Safari Climber, day by day

You leave Windhoek and drive west through Okahandja, Karibib and Usakos, about three and a half to four hours. Spitzkoppe’s peaks appear on the horizon long before you reach them.

After settling in, the afternoon is for an introductory climbing session on easy rock, or a guided walk among the boulders to the rock arch and the San rock paintings.

Late in the day the granite glows red. Spitzkoppe is one of the best places in Namibia for sunset, and the stars after dark are something else.

A full day 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.

The 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.

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

Heading north, the road leaves the granite behind for the wide valleys and flat-topped mountains of Damaraland. It’s one of Namibia’s most open landscapes: red rock, pale grass and very few people.

Look out for welwitschia, a strange two-leaved desert plant that can live for well over a thousand years. Damaraland is also home to desert-adapted elephant, which follow the dry riverbeds. Sightings are never guaranteed, but your guide will know where they have been seen recently.

The region is rich in rock art. The engravings at Twyfelfontein, made by hunter-gatherers thousands of years ago, are a World Heritage Site. Evenings are quiet, with big skies and a real sense of distance.

A morning drive north-east out of Damaraland. The red rock gives way to mopane woodland and cattle country, and the land flattens as you approach Etosha National Park.

You arrive in time for an afternoon game drive in your safari vehicle, as the heat eases and animals move towards the water. Your guide will pick a waterhole or two to start with and see what comes in.

Back before the park gates close at sunset, with the evening to settle in and talk through tomorrow.

Etosha is built around a vast white salt pan. Around its edge, springs and waterholes draw animals in from the surrounding plains, and that is where you spend most of your time.

Mornings start early, when the air is cool and animals are on the move. Your guide reads the tracks and the waterholes, and you’ll often wait quietly at one as elephant, zebra, giraffe, springbok and oryx come and go. Lion and black rhino live here too, and with luck you may see leopard or cheetah.

The middle of the day is hot and slow, a good time to rest. In the late afternoon you head out again for the best light of the day.

A last early drive in the park while the animals are active, then out through the southern gate.

The road back to Windhoek is good tar through cattle country, past Otjiwarongo and Okahandja. The wood-carvers’ market at Okahandja is a good stop for gifts.

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