Learn more about Namibia’s top attractions, Museums, Conservation & Fauna and Flora
Our 9-day University tour offers a unique opportunity to learn more about and experience Namibia’s top attractions, museums and the amazing fauna and flora of the beautiful African country.
From the Independence Museum, the Botanical Gardens and Walvis Bay Lagoon to the very interesting and informative Living Desert tour. Add to that the world-renowned Etosha National Park where you get the chance to experience the most amazing wildlife in their natural habitat. Another unforgettable experience is a visit to AfriCat, where you will be treated to a behind the scenes experience of the conservation of big cats. This tour offers students an opportunity to not only learn about the top attractions of Namibia, but also to experience the diversity of the country and its fauna an flora first hand.
Highlights you can look forward to:
• Windhoek museums
• National Botanical Garden of Namibia
• Walvis Bay lagoon
• Living Desert tour
• Etosha National Park
• AfriCat
Day 1: Arrival in Windhoek
Welcome to Namibia! Your Nature Travel Namibia will meet you at Hosea Kutako International Airport where after we will head out to Windhoek to check in to our hotel.
Windhoek, the capital of Namibia, is encircled by magnificent mountains, expansive valleys, fertile farmlands, lodges and luxury guest farms. The landscape of the Greater Windhoek area surrounding this bustling city is characterised by vast valleys, thick scrub, rocky hills, and covered in golden savannah. It sits at 1,700 metres (5,600 feet) above sea level (12th highest capital in the world) in the Khomas Hochland plateau area between the Auas and Eros mountain ranges. It is home to about 400,000 people at a low density of only 63 people per square kilometer and has over 300 sunny days per year.
This afternoon we will visit the Independence Museum. The Independence Memorial Museum (IMM) is dedicated to the country’s anti-colonial and independence struggle. The museum functions as the central repository of material and memorabilia related to Namibia’s anti-colonial resistance and the armed liberation struggle. The museum showcases these aspects throughout three galleries.
We will have dinner at one of the restaurants in Windhoek and rest up for the adventure to come!
Day 2: Exploring Windhoek
After breakfast we will visit the National Botanical Garden of Namibia. The National Botanic Garden of Namibia is a 12-hectare nature reserve in the heart of the City of Windhoek, where you can see and learn about Namibia’s fascinating plants. (Open from 08:00 to 11:00). Thereafter we head to the National Museum of Namibia. The National Museum of Namibia is Namibia’s oldest museum and was established by the imperial German administration in 1907 already. It is a historical and zoological museum in Windhoek. (Open from: 09:00-16:30). Lunch can be enjoyed at a local restaurant. This afternoon we take part in a 3-hour city and township tour.
Day 3: Windhoek to Swakopmund
Today we will slowly make our way to Swakopmund after breakfast. Arriving in the late afternoon, we check in to our hotel and spend the rest of the afternoon at leisure.
Swakopmund has made a name for itself as the activity and sport capital of Namibia, but this town offers so much more. Sandwiched between the hot, arid desert and the cold waters of the Atlantic, Swakop (as the locals call it) is one of the most fascinating colonial towns in all of Africa. It is a heady mix of South African, Namibian and German cultures, architecture, languages and cuisine. For the adventurous there is quad biking, sandboarding, kitesurfing, skydiving, angling, mountain biking, scenic flights over the coastline and much more. It is the most popular holiday destination in the country, with both locals and foreigners loving the laid-back atmosphere, good restaurants, top coffee shops, many activities and the temperate climate.
Dinner will be booked at a local restaurant.
Day 4: Moon landscape & Walvis Bay
Today we head out into the Namib Desert to see the Welwitschia and also learn about other plant and animal species that make the desert their home. Thereafter we drive behind the dune belt to Walvis Bay, to visit the Walvis Bay Lagoon.
Walvis Bay, Namibia’s major harbour town, is well known for the lagoon and its prolific bird life. The Walvis Bay lagoon and salt pans are regarded as the most important coastal wetland in southern Africa, as over 150,000 migrant birds spend the summer months there. Over 150 different bird species have been recorded in this region, along with 11 types of chameleons, lizards and geckos, and 13 species of mammal (including Pygmy Rock Mouse, Littledale’s Whistling Rat and Setzer’s Hairy-footed Gerbil) that also reside in the area.
