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FROM US$1,950-US$2,760

Ostrich Self-drive Safari

Great value self-drive adventure through the epic desert landscapes of southern Namibia and South Africa’s Kalahari, visiting highlights such as Fish River Canyon, the ghost towns of Lüderitz and Sossusvlei’s dunes.

Ostrich Self-drive Safari: Summary

Ostrich Self-drive in a nutshell

Following a relaxed evening in Windhoek, set off on your self-drive adventure, heading into Namibia’s arid south and the expanses of the Kalahari Desert. The first stop is at a family owned former ranch where you may spot cheetah, meerkat and perhaps aardvark among other desert specialties.

Continue across the arrow-straight border with South Africa and the sprawling Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, spending four nights split between two rustic camps on its edge. Remote and wild, visitors here tend to be fellow intrepid overlanders who are rewarded with red sands and dry savannah, home to wildebeest, oryx, eland, hyena, leopard and black-maned lion. The rainy season sees the desert turn green and burst into life and is a great time of year for birders.

Back in Namibia, after a stopover in a small oasis town, the next highlight is the incredible 500m depths of Fish River Canyon. The area has some great hiking trails which you often have to yourself and the canyon, Africa’s largest, is particularly photogenic at sunset.

Onward and west through rocky mountains towards the Atlantic coast brings you to the Eagle’s Nest lodge. There are some scenic walks and mountain bike routes here, but we see it as more of a base for day trips to Kolmanskop, a once-booming diamond mining outpost that’s now an atmospheric ghost town, and the colonial port town of Lüderitz from where you can take a boat trip to see African penguins, flamingos, dolphins and whales.

Turning north, drive to the only lodge inside the Naukluft National Park – Sossus Dune Lodge. It's comfortable and well-run, but the real USP here is that guests are the first to see Sossusvlei’s towering red dunes as the sun rises and are able to stay later for golden-hour photography. There’s one final night to relax back in the Kalahari before your flight home from Windhoek.

At a glance

Starts: Windhoek International Airport
1 night Galton House - Windhoek, Namibia Bed & Breakfast
1 night Bagatelle Game Ranch - Southern Namibia, Namibia Half Board
2 nights Kalahari Tented Camp - Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, South Africa Room Only
2 nights Twee Rivieren - Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, South Africa Room Only
1 night Central Lodge - Southern Namibia, Namibia Bed & Breakfast
2 nights Canyon Lodge - Fish River Canyon, Namibia Half Board
2 nights Eagle's Nest - Luderitz, Namibia Half Board
2 nights Sossus Dune Lodge - Namib-Naukluft National Park, Namibia Bed & Breakfast
1 night Eningu Clayhouse - Southern Namibia, Namibia Half Board
Ends: Windhoek International Airport

Galton House

Day 1

Galton House, named after the early explorer Sir Francis Galton, is just ten minutes' drive from central Windhoek. A modern yet homely guesthouse, with a backdrop of rolling hills, it was opened in the residential suburb of Eros in 2011. There's a mix of comfortable indoor and outdoor spaces in which to relax and the convenience of an in-house restaurant that caters for all meals.

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Bagatelle Kalahari Game Ranch

Day 2

The tranquil, owner-run Bagatelle Kalahari Game Ranch stands in the red Kalahari dunes between Hardap and Stampriet. Initially a sheep and cattle ranch, it is around a 2½-hour drive south of Windhoek and makes an ideal stopover between the capital and the Namib-Naukluft National Park or the Fish River Canyon area.

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Kalahari Tented Camp

Days 3-5

Kalahari Tented Camp, on the western border of the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, is an excellent camp in a good location within the national park. Similar to both Bitterpan Wilderness Camp and Grootkolk Wilderness Camp, Kalahari Tented Camp offers a more typical safari experience.

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Twee Rivieren Rest Camp

Days 5-7

Twee Rivieren Rest Camp stands at the southern entrance to the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park and doubles as its administration centre; it's often your first and/or last stop within this super park. Twee Rivieren is the largest camp in the park with the best amenities; in contrast to many privately-owned safari lodges, this feels like a small village, complete with a park's office, a fuel station, a shop, a restaurant and plenty of small chalets and bungalows spread around.

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Central Lodge

Day 7

True to its name, Central Lodge is centrally located in the southern Namibian town of Keetmanshoop. A small oasis in otherwise fairly bland surroundings, it offers a comfortable stopover en route to the Fish River Canyon, Lüderitz or the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park in South Africa. It is also worth visiting the nearby Quiver Tree Forest and Giant's Playground during your time here.

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Canyon Lodge

Days 8-10

Canyon Lodge (formerly Cañon Lodge, or even Canon Lodge) lies in the 1,270km² Gondwana Canyon Park, just 20km from Namibia’s iconic Fish River Canyon. Tucked away from the canyon edge among deep-red granite boulders, or kopjes, the lodge’s lush lawns are an oasis of green in this arid environment.

