Namibia self-drive tour: getting to know a diversity of cultures

Arrival at Hosea Kutako International Airport. Pass through immigration, get your bags, and after going through Customs, meet a representative who will hand in your detailed roadbook, oversee the handing over of the car, explain your tour and answer any question you may have.

Drive towards Windhoek and check-in at your accommodation. Rest of the day at leisure to discover the capital city.

Drive to the North, towards Okahandja, where you can visit the wooden craft market. Continue to your accommodation. Afternoon at leisure, you have the possibility to depart on a guided activity offered by the lodge, or go on a walk (by yourselves, or with a guide). 

Days 3 & 4: Discovery of the San culture

On day 3, the drive takes you to the East, towards Tsumkwe. There, you have the late afternoon and the following day, to discover the San culture and their traditional lifestyle through diverse activities. The first afternoon will be an introduction to the community, and the exact activities will depend on what individual people are doing, such as cooking, making crafts, preparing hides, making hunting equipment such as quivers or arrows. Traditional games will also be played on one of the two afternoons.

The next day, you will have the occasion to experience a bush walk/hunt, collectiing bush foods while hunting. If fresh tracks are found, the walk will turn into a hunt. The hunt is usually unsuccessful although always interesting. The medicinal uses of plants are also pointed out along the way. The walk does not follow a fixed route and the intensity/duration of the hunt can be adapted. The making of fire by various methods and other survival techniques, such as making rope and setting traps are demonstrated during the course of the day. 

You may also experience traditional dances, which are an expression of their religious beliefs. For this reason, we cannot force the community to perform it. But the chances of experiencing it is good when staying two nights or longer.

This visit will destroy the stereotype image people have of Bushmen, and replace it with a more realistic view as well as amazement for the skills and knowledge lost by modern man.

Days 5 & 6: Etosha National Park

You have quite a bit of drive today to reach Etosha.

Once there, you can partake in game drives inside the park, either with your own vehicle or with a guide and an open vehicle from the lodge.

Day 7: Owamboland

You can have a last game drive in Etosha before heading North to the Owamboland region, home of about 50% of the Namibian population.

In the afternoon, depart for a guided visit of the village homestead. You will learn the set-up of a homestead and the importance of cultivating the lands (seasonal activity). Learn the use of many endemic trees and their use by the Owambo people. Mahangu (pearl millet) is the staple food of the Owambo people, used in their traditional food and drinks – take part in the pounding of Mahangu. Learn how to make Marula oil (‘Odjove’ in the local language). Experience the local distillery and discover how they make ‘Ombike’ schnapps or grappa as called by many. And learn how to cook at the open fire in the traditional kitchen, known as ‘Epata’ or Elugo in Oshiwambo. And join the Owambo woman as they demonstrate their weaving and pottery making skills.

You drive across Owamboland today, where you can spot on the roadside some quirky shebeens (bars) with funny names, some donkeys and other livestock. You can do a detour and visit the Outapi Baobab. 

The next day, depart in the morning for a guided Himba village visit with a local translator, discovering their culture and ancient traditions. In the afternoon, you can visit the beautiful Epupa Falls, that lighten in beautiful colours around sunset. 

You depart south, passing by Opuwo which in local language means "the end", before you reach your accommodation near Sesfontein. 

The next day, depart with a guide and 4x4 vehicle from the lodge towards the dry Hoanib Riverbed. This day excursion enables you to look for the desert-adapted elephants that roam freely in this area, amidst a variety of beautiful landscapes.

Day 12: Twyfelfontein

You depart once again South, this time to reach the Twyfelfontein area.

You can visit the Damara Living Museum, to discover the ancestral culture of the Damara, enacted by Damara people. You can also visit the UNESCO site of the Twyfelfontein engravings. 

On the way to the coast, you can make a detour and visit the Cape Cross seal colony. Seeing so many seals is quite a sight, but the smell is also something you may not forget anytime soon! Possibility to stop at the Zeila shipwreck, the last boat that has stranded on the treacherous Skeleton Coast.

The following day is free, you can relax in one of the many cafés, or partake in a wide array of activities, such as:

- Mondesa Township Tour,

- a kayak or boat excursion on the Walvis Bay lagoon,

- a 4x4 excursion to the scenic Sandwich Harbour, where the high dunes plunge into the ocean, 

- a scenic flight in a light aircraft, up to Sossusvlei...

Days 15 & 16: Sossusvlei and the Namib Desert

Your drive today takes you south, through some canyons and beautiful desert plains. 

The following day, you can explore the dunes wonderland on your own, or with a guide and 4x4 of the lodge.

It is now time to drive back to Windhoek, to catch your outbound flight.