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2003 CPT-WDH KGALAGADI AND NAMIBIA TOUR

A 22 day SELF DRIVE Cape Town to Windhoek tour taking in all the famous sights of the "Fairest Cape" and the Winelands, as well as the West Coast which is turned into a kaleidoscope of colour in spring when the wild flowers bloom, continuing to the ruggedly beautiful Augrabies Falls, the Kgalagadi National Park (timely booking essential), the Fish River Canyon (second only to the Grand Canyon in the USA), the giant Sossusvlei dunes, the petrified forest, the Etosha National Park, the Waterberg Plateau and Windhoek (the Capital of Namibia).

 

DAY 1 CAPE TOWN

You land at Cape Town International Airport and take delivery of your rented car. In the afternoon you explore the city of Cape Town with its uniquely beautiful setting at the foot of the 1 000m high Table Mountain. If the weather is good, you could take the cable car to the top of Table Mountain before heading for one of the many restaurants at the Victoria and Alfred Waterfront.

Today you drive to the impressive Cape of Good Hope, where two oceans (the Indian and the Atlantic) meet. On the way you could stop off at the Boulder’s Beach penguin colony near Simon’s Town, with its rich naval history. The return journey is via Kommetjie and Ou Kaapse Weg, from where you have a lovely view across the Constantia valley. You could also visit the Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens, and Groot Constantia, one of South Africa's oldest wine estates. Returning to your hotel via Hout Bay and the Atlantic coastline.

You travel first to Paarl, where you could visit the Afrikaans language monument at the foot of the giant granite dome, also known as Paarl Rock. From Paarl you take the R102 to the top of Du Toits Kloof Pass, from where you have a panoramic view across the scenic Paarl valley all the way to the Table Mountain Massif. Your round trip takes you via Worcester, Villiersdorp and the Franschhoek Pass to Stellenbosch, the town where more old Cape Dutch buildings have been preserved along Dorp Street than anywhere else. Along the way you will pass numerous wine estates where you could sample the wines, or have lunch.

In the morning you could visit Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for many years, before continuing your journey along the shores of Table Bay to Velddrif and on to Lambert’s Bay past quaint little fishing villages.

LAMBERT’S BAY HOTEL – BB

 

DAY 5 LAMBERT’S BAY – OKIEP

Before continuing, visit Lambert’s Bay’s Bird Island, famous for its Gannet colony. As you continue north, the countryside becomes more and more sparsely populated, so you will have to watch the fuel gauge of your car carefully. During the wild flower season in spring you could stop off at the Skilpad Wildflower Gardens near Kamieskroon on your way to Okiep.

Today you should make an early start, so that you can reach the Augrabies Falls by midday, enabling you to marvel at the rugged beauty of the falls. Meals are not included in the National Parks, but there are restaurants, where you can eat and shops where you can buy provisions for making your own meals.

You travel via Upington to the Kgalagadi (formerly Kalahari-Gemsbok) National Park, where you can see large Springbuck, Oryx (Gemsbok), Wildebeest and ostrich herds, as well as some of the large predators like lion and cheetah. It is a semi-desert park, so the animals are not able to hide in long grass, improving your chances of seeing them. Again meals are not included.

You continue your hunt in the Kgalagadi National Park ready to "shoot" the fascinating wild life with your camera. Meals are also not included today.

After a final early morning game drive in your own vehicle, you travel back to Upington, where you can see one of the longest palm tree avenues in the world.

UPINGTON PROTEA HOTEL – BB

 

DAY 10 UPINGTON – FISH RIVER CANYON

From Upington you travel to the Nakop/Ariamsvlei border post, where you enter Namibia. From the border post you travel via Grünau to the awe-inspiring Fish River Canyon, which you can view from the northern end of the Fish River National Park.

From the Fish River Canyon you at first travel north, and then pick up the main road to Lüderitzbucht on the Atlantic coast. On the way you will for the first time pass through true desert country as you cross the

Namib Desert. Lüderitzbucht, which was once a diamond boom town, still has many well preserved houses dating back to the German colonial past.

