NAMIBIA & SOUTH AFRICA BY PRIVATE PLANE & ROVOS RAIL

Check into the Four Seasons Hotel The Westcliff as you anticipate the wonders awaiting you within one of southern Africa’s most renowned wildlife regions, Etosha National Park. Enjoy a gala Welcome Dinner at our hotel this evening, during which you will have the opportunity to meet your Tour Host Team and fellow travellers.

We venture north to Namibia, boarding a chartered jet for the flight to Ondangwa, north of Etosha National Park. From Ondangwa, we drive to Etosha King Nehale Lodge. Our detached, light-filled chalets look out onto the extensive desert plain, while their interiors are stylishly decorated with cultural ornaments. Following lunch, our hosts take us out on a game drive. In addition to four of the ‘Big Five’, we will also have the chance to see giraffes, ostriches and oryx. Dinner is served in our lodge’s restaurant this evening.

Over the next two days, we take advantage of our lodge’s proximity to the park, rising early each morning to embark on game drives. Look for herds of zebra congregating around a waterhole. Or several springboks leaping gracefully through the air. We may be lucky enough to catch sight of a lone lioness resting beneath the shade of a mopani tree. Refuel back at our lodge before heading out in search of more wildlife each afternoon. With a bit of luck on our side, we may sight one of the park’s black rhino — there is practically nowhere else on Earth where you will have a better chance to see these commanding creatures. Evenings are sure to involve many accounts of well-timed wildlife sightings as we gather for dinner at our lodge.

Enjoy a final breakfast at our magnificent lodge this morning, before taking the road to Tsumeb Station. Here, we board the Pride of Africa, Rovos Rail’s stylish train. Our custom-designed rail itinerary begins as we settle in to enjoy a leisurely lunch in the train’s elegant dining cars. Watch Namibia’s grand landscapes pass by the floor-to-ceiling windows of the observation car and enjoy tea in the lounge. This evening’s meal is served in the dining cars before we retire to our comfortable compartments.

This morning, we visit the Cheetah Conservation Fund’s Research and Education Centre in the city of Otjiwarongo. The staff here engage in the rehabilitation and release of injured and orphaned cheetahs, as well as habitat restoration and environmental education programs. Returning to our train, we continue on our way toward Namibia’s sprawling capital, Windhoek. Enjoy the amenities of the train, before attending a formal dinner on board this evening.

Alight from the Pride of Africa upon our arrival in Windhoek this morning. From here, we embark a light aircraft for the short flight to the Namib Desert. Soon, we are welcomed to the spectacular Sossusvlei Lodge, our residence for the evening. After lunch at our lodge, we head out for a drive across the expansive desert landscape. We then watch as the sun makes its dramatic retreat beyond the horizon, before enjoying a special bush dinner.

We eat on the go this morning during an early morning 4WD jaunt across the desert. Big Daddy makes a big impression; the imposing sand dune reaching a height of 325 metres. In nearby Deadvlei, we see an astonishing area populated by petrified trees. Now more than 1000 years old, these seemingly immortal plants remain trapped in a region too dry for them to even decompose. They stand today as memorials to a time long gone. 

A light aircraft then returns us to Windhoek for lunch and a tour of the city. See the exhibits at the Trans-Namib Transport Museum; learn about Namibia’s struggle against colonialism at the Independence Memorial Museum; stand before the striking Evangelical Lutheran Church; and visit the Namibia Craft Centre, which provides a platform for the local community to display their diverse projects. We rejoin the Pride of Africa this afternoon and journey through the Kalahari Desert. Adjourning to the train’s dining cars, we enjoy dinner as we continue south through the city of Mariental.

Further south, we arrive in Keetmanshoop and learn of its German heritage. From here, we travel by road to Garas Park, home to Aloe dichotoma, also known as the quiver tree. The distinctive forked branches of these plants can reach five metres in height and make for arresting photographic models. We return to our train in time for tea, before passing through the somewhat-familiar-sounding village of Aus, en route to Kolmanskop.