Dunes, Desert Elephants and Nomads
From the dunes of Sossusvlei to the Skeleton Coast and utterly remote Serra Cafema
Personalised journeys from start to finish
Every trip helps support Conservation
Every detail taken care of
At a glance
This is a proper African adventure exploring the most remote and breath-taking landscapes in Namibia while staying at some of its finest luxury camps.
After a night in the modest capital, Windhoek, fly out to the iconic red sands and twisted trees of Sossusvlei where you can climb some of the highest dunes in the world and marvel at the often surrealist vistas.
Next head to Hoanib Skeleton Coast Camp, an oasis of comfort in the middle of a vast desert. Head on out game drives in search of desert elephant, lion, giraffe and oryx, or head to the rocky shoreline to get an earful of the noisy Cape fur seal colony among the bones of whales and shipwrecks which gave this region its name.
Heading further north still to the somehow even more isolated Serra Cafema which sits alongside the Kunene River which acts as the border with Angola. A rare source of water, it supports wildlife such as crocodile, zebra and a surprisingly rich array of birdlife, as well as the nomadic Himba people who you’ll get to meet as you become one of the few people to have explored this corner of Africa.
Example trip itinerary
Windhoek
Meet and Greet at Windhoek International Airport
After landing at Windhoek’s International Hosea Kutako Airport, you will be welcomed by our representative who will discuss the details of your safari with you. After your briefing, you will be introduced to your pilot before boarding your scheduled light aircraft flight to your camp.
Transfer
Private transfer from Windhoek airport to Windhoek hotel
Accommodation in Windhoek
Windhoek
Overview
Your home before you venture off into the barren and beautiful Namibian Desert, this stylish boutique hotel is hidden away in the Eastern corner of Namibia’s capital and only proclaimed city, Windhoek.
The city itself is the seat of the country’s cultural and administrative powers but despite this, it remains one of the smallest capitals in the world with just 250,000 residents. The Olive reflects Windhoek’s small size, providing a cosy but luxurious bolt-hole with great access to the surrounding wilderness.
Reminders of the prevalent Namibian culture are spread throughout the hotel as the modern is combined with the traditional. Rough-hewn wooden benches sit on plush carpets around sculpted granite coffee tables, animal-skin rugs lay beneath large beds covered in crisp white cotton and wide glass doors lead out onto your personal terrace for a view across the small city.
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One night in Windhoek
Windhoek is one of the smallest capital cities in the world with a population of just 234,000, but it is home to some fascinating buildings with typical German architecture. You could also visit the National Botanical Gardens which has the densest stand of mountain aloes in Namibia. The restaurants in town are good with delicious game meat on offer to those who fancy trying it.
Transfer
Transfer to Windhoek airport
Flight
Light aircraft flight to Sossusvlei
Sossusvlei
Accommodation in Sossusvlei
Sossusvlei
Highlights
- Eleven self-contained villas, each with private pool
- Air conditioning
- Wine cellar
- Excursions to Sossusvlei
- Guided nature drives
- Hot air ballooning
- Stargazing
Overview
Offering more of a ‘boutique’ polish and size set in the 37,000- hectare private Kulala Wilderness Reserve, and a stone’s throw from the Sossusvlei dunes, this beautiful lodge is easily the most luxurious in the area.
Wilderness Little Kulala consists of 11 climate-controlled thatched suites, sympathetically designed so as to merge deceptively into the desert landscape. Each one is air conditioned with an en-suite bathroom, and has its own private outdoor pool and shower. The rooms are huge and with floor-to-ceiling windows designed to spoil you with the incredible views that flood in. Or take it a step further and star gaze in style on your own private rooftop.
The main lodge is built on three levels and provides an elegant entertainment area, with a spacious lounge, stylish dining area , well-stocked reference library and its own wine cellar to boot.
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The impact of your stay:
- In the desolate Sossusvlei dunes, Kulala Desert Lodge embraced the ambitious task of ecological restoration in a once arid land used for goat farming. The result is a transformed desert oasis, now brimming with life.
