The Adventurer, day by day

You meet your guides in Windhoek for a gear check: harnesses and helmets fitted, and a talk through the climbing and hiking ahead and your experience.

Daan Viljoen Game Reserve is only about 25 km west of the city, in the rolling hills of the Khomas Highland. The trails wind over rocky ridges and down to a small dam, a good warm-up for legs and lungs at altitude. You may see zebra, kudu or oryx along the way.

The night is spent in the reserve. It’s quiet, close to town and a gentle start to the trip.

West on the C28, a gravel road across the Khomas Highland. The highlight is the Bosua Pass, where the road drops steeply off the escarpment towards the Namib. Gravel conditions vary, so timing is kept flexible and there are plenty of stops for the view.

Below the escarpment the land opens into wide gravel plains and bare hills. Towards the end of the day you reach the Swakop River valley, a deep, dry riverbed cut through layered rock.

You settle in near the river for the night, with the next day’s climbing just around the corner.

A morning climbing session in the Swakop River area, while it’s still cool. Your guides choose the rock and routes to suit the group.

Around midday it’s about two hours north to Spitzkoppe. The granite peaks rise about 700 metres above the plain and are visible long before you arrive.

There’s time in the evening to walk among the boulders and watch the granite turn red at sunset.

Two full days at Spitzkoppe. Routes are selected according to your experience and the conditions: friendly single-pitch slabs, easy multi-pitch, or longer advanced multi-pitch lines for experienced climbers.

Each day follows the temperature. You climb in the cool of the morning, rest in the shade through the hottest hours, and often return to the rock in the late afternoon. With two days, the second can build on the first: a longer route, a harder line or a favourite revisited.

This is the rock our founders grew up on. Between climbs there’s time to scramble, see the rock arch and the San rock paintings, and watch the sunset from a high slab.

A short drive of about an hour and a half north-east to Omandumba, in the Erongo mountains. The Erongo are the remains of an ancient volcano, now a landscape of rounded granite boulders, domes and cracks.

The afternoon is a final climbing and bouldering session on this rock, a different feel from Spitzkoppe and a good way to finish the climbing.

The night is spent at Omandumba, among the boulders and under a big sky.

A morning scramble on the trails around the boulders while it’s still cool.

Then back to Windhoek, about three hours on good roads, arriving in the afternoon.

If you are flying out the same day, tell us your flight time when planning and we’ll shape the day around it.