Touareg Activities
Namibia 1
Availability - Now fully booked for 2008
The Volkswagen driving experience for Namibia is in fact a unique transcontinental expedition, crossing three completely different countries in southern Africa: you will drive northwards from South Africa, roughly following the coast, all the way through Namibia. On reaching Windhoek, you will turn east towards Botswana. In Maun you will be able to go on exclusive excursions into the Okavango Delta – and the Touaregs will already have nearly 5,000 km on the clock.
The task of naming the best moment on this trip is hard, not to say practically impossible. Everyone's countless individual experiences and impressions come together to form a monumental collage of what Africa means to them, a collage that would be hard to split into its constituent parts again. The dunes of Sossusvlei, the highest in the world, with the breathtaking view from the crests at over 300 metres? The spectacular Fish River Canyon, which winds its way through the jagged Koubis massif for around 160 kilometres? Or the salt-white Etosha Pan, where the enthralling emptiness is broken up by the odd flat expanse of water with an amazing diversity of animals? Immerse yourself in the magic of this breathtaking landscape, and wherever you are in southern Africa, your Touareg convoy will always be welcome.
You will fly from Frankfurt am Main to Cape Town in South Africa. If you make your own travel arrangements, we will meet you at the hotel in Cape Town.
Day 2.Our professional off-road instructors will be waiting for you at the airport. After breakfast at the hotel, we will travel to the Cape of Good Hope, where two oceans meet. A sumptuous evening meal will be served in a restaurant right on the waterfront in Cape Town.
Day 3.On this day, you will head off first thing in the direction of Namaqualand in the fully air-conditioned Touaregs. Over the first 600 kilometres of this journey, you will get to know one of the most diverse vehicles and landscapes in the world. Africa welcomes you with open arms. You can look forward to two unforgettable weeks. Lunch will be a picnic en route. You will arrive in Springbok, the capital of Namaqualand, late in the afternoon. Before the first settlers arrived, large herds of springbok traversed the sparse valleys here, giving the place its name. We will enjoy an evening meal in the centre of Springbok before retiring for the night after an eventful day.
Day 4.Enjoy a wonderful view of the distant mountains over breakfast. Today, you will be leaving South Africa behind and making your way to Namibia, a country that promises 300 days of sunshine a year and untouched and fascinating landscapes and wildlife. On a 25-kilometre-long panoramic road, you will experience one of the most impressive, beautiful and natural spectacles on your first day in Namibia – the fabulous Fish River Canyon. With a depth of up to 550 metres, the canyon, which is the largest in the world after the Grand Canyon, winds its way through the jagged Koubis massif. You will stay in a lodge near the Fish River Canyon overnight, where you can tuck in to your first evening meal on Namibian soil. If you're lucky, you might also see a few ostriches, one of the rare mountain zebras or a group of hungry black-backed jackals before you go to sleep.
Day 5.The strong African coffee appears to have also awakened the first hummingbirds – as the morning mist rises, they approach the first opened flowers and hungrily drink the first nectar of the day with their delicate beaks. You, meanwhile, will start the powerful engines of the Touaregs and head towards the Namib Desert, passing Naukluft National Park. In the evening, you will reach the dunes of Sossusvlei, that are up to 300 metres in height and therefore some of the biggest dunes in the world. It's hard to imagine nature being any more impressive than this. Time seems to be at a standstill. Tonight, you will stay at the Sossusvlei Lodge in Sesriem.
Day 6.On your way through the Sossuslevi dunes this morning, you will be able to witness an incredible array of colours created by the rising sun and will pass the most photographed dune in Namibia, Dune 45. Which way to the Atlantic coast? After breakfast, you will drive past the Naukluft Mountains in the Touaregs. This region almost appears hostile – a moonscape with a unique appeal which is hard to resist. A fine morning mist provides the traditional vegetation here with moisture. Some plants are over 1,500 years old. In the evening, you will reach Swakopmund, where German settlers rowed to land in 1893. A look at the starry sky is worthwhile – the broad band of the Milky Way goes right across the entire sky, and it's reassuring that some things never change. You could hardly imagine a nicer way to round off the evening.
