are calm bases for the nights either side of the flights.
Daily Itinerary Breakdown
Arrival on the Windhoek Plateau
You arrive on the Khomas Highland plateau, at roughly 1,700 metres, for a night's rest between the international flight and the light aircraft north. Windhoek is compact and walkable, with the Christuskirche, the Tintenpalast parliament buildings and the Independence Memorial Museum in the centre. Set in the Eros suburb behind a gated entrance, Galton House gathers nine rooms around a garden courtyard, runs on solar power and keeps a day room for the awkward gaps between flights.
- Accommodation at Galton House
Sossusvlei Dunes and Deadvlei
A light aircraft brings you south to the private Kulala Wilderness Reserve, where guided vehicles pass through a private gate into the Namib-Naukluft National Park, reaching the Sossusvlei dunes and Deadvlei in the low light of sunrise while others queue at Sesriem. You can climb the 325-metre Big Daddy dune before the sand heats underfoot, and photograph the black skeletal camelthorns of Deadvlei against white clay and red dunes. Little Kulala has eleven thatched suites, each with a plunge pool and a rooftop skybed for sleeping under dark desert skies.
- Accommodation at Little Kulala
Hoanib Valley to the Skeleton Coast
You fly north into the lower Hoanib Valley, in the Kunene region near the Skeleton Coast National Park boundary, a place reached only by air. Mornings might follow desert-adapted elephants along the dry riverbed, which also supports giraffe, gemsbok, springbok, kudu and Hartmann's mountain zebra, with lion and brown hyaena the subject of research that runs through the guiding. Later a full-day expedition runs down the river to the coast at Möwe Bay, returning by scenic flight over seal colonies and rusting wrecks. Hoanib Skeleton Coast Camp has eight solar-powered canvas suites facing a waterhole.
- Accommodation at Hoanib Skeleton Coast Camp
The Kunene River and Marienfluss
Flights link you on to the Hartmann Valley in Namibia's far north-west, where the Kunene runs as the only permanent water for a wide stretch of desert and forms the border with Angola. Open 4x4s cross gravel plains scattered with fairy circles, quad bikes stay on pre-mapped tracks through the dunes, and full days run into the Marienfluss Valley with a picnic lunch. Nile crocodiles haul out on the rocks below, and Himba women can be seen gathering water across the river. Serra Cafema has eight stilted villas above the rapids, linked by timber walkways that thread between the Ana trees.
- Accommodation at Serra Cafema
Etosha and Ongava Rhino Country
You continue to the private Ongava Game Reserve, on the southern boundary of Etosha National Park. By day you drive into Etosha's plains and salt pan through the Andersson Gate; back on the reserve, night drives, off-road tracking and walking safaris are permitted, and tracking white rhino on foot with an armed guide is the outing most guests remember. A floodlit waterhole below the villas draws black and white rhino, lions, giraffes and spotted hyenas through the night. Horizon by Ongava has just three villas above a dolomite kopje, each booking with a dedicated guide and sole-use vehicle.
- Accommodation at Horizon by Ongava
A Last Night in Klein Windhoek
A final night back in Windhoek, on a gentle hill in the leafy Klein Windhoek suburb, a calm counterpoint to the gravel roads and dust of the north. Meals come from an open kitchen working in full view of the room, over dishes that bring Namibian game meats together with international cooking. Olive Grove keeps eleven rooms, tiered private gardens, a plunge pool and a fireplace lounge, with weavers, sunbirds and bulbuls at the aloes at first light.
- Accommodation at Olive Grove Guesthouse
Ed Charles, BBC Producer
Fitzroy are true specialists in accessing the wilderness. They know where to go and importantly, when to go there. Highly recommended.
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namibia
the namib dunes to damaraland
Eleven nights across Namibia, from the Sossusvlei dunes and the Atlantic coast to the granite ridges of Damaraland.
- Private Safari
- From $11,090 pp
- 2 guests
- 11 nights
namibia
desert landscapes journey
Kayak with seals at Walvis Bay, track desert-adapted elephants in Damaraland and drive Etosha by 4WD from Windhoek.
- Group Departure
- From $5,705 pp
- 7 guests
- 10 days
rated five stars by our clients
our approach
remote, exclusive
& personal
Every journey starts with a conversation. We take the time to understand your vision before we start planning.
Whether by phone or in person, we work with you directly to shape something that is considered, personal, and expertly delivered.
Every journey starts with a conversation. We favour a direct, personal approach: understanding your vision before anything else.
Whether by phone or in person, we work with you directly to shape a journey that is both thoughtfully considered and expertly delivered.
Get in touch to start planning yours.