As you leave Lüderitzbucht you could visit the nearby ghost town of Kolmanskop, for which you need to collect a permit in Lüderitzbucht. From Monday to Saturday there are guided tours at Kolmanskop in the mornings. After retracing your path eastwards as far as Aus, you again head north to your overnight stop between Helmeringhausen and Maltahöhe.

LA VALLEE TRANQUILLE – BB

 

DAY 13 MALTAHÖHE – SESRIEM

Today you travel through the mountains to Sesriem on the edge of the Namib Naukluft National Park. On the way you could visit another of Namibia’s enigmas – Duwisib Castle, built out of sandstone by a German officer and nobleman in the middle of nowhere. From your hotel near the famous Sossusvlei you can travel in your car to within 5km of some of the highest sand dunes in the world – preferably in the early morning, so that you can experience the colourful play of the sun’s first rays on the dunes. A 4x4 shuttle service will take you the remaining 5km towards Sossusvlei.

You leave the mountains and travel towards the coast again through the lonely vastness of the Namib Desert. You come first to Namibia’s major port, Walvis Bay, and then continue along the coast to Swakopmund, Namibia’s main coastal resort, where the German colonial heritage is still unmistakable.

After spending the morning exploring Swakopmund, your route takes you along the coast for about 80km before you turn inland again towards Uis. Near Uis you could make a detour to the pre-historic rock painting of the "White Lady" in the Brandberg Mountains, which are the highest in Namibia. From there you continue to Twyfelfontein, where you spend two nights.

You spend the day exploring the fascinating area around Twyfelfontein – the pre-historic Twyfelfontein rock engravings, the petrified forest, the basalt "organ pipes" and the "burnt mountain".

TWYFELFONTEIN COUNTRY LODGE – BB

DAY 17 TWYFELFONTEIN – OUTJO

Today you have a fairly easy run ahead of you via Khorixas to the area of Outjo. A detour to the Finger Rock (Vingerklip) is therefore recommended. From the parking area one can hike up to the foot of this 35m high feature, from where there is a panoramic view into the Ugab valley with its Arizona like flat topped mountains.

From Namatubis near Outjo it is only 80km to the southern entrance gate into the Etosha National Park, where you will spend the entire day, travelling from waterhole to waterhole along the eastern side of the vast Etosha salt pan. The park is sanctuary to the largest population of the western sub-species of the black rhino, white rhino, large herds of elephant, the striking black-faced impala, lion and a profusion of other animals and birds. You exit the park near Namutoni in the late afternoon to overnight in the nearby

Today your journey takes you first to Tsumeb via Lake Otjikoto, which arose when the roof of a giant cave in the surrounding dolomite collapsed long before humans first came here thousands of years ago. During the first World War the retreating German army dumped tons of military equipment into the lake. Much of this has since been lifted, and can be seen in the museum in Tsumeb. From Tsumeb the journey continues via Grootfontein to the 60 tonne Hoba Meteorite – the largest of its kind in the world, consisting of 93% iron, and 7% nickel with traces of cobalt, copper and chrome. From here you continue via Otavi and Otjivarongo to the Waterberg Plateau with its sheer orange cliffs, rising unexpectedly above the

surrounding acacia savanna.

Spend the morning on an optional guided walk in the natural paradise of the Waterberg with its unique sub-tropical vegetation. Then after lunch you travel via Okahandja to Windhoek, Namibia’s capital and only city, which after days in the sparsely populated vastness of Namibia and the Northern Cape, will strike you as a bustling metropolis.

The day is spent exploring Windhoek (preferably on foot), with highlights such as the Church of Christ (Christuskirche) of 1910, the "Tintenpalast" (Ink Palace) which is the local nickname for the House of Parliament, alluding to the propensity of civil servants to write long documents, the Old Fort (Alte Feste), the Namibian National Museum in the Old Fort, the shops along Independence Avenue, which specialize in safari clothing, semi-precious stones, wood carvings and furs.

You get ready for the journey home, and then drive to the airport at your ease.

Accommodation and meals as set out above

An info pack with detailed itinerary and roadmap

A meet and assist at the airport in Cape Town.

Car hire (excellent rates available on request N.B. one way rented car drop-off = ZAR 2 500)

Entrance fees

Tips and porterage

Drinks

Expenses of a personal nature

Personal travel insurance.