Day 7.Replenished after breakfast, it's time to take a trip to the Cape Cross conservation area, where you can marvel at the colony of up to 100,000 seals. Your evening meal will then be waiting for you back in Swakopmund.
Day 8.Today, you will leave the colonial African beach resort and drive straight into paradise – Bushman's Paradise, a place where a green oasis surrounded by rocks developed over millions of years. The journey continues past the Brandberg massif, a granitic intrusion over 2,500 metres high with unique preserved paintings from primitive times, on to Twyfelfontein, to one of the largest finds of rock engravings in the world. You will set up camp here, only a few kilometres away from the famous basalt pillars known as the "organ pipes" and the "petrified forest" with its 300-millionyear-old tree trunks.
Day 9.After a hearty breakfast surrounded by nature, you will travel via Khorixas and Outjo, heading north to Etosha National Park. This is one of the largest protected regions in Africa. The unusual combination of savanna and bush forest makes it totally unique. The rare black rhino is just as at home here as the continent's largest elephants, gnus, zebras, hyenas, lions, cheetahs and leopards. In the evening, you will go on safari to the park's watering holes, where you will be able to observe the park's shyest inhabitants and their predators. A comfortable lodge in the park will serve as your accommodation for the night and offers sufficient protection from the park's wild animals.
Day 10.In the morning, you will have another opportunity to go in search of wild animals. By now, all the participants will have caught the safari bug and will be able to capture some wonderful moments with their cameras too, not to mention the odd unforgettable encounter. After lunch at the lodge, you will have the afternoon to yourself. In the evening, another trip to the park's watering holes will give you the opportunity to observe all the nocturnal animals.
Day 11.Around lunchtime, you will head off in the Touaregs along the arid Waterberg plateau, which is covered by tree and bush savanna. The vegetation is much more diverse at the foot of the plateau. Here, you will be able to observe water buffalo, ibexes, klipspringers, antelopes, leopards and, with a little luck, the very rare Cape griffon. Relaxed and armed with many unique impressions, you will end today's African adventure in a comfortable guest house in Windhoek where you can really indulge yourself with a delicious evening meal.
Day 12.After breakfast in the hotel, the Central Kalahari calls. You will cross the border into Botswana and carry on until you reach Ganzhi, where the isolation of the desert begins. Lunch will be a picnic lunch again. This will prepare you for the next tracks, which are becoming increasingly difficult. The vast grassy landscapes and Africa's unique colour spectrum are the magnificent rewards for the day's strenuous driving manoeuvres. Back in Ganzhi, you will return to the lodge, where your evening meal will be served.
Day 13.Today, the Touaregs will master a further challenge: today's schedule involves crossing the Central Kalahari towards the Okavango Delta, no less. Just a few decades ago, great discoverers and world travellers still had not managed to completely traverse this part of Africa. Under the guidance of the professional instructors, you will master this challenge. In the evening, you will arrive in Maun, where a farewell evening meal at a good restaurant in the town centre will give all the participants the opportunity to look back on the highlights of the challenges they mastered in the past two weeks.
Day 14.After breakfast, you will have one more chance to see the Okavango Delta, by taking a round-trip sightseeing flight. You will then fly from Maun back to Frankfurt via South Africa or take a different route if you have made your own homeward bound arrangements.
Day 15.If you booked your travel with us, you will arrive back in Frankfurt am Main in the morning.
- Return flight Frankfurt – Cape Town and Maun–Frankfurt (Economy Class), if required
- Twelve overnight stays in hotels and camps along the way as described in the itinerary, incl. breakfast
- Twelve lunches, including non-alcoholic drinks. Unless stated otherwise, lunch will be provided in the form of a picnic to be eaten en route
- Twelve evening meals as described in the itinerary, including non-alcoholic drinks
- Training in off-road driving
- Fees for the activities described in the itinerary
- Professional off-road instructors throughout the tour
- A Touareg for every two participants, including everything necessary for the trip (petrol, maps, etc.)
All additional costs for alcoholic drinks, the minibar or pay TV are to be settled by the guest at each hotel. Please contact us about prices for individual requests (e.g. Business Class supplement).
