Twiga Safari, day by day

Your guide meets you at Hosea Kutako International Airport and drives you into Windhoek, about 45 km to the west through open bush and hills.

The rest of the day is yours to settle in after the flight. Windhoek is small and easy-going, and a quiet afternoon here is a good way to adjust to the dry air and the altitude before the road trip begins.

In the evening your guide runs through the route and the days ahead. It’s a good moment to talk about driving days, what you most want to see and anything you’d like to change.

You leave Windhoek in the morning and head south-west through the central highlands: farmland, camel-thorn trees and, often, kudu or oryx near the road.

Then the road drops down the escarpment and the country opens up into the Namib. Much of the way is on gravel, with stops for photos and to stretch your legs.

You arrive near the Sesriem gate in the afternoon, in time to watch the dunes turn from orange to deep red at sunset. Nights here are very quiet, and on a clear night the stars are worth staying up for.

An early start. You enter the park at first light, when the low sun throws long shadows across the dunes and the sand is still cool underfoot. The road follows a valley between rows of red dunes, among the tallest in the world.

At Deadvlei, a walk of about a kilometre over the sand brings you to a white clay pan scattered with dead camel-thorn trees, hundreds of years old and blackened by the sun. If you want a climb, the dunes around the pan give huge views. Take it at your own pace.

By late morning the heat builds and it’s time to leave the dunes. The drive north-west crosses the Tropic of Capricorn and winds through the Gaub and Kuiseb canyons, as red sand gives way to bare gravel plains.

You reach Swakopmund in the late afternoon. The air is noticeably cooler on the coast, and the sea fog often rolls in towards evening.

A day without a long drive. Swakopmund is a small seaside town of palm-lined streets, German colonial buildings, a long jetty and a promenade along the beach. It’s easy to explore on foot, with time for a slow lunch.

Many guests add an excursion. South of Walvis Bay, Sandwich Harbour is where the dunes run straight into the Atlantic. On the Walvis Bay lagoon you can see seals, pelicans and flamingos, and often dolphins from a boat. Walvis Bay is also known for its oysters.

If you’d rather keep it quiet, the beach and cafés are close by, and the cool sea air is a welcome change after the desert.

A short drive inland across the gravel plains. Spitzkoppe appears long before you reach it: a cluster of granite peaks rising about 700 metres above the flat desert floor.

After settling in there’s time to explore. Walk to the natural rock arch and see the San rock paintings tucked among the boulders. Our founders spent much of their childhood around these rocks, and we know the quiet corners.

Late in the day the granite glows orange and red. Spitzkoppe is one of the best places in Namibia for sunset, and after dark the sky fills with stars.

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 long but easy drive back to the capital, leaving the mountains of Damaraland for the farmland of the central highlands.

On the way you pass through Okahandja, where the wood-carvers’ market 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.