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Eagle's Nest

Days 10-12

Rustic and remote, Eagle's Nest stands on the Klein-Aus Vista reserve, 2km west of the small town of Aus in the semi-desert of southern Namibia. The reserve encompasses both rugged mountains and the plains of the Namib: very stark, but very scenic.

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Sossus Dune Lodge

Days 12-14

Sossus Dune Lodge was the first upmarket lodge to be owned and built by the Namibian government's parastatal company Namibia Wildlife Resorts (NWR). Opened in 2007, amidst many questions about the propriety of building within the national park, it was the first, and is now one of only two lodges inside the Namib-Naukluft National Park. Unlike other visitors to the park, guests at Sossus Dune Lodge may access the dunes at Sossusvlei before the park gates open in the morning, and after they have closed in the evening.

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Eningu Clayhouse

Day 14

The distinctive Eningu Clayhouse Lodge stands in a bush savannah environment of the Namibian Kalahari. A little over an hour's drive south-east of Windhoek's international airport, the 65-hectare farm is owner-run by Bettina Spoerndli, its handmade terracotta-coloured bricks blending in to the surrounding red sands.

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Galton House

Galton House

Windhoek, Namibia

Bagatelle Kalahari Game Ranch

Bagatelle Game Ranch

Southern Namibia, Namibia

Kalahari Tented Camp

Kalahari Tented Camp

Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, South Africa

Twee Rivieren Rest Camp

Twee Rivieren

Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, South Africa

Central Lodge

Central Lodge

Southern Namibia, Namibia

Canyon Lodge

Canyon Lodge

Fish River Canyon, Namibia

Eagle's Nest

Eagle's Nest

Luderitz, Namibia

Sossus Dune Lodge

Sossus Dune Lodge

Namib-Naukluft National Park, Namibia

Eningu Clayhouse

Eningu Clayhouse

Southern Namibia, Namibia

About image

Highlights

Our thoughts on five of the top experiences of this Ostrich Self-drive Safari.

  • Spotting meerkats and lion in the Kgalagadi
  • Sundowners overlooking Fish River Canyon
  • See a ghost town reclaimed by the desert
  • Access the dunes around Sossusvlei before the heat & crowds
  • A chance to visit African penguins on Halifax Island

Activities

Some activities which can be included in the Ostrich Self-drive Safari: talk to us about those which interest you.

  • 4WD Safari

  • Birdwatching

  • Cultural excursion

  • Guided walking safari

  • Helicopter

  • Horse-riding

  • Hot air ballooning

  • Mountain biking

  • Night drive

  • Quad-biking

  • Self-guided walking

About image

Key species to see on the Ostrich Self-drive Safari

Based on our travellers' observations, we’ve estimated the likelihood of seeing these species during the Ostrich Self-drive Safari. Click on the animals and our wildlife surveys page for more info.


Lion

100% chance

Oryx

100% chance

Wildebeest

100% chance

Giraffe

99% chance

Zebra

94% chance

Cheetah

83% chance

Eland

82% chance

Meerkat

79% chance

White Rhino

50% chance

Leopard

33% chance

Aardvark

15% chance

Brown Hyena

12% chance

Wild dog

0% chance

Black Rhino

0% chance

Pangolin

0% chance

Spotted Hyena

0% chance

Side-trips whilst on this trip

We may be able to build in some of these optional excursions from the Ostrich Self-drive Safari. Talk to us: they’re usually best arranged when you book.


Ballooning in the Namib Desert

Ballooning in the Namib Desert

Half day, including breakfast

Ballooning over the world’s oldest desert is an experience you shouldn’t miss. Enjoy spectacular views as the sun rises over the dune-covered plains and rocky mountains of the Namib Desert. You may even spot the occasional oryx or black-backed jackal punctuating the landscape below.

More about Ballooning
94% (69 reviews)
Halifax Island boat trip

Halifax Island boat trip

2 hours

Climb aboard the comfortable catamaran Zeepaard in search of the marine life of Namibia’s wild coastline – among them Cape fur seals, Heaviside dolphins, African penguins and perhaps even humpback whales.

More about Halifax Island trip
93% (12 reviews)
Scenic flights in Namibia

Scenic flights in Namibia

Variable, depending on the flight

Namibia is famed for its stark beauty and boundless desert vistas and there is no better way to soak these in than from the air. A scenic flight gives you a unique perspective on this stunning and varied country, and may even provide a bird’s-eye view of areas that are out of reach to those restricted to terra firma.

More about Scenic flights
94% (7 reviews)
Sperrgebiet tour

Sperrgebiet tour

Full day, including lunch

Discover the hidden gems of the Sperrgebiet National Park on this exceptional all-day trip. There may no longer be diamonds for the taking, but in their place you’ll find ghost towns, the rusting relics of the diamond industry, geological formations, and extraordinary desert flora, largely untouched for generations.

More about Sperrgebiet tour
93% (8 reviews)

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