All Yours: The Ultimate, Privately Guided Namibian Journey

Wilderness guides are celebrated: highly trained, professional, personable, passionate – mostly local so they know the lie of the land, intimately. As one of our guides from the Okavango Delta said recently: ‘Guiding for me was translating what I learned as a child into English’.

 

 

For creating an exceptional, exclusive journey to some of our iconic wild destinations, our private guides have no equal. Especially if you’re after privacy, personal space, and a totally customised, seamless experience. Your guide travels with you from one destination to the next, driving you in your own private game vehicle, catering to the interests of you, your family, your friends. Whether you’re into elephant, lion, leopard, birds, trees, reptiles, or whatever else, we match you with your guide, with his expertise. Many of our guides are skilled photographers, and can help you get ‘that shot’ along the way.

 

 

 

 

All our spectacular destinations are remote, but those in Namibia are remote in the extreme. If you want space, privacy, and otherworldly landscapes, with fascinating desert-adapted wildlife and few or no other humans in sight, Namibia is calling. Sky-high red-ochre dunes; the world’s oldest desert; encounters with a semi-nomadic tribe living as it has for centuries; intriguing geology; tracking black rhino; and endless adventures on foot, in game vehicles, on quad and electric bikes, or soaring high in a hot-air balloon…All this awaits.

 

This nine-night privately guided journey to three of our most extraordinary Namibian destinations will take you there…

 

 

WILDERNESS LITTLE KULALA, SOSSUSVLEI (3 nights)

 

 

First stop: Wilderness Little Kulala, one of our most beloved camps, appreciated for its beauty but also for its diverse activities. Set in the 27 000-hectare Kulala Wilderness Reserve in the ancient Namib Desert, Little Kulala entices with its landscapes, serenity, and – if you’re so inclined – nearly uninterrupted thrills, which your private guide can help you navigate.

 

 

 

 

Climb the nearby, massive red dunes at renowned Sossusvlei and gaze across oceans of sand. Hike through Sesriem Canyon, carved by water over the millennia. Float above the desert in a hot-air balloon, and see it come alive on nature walks, drives, e-bikes, or low-impact quad bikes. Spot desert-adapted wildlife such as ostriches, springbok, gemsbok, brown hyaenas, black-backed jackals, bat-eared foxes, perhaps an aardwolf, or the endemic dune lark. Listen for the unique call of barking geckos at dusk; follow your guide on a nocturnal scorpion safari. Stargaze in one of the darkest, starriest places on Earth at a private ‘star supper’ – just you, your loved ones, the desert, the universe. Roll your bed out onto your suite’s deck to sleep out under the constellations. Relax. Recharge. Reflect.

 

 

 

 

Little Kulala is privacy personified. Recently refurbished, it’s a peaceful oasis, opening out to the desert – its pink and grey tones a nod to the local geology. Take it all in from your climate-controlled suite’s plunge pool, or from your private rooftop, ideal for intimate sundowners, suppers, and siestas. Your guide is just a call away, ready to lead you on your next adventure.

 

 

WILDERNESS DESERT RHINO CAMP, DAMARALAND (3 nights)

 

 

The highlight of your stay here, as its name suggests, is rhino tracking with a designated guide/monitor from Save the Rhino Trust Namibia; your private guide also joins you. Wilderness Desert Rhino Camp lies in a wide, boulder-strewn valley in north-west Namibia’s enormous Palmwag Concession, home to the world’s last free-ranging Critically Endangered black rhino population. Palmwag’s 550 000 hectares comprise surreal basalt landscapes created by eruptions roughly 125 million years ago – when Africa and South America were joined as the landmass Gondwana. An inconceivably ancient, prehistoric setting for a singularly memorable encounter.

 

 

 

 

On foot, follow these majestic creatures across the rocky plains. Sixty years ago, an estimated 100 000 black rhino roamed Africa. Today, though numbers have increased since 1995, fewer than 5 630 are left in the wild. Assist the monitors in their protection – a humbling, profound wilderness experience like no other.

 

 

Find other wildlife en route. On game drives look for desert-adapted elephants; zebras; spotted hyaenas; giraffes; and antelopes such as oryx and springbok. Key species for birding enthusiasts include Ruppell’s korhaan, Benguela long-billed lark, Herero chat, and Verreaux’s eagle. On a guided nature walk, better understand how life adapts in a place with so little rain and vegetation. Welcome the night, sitting around the campfire sharing stories. Marvel at the impossibly starry sky.

 

 

 

 

From your comfortable Meru-style tent or the common areas, hued with earthy colours and hints of red, look over a sweeping plain dotted with Namibia’s national plant, the welwitschia. With a lifespan of 2000-plus years, they are truly wonderful. Strange and unique. Much like Namibia itself.

 

 

WILDERNESS SERRA CAFEMA, KUNENE REGION (3 nights)

 

Your journey culminates in Namibia’s far north, in the vast, untamed region formerly known as the Kaokoveld, home to the Himba people and few others. Much amazes at Wilderness Serra Cafema, set on the banks of the Kunene River in the world’s oldest desert. Surrounded by a harsh, almost Martian landscape of sharp ochre mountains transversing arid plains – with the remarkable, perennial Kunene running through them. ‘Forgotten by time’…’a place of deafening silence’…’where you step off the face of the Earth’… You’ll find your own words to describe the magic here.

 

 

 

 

Your guide will lead you to meet a community of Himba in one of their temporary villages; they are pastoralists, so often on the move. Respectfully engage with them, Namibia’s last semi-nomads still living traditionally, local custodians and majority owners of the conservancy where Serra Cafema is located. Hear their stories, and share yours.

 

 

When water levels permit, boat on the Kunene, with Angola’s craggy mountains in the distance and plenty of Nile crocs on the banks and in the water. Explore the dunefields on foot and in game vehicles, perhaps spotting oryxes, springbok, Hartmann’s mountain zebras, or tiny desert chameleons. Along specially allocated, low-impact routes, quad bike across the wild, lunar landscape. Dine elegantly, privately on the Kunene’s beaches or on local mountaintops. When night falls, watch the countless stars overhead and reflecting in the river, feel the desert’s deep calm, be awed by the vastness of the universe. Try your hand at astrophotography, using the camp’s Olympus cameras with your knowledgeable guide’s support. Watch the millions of stars fade as the sun comes up…

 

 

 

 

A fine finale to an unforgettable journey – private, precious, personalised. Consistently in your guide’s expert hands. Incomparably well looked after.