- In rural Namibia, environmental damage is frequently intertwined with poverty. To alleviate the strain on natural resources, Wilderness has established programs for empowerment, enterprise, and skills training. These include initiatives such as small-scale farmer development, business training, mentorship, and school scholarships.
- Wilderness’s impact in Namibia spans a cumulative area of approximately 167,310 hectares. Operating under the Namibia Large Fauna Programme, they engage in continuous conservation initiatives for desert-adapted wildlife species. This includes large predators such as lions, leopards, brown and spotted hyenas, as well as desert-adapted elephants, black rhinos, giraffes and other ungulates.
Sossusvlei
Highlights
- 23 canvas rooms with private roofdeck
- Traditional dinner under the stars
- Hot air balloon experiences above the sand dunes
- Bush lunch in a dry river bed
- Electric fatbike excursions
Overview
Located within the 37,000 hectare private Kulala Wilderness Reserve, this lodge enjoys convenient access via a private gate to the iconic red dunes of Sossusvlei.
Staying here is extremely comfortable, with 23 thatched and canvas “kulalas”, each on a raised platform to catch the cool desert breezes and with private rooftop decks should you want to spend the night under the spectacular star-filled skies. All are en suite, and solar powered heaters provide hot showers.
The main lodge is a clay construction with a North African inspired décor, and it’s here you enjoy the simple yet delicious meals in the spacious dining area followed by relaxing in the comfortable lounge. There is also an outdoor plunge pool and stargazing deck from which to enjoy the breathtaking scenery.
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The impact of your stay:
- Located amidst the desolate Sossusvlei dunes, Kulala Desert Lodge embarked on an ambitious endeavour: ecological restoration in a once arid land used for goat farming. The result is a transformed desert oasis, now thriving with life.
- In rural Namibia, environmental damage is frequently intertwined with poverty. To alleviate the strain on natural resources, Wilderness has established programmes for empowerment, enterprise, and skills training. These include initiatives such as small-scale farmer development, business training, mentorship, and school scholarships.
- Wilderness’s impact in Namibia spans a cumulative area of around 167,310 hectares. Operating under the Namibia Large Fauna Programme, they conduct continuous conservation initiatives for desert-adapted wildlife species, encompassing large predators like lions, leopards, brown and spotted hyenas, as well as desert-adapted elephants, black rhinos, giraffes and other ungulates.
Sossusvlei
Highlights
- Star-viewing skylights in each villa
- Swimming pool
- Observatory with professional astronomer
- Nature drives in 4x4 vehicles & Quadbiking
- Dune drives
- Stargazing
- Hot air balloon safaris
- Massages
Overview
Designed to capture the splendour and solitude of the desert, just ten stone and glass desert villas spread out along the curve of the escarpment allowing absolute privacy.
Each air-conditioned suite features a private veranda, split-level bedroom and living room with fireplace, en-suite glass-encased bathroom and outdoor shower. The villas are equipped with a stunning star-viewing skylight, discreet CD system, custom-stocked personal bar and compact spotting scope for magnificent star and game viewing. The guest area, where walls have become windows that fold away completely, boasts unimpeded desert vistas.
The split-level Lodge features a fire-lit bar, comfortable sitting room, swimming pool, wraparound verandas and a Safari Shop. A fine selection of wines from an impressive walk-in wine cellar complements delicious Pan African meals. Guests can escape the desert heat with a revitalizing midday dip in the pool fed by water from an underground spring. At sunset, animals are drawn to a nearby waterhole, enhancing desert sundowner drinks.
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Two nights in the Sossusvlei area
Populated with some of the world's highest dunes, all set beneath a deep blue sky, no self-respecting Namibian safari would be complete without a visit to the awe-inspiring Sossuvlei. Spend your days here exploring the desert sands on foot and by quad bike. When you're back at your accommodation, have some drinks and watch the sun set in one of the world's most striking locations.