We’ll enjoy lunch at a local restaurant in Walvis Bay before returning to Swakopmund in the afternoon. The rest of the day is spent at leisure, reflecting on today’s lessons. Dinner will be booked at a local restaurant in Swakopmund.
Day 5: Living Desert Tour and optional activities
After breakfast we are ready to be collected and taken into the dunes on an informative Living Desert Tour, a unique adventure indeed!
We will encounter and learn more about the fascinating wildlife of the Namib Desert with the help of a local expert. We will look for geckos, scorpions, snakes, lizards, birds and beetles as well as the incredible plant life that survives in this harsh and seemingly inhospitable environment. Some of the special creatures we might see include Namib Sand Gecko, Namaqua Chameleon, Shovel-snouted Lizard, Tractrac Chat and even Peringuey’s Adder.
Once we are back in Swakopmund we will enjoy lunch and explore the town. Dinner will be booked at a local restaurant in Swakopmund.
Day 6: Swakopmund & Etosha National Park
Our journey today continues to the famous Etosha National Park, where we will be based for 2 nights. After arriving in Etosha, we check into our camp, have lunch and thereafter go on an afternoon game drive, visiting the various waterholes. Our camp, Okaukuejo also has a waterhole, which is flood lit at night, here you can relax and watch the animals come to quench their thirst.
Undoubtedly one of the great parks of Africa, the huge Etosha National Park in north-central Namibia covers more than 22,300 km2 (8,620 sq mi) and is synonymous with big game and wide-open spaces. The name Etosha actually means “great white place” referring to the massive (130km long and 50km wide) dry pan in the middle of the park, believed to have been formed over 100 million years ago.
Etosha is home to a staggering amount of wildlife, both common and rare, including several threatened and endangered species. The mammal list is at over 110 species, including four of Africa’s Big Five, Cheetah, Giraffe, Spotted Hyaena, Zebra (2 species), Greater Kudu, Springbok, Gemsbok (Namibia’s national animal), Common Warthog, Honey Badger and many more. It is the best place in the world to see Black Rhinoceros.
In the drier months of the year, almost all the animals tend to congregate around the waterholes dotted around the massive park. They come to drink water and are inevitably followed by predators; this allows us to sit and wait at some of the waterholes and wait for the action to come to us. This is what sets Etosha apart from other parks in southern or east Africa; unique indeed! We will enjoy dinner at the camp’s restaurant.
Day 7: Full day Etosha
We have another full day to enjoy Etosha today on game drives in our bus.
Your guide will decide, with your input as to your fauna and flora sighting preferences, what the best routes will be to follow. All our guides know Etosha intimately and will make sure you see all that this great African wildlife park has to offer.
Etosha not only boasts some fantastic mammals, but also has a bird list of more than 350 species, including regional specials like Kori Bustard, Blue Crane, Violet Woodhoopoe, Ruppell’s Parrot, Pygmy and Red-necked Falcon, Bare-cheeked and Southern Pied Babbler, and Burchell’s and Double-banded Courser. We will naturally look for these on our drives in the park, as well as around our lodge grounds.
We will enjoy dinner at the camp’s restaurant.
Day 8: Etosha to Windhoek & Africat Visit
After an early morning game drive or a relaxing final breakfast together, we will depart for Windhoek. Enroute we will visit the AfriCat Foundation Day centre at Okonjima. Here we will go on a short informative tour and learn all about the conservation of big cats. We’ll enjoy lunch at the AfriCat Centre before continuing to Windhoek.
We will arrive in Windhoek in the late afternoon and check in to our hotel. Dinner can be enjoyed at a local restaurant in Windhoek.
Day 9: Departure
This morning after breakfast you will be transferred to the airport where your adventure comes to and end. Optional extensions to Botswana or Zimbabwe can be arranged.
For more information contact the Nature Travel Namibia team at info@naturetravelnamibia.com