Sossusvlei and Deadvlei tour
Head out to Sossusvlei and Deadvlei together with your guide. Deadvlei is a white clay pan near the salt pan Sossusvlei inside the Namib-Naukluft Park. The area is dotted with dead camel thorn trees which are estimated to be about 900 years old but haven't decomposed due to the dry climate.
Light aircraft flight to the Hoanib Skeleton Coast
Fly north up the coast in a light aircraft accompanied by spectacular views of Damaraland, the desert and sea from the air.
Hoanib Skeleton Coast
Accommodation in Hoanib Skeleton Coast
The Skeleton Coast
Highlights
- Seven twin-bedded suites and one family unit
- Shaded, private outdoor decks
- Laundry services
- Wildlife activities on foot and by jeep
- Cultural experiences
Overview
Placed at the confluence of two tributaries in a broad valley of the Kaokoveld Desert, the camp offers an unforgettable gateway from which to experience both the thrillingly desolate Skeleton Coast and the private Palmwag Concession, alive with desert-adapted wildlife.
You’ll get a feel for the exclusivity and wonderful remoteness of your accommodation as you fly in by light aircraft – the only way to access the camp. The imitate, luxury tented camp consists of just seven twin-bedded suites and one family unit, each complete with shaded outdoors decks from which to contemplate the valley’s starkly stunning, moon-like landscape.
Scenic flights over desert shores reveal lonely shipwrecks, massive dunefields, floodplains and the Auses Spring.
Explore the Hoanib Riverbed for sightings of elephant, lion, giraffe, gemsbok and springbok, shaggy brown hyaena and opportunistic black-backed jackal, or head to the rocky shoreline to get an earful of the noisy Cape fur seal colony.
Unravel the mysterious history of the original ancient Strandloper people and the enigmatic stone circles they left behind and encounter the Welwitschia on a nature walk – one of the oldest and strangest plants on the planet.
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The impact of your stay:
- Wilderness Hoanib Camp collaborates with three neighbouring conservancies. Within these conservancies, land is leased from the local community under a sustainable conservation agreement. This provides a unique and exclusive setting for incredible animal sightings while simultaneously fostering social and environmental benefits.
- In rural areas of Namibia, like the Skeleton Coast, poaching is frequently tied to poverty. To address the underlying causes of poaching, Wilderness has established programmes for empowerment, enterprise, and skills training. These encompass initiatives such as small-scale farmer development, business training, mentorship, and school scholarships.
- Wilderness’s impact in Namibia spans a cumulative area of around 167,310 hectares. Under the Namibia Large Fauna Programme, they conduct continuous conservation initiatives for desert-adapted wildlife species, encompassing large predators such as lions, leopards, brown and spotted hyenas, as well as desert-adapted elephants, black rhinos, giraffes and other ungulates.
Three nights at Hoanib Skeleton Coast Camp
Placed at the confluence of two tributaries in a broad valley of the Kaokoveld Desert, the camp offers an unforgettable gateway from which to experience both the thrillingly desolate Skeleton Coast and the private Palmwag Concession, alive with desert-adapted wildlife. Explore the Hoanib Riverbed for sightings of elephant, lion, giraffe, gemsbok and springbok, shaggy brown hyaena and opportunistic black-backed jackal, or head to the rocky shoreline to get an earful of the noisy Cape fur seal colony. Unravel the mysterious history of the original ancient Strandloper people and the enigmatic stone circles they left behind and encounter the Welwitschia on a nature walk – one of the oldest and strangest plants on the planet.
Skeleton Coast Excursion
This fascinating 4x4 trip to the coast takes you via the wilderness and wildlife of the Hoanib River and floodplain, the dune fields and Klein Oasis, while the Skeleton Coast itself reveals a rocky coastline with its huge Cape fur seal colony and a few shipwreck remains. Weather dependent, a scenic flight back to camp offers a magnificent perspective of your journey from the air.?
Flight
Light aircraft flight to Serra Cafema
Kunene River
Accommodation in Kunene River
Kunene River
Highlights
- Seven luxury canvas tents
- One luxury canvas family unit
- Ceiling fans in each tent
- In-room massage
- Stargazing
- Nature drives in open Land Rovers
Overview
Wilderness Serra Cafema is located in the extreme north-west of Namibia on the banks of the Kunene River in the Hartmann Valley. Undoubtedly amongst the most remote camps in Southern Africa, Serra Cafema is only reachable by light aircraft which adds to the exclusivity of this beautiful property.
Wilderness Serra Cafema is an intimate, peaceful camp with a unique mix of rustic and luxury elements nestled amongst the shady Albida trees on the banks of the Kunene. Rapids just below camp provide a calming ambiance with guests often lulled into dreamland by the gurgling waters after a day exploring one of the driest, starkly beautiful regions in the world.
Accommodation at here consists of eight riverside Meru-style canvas and thatched villas on spacious, elevated decks blended smoothly into the picturesque surroundings. Each fully furnished tent has an en-suite bathroom, ceiling fan and mosquito nets. A late afternoon spent lounging on the front deck soaking up the breathtaking vistas of this contrasting wilderness is an absolute must.
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The impact of your stay:
- Serra Cafema is located in the Marienfluss Conservancy, an area leased from the Himba community, a semi-nomadic tribe rooted in this region for centuries. These conservancies serve as protective shields, preserving the land and environment from threats like industrial farming while ensuring the well-being of local communities. The strong bond with the Himba led to continuous pandemic support, funding a community garden, providing seeds, and installing a solar borehole.
- Wilderness has established Children in the Wilderness Namibia, a programme focused on community engagement and educational impact. The initiative promotes sustainable conservation through the leadership development and education of children in Africa. This goal is achieved through activities like eco-club programmes at local schools and annual camps for children in rural communities on the outskirts of Africa’s wild areas.
- Wilderness’s impact in Namibia spans a cumulative area of around 167,310 hectares. Operating under the Namibia Large Fauna Programme, they engage in continuous conservation efforts for desert-adapted wildlife species. These initiatives encompass large predators such as lions, leopards, brown and spotted hyenas, as well as desert-adapted elephants, black rhinos, giraffes and other ungulates.
Three nights at Serra Cafema
Enjoy your days in the stunning Serra Cafema region, in the oasis of this mostly desolate and arid region, one of the remotest places on Earth, with nature drives, guided walks and even visits to the local villages of this extraordinary nomadic Himba people.
Flight
Light aircraft flight to Windhoek International
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Dunes, Desert Elephants and Nomads
How we work
This is a proper African adventure exploring the most remote and breath-taking landscapes in Namibia while staying at some of its finest luxury camps. After a night in the modest capital, Windhoek, fly out to the iconic red sands and twisted trees of Sossusvlei where you can climb some of the highest dunes in the world and marvel at the often surrealist vistas. Next head to Hoanib Skeleton Coast Camp, an oasis of comfort in the middle of a vast desert. Head on out game drives in search of desert elephant, lion, giraffe and oryx, or head to the rocky shoreline to get an earful of the noisy Cape fur seal colony among the bones of whales and shipwrecks which gave this region its name. Heading further north still to the somehow even more isolated Serra Cafema which sits alongside the Kunene River which acts as the border with Angola. A rare source of water, it supports wildlife such as crocodile, zebra and a surprisingly rich array of birdlife, as well as the nomadic Himba people who you’ll get to meet as you become one of the few people to have explored this corner of Africa. | Whats included? |
Days 1-2 |
Windhoek |
| Meet and Greet at Windhoek International Airport After landing at Windhoek’s International Hosea Kutako Airport, you will be welcomed by our representative who will discuss the details of your safari with you. After your briefing, you will be introduced to your pilot before boarding your scheduled light aircraft flight to your camp. |
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Flights & transfers
Private transfer from Windhoek airport to Windhoek hotel |
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Accommodation in Windhoek
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The Olive Exclusive - $$$$$
Your home before you venture off into the barren and beautiful Namibian Desert, this stylish...
|
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| One night in Windhoek Windhoek is one of the smallest capital cities in the world with a population of just 234,000, but it is home to some fascinating buildings with typical German architecture. You could also visit the National Botanical Gardens which has the densest stand of mountain aloes in Namibia. The restaurants in town are good with delicious game meat on offer to those who fancy trying it. |
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Flights & transfers
Transfer to Windhoek airport |
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| Light aircraft flight to Sossusvlei | |
Days 2-4 |
Sossusvlei |
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Accommodation in Sossusvlei
•
Wilderness Little Kulala - $$$$$
Offering more of a ‘boutique’ polish and size set in the 37,000- hectare private Kulala...
•
Wilderness Kulala Desert Lodge - $$$$$
Located within the 37,000 hectare private Kulala Wilderness Reserve, this lodge enjoys...
•
Sossusvlei Desert Lodge - $$$$$
Cradled against the ancient mountains, Sossusvlei Desert Lodge is renowned for its desert...
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| Two nights in the Sossusvlei area Populated with some of the world's highest dunes, all set beneath a deep blue sky, no self-respecting Namibian safari would be complete without a visit to the awe-inspiring Sossuvlei. Spend your days here exploring the desert sands on foot and by quad bike. When you're back at your accommodation, have some drinks and watch the sun set in one of the world's most striking locations. |
|
| Sossusvlei and Deadvlei tour Head out to Sossusvlei and Deadvlei together with your guide. Deadvlei is a white clay pan near the salt pan Sossusvlei inside the Namib-Naukluft Park. The area is dotted with dead camel thorn trees which are estimated to be about 900 years old but haven't decomposed due to the dry climate. |
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| Light aircraft flight to the Hoanib Skeleton Coast Fly north up the coast in a light aircraft accompanied by spectacular views of Damaraland, the desert and sea from the air. |
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Days 4-7 |
Hoanib Skeleton Coast |
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Accommodation in Hoanib Skeleton Coast
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Wilderness Hoanib Skeleton Coast Camp - $$$$$
Placed at the confluence of two tributaries in a broad valley of the Kaokoveld Desert, the...
|
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| Three nights at Hoanib Skeleton Coast Camp Placed at the confluence of two tributaries in a broad valley of the Kaokoveld Desert, the camp offers an unforgettable gateway from which to experience both the thrillingly desolate Skeleton Coast and the private Palmwag Concession, alive with desert-adapted wildlife. Explore the Hoanib Riverbed for sightings of elephant, lion, giraffe, gemsbok and springbok, shaggy brown hyaena and opportunistic black-backed jackal, or head to the rocky shoreline to get an earful of the noisy Cape fur seal colony. Unravel the mysterious history of the original ancient Strandloper people and the enigmatic stone circles they left behind and encounter the Welwitschia on a nature walk – one of the oldest and strangest plants on the planet. |
|
| Skeleton Coast Excursion This fascinating 4x4 trip to the coast takes you via the wilderness and wildlife of the Hoanib River and floodplain, the dune fields and Klein Oasis, while the Skeleton Coast itself reveals a rocky coastline with its huge Cape fur seal colony and a few shipwreck remains. Weather dependent, a scenic flight back to camp offers a magnificent perspective of your journey from the air.? |
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Flights & transfers
Light aircraft flight to Serra Cafema |
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Days 7-10 |
Kunene River |
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Accommodation in Kunene River
•
Wilderness Serra Cafema - $$$$$
Wilderness Serra Cafema is located in the extreme north-west of Namibia on the banks of the...
|
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| Three nights at Serra Cafema Enjoy your days in the stunning Serra Cafema region, in the oasis of this mostly desolate and arid region, one of the remotest places on Earth, with nature drives, guided walks and even visits to the local villages of this extraordinary nomadic Himba people. |
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Flights & transfers
Light aircraft flight to Windhoek International |
