7 Day Southern Namibia Private Overland Tour

After breakfast the tour departs Windhoek and travels in a southerly direction en route to the Fish River Canyon, one of the largest canyons in the world and the largest in Africa. As we leave the high central plateau the countryside gradually morphs from wooded grassland into open semi-desert vistas. Along the way there are opportunities to stop in small rural settlements and enjoy the stark beauty of Namibia’s wide-open spaces.

Not long after passing the town of Keetmanshoop we say goodbye to paved roads and head into the Namib Desert, finally reaching Canyon Lodge around mid-afternoon. After check-in and a short rest, we travel to the viewpoints near Hobas to admire the Fish River Canyon as the sun sinks low. Sunset often ignites the rock walls in glowing red and orange hues, creating unforgettable photographic opportunities before we return to the lodge for dinner.

After a relaxed breakfast there is time, if required, for a final stop at one of the canyon viewpoints to appreciate the sheer scale of the gorge carved by the Fish River over millions of years. We then travel north to rejoin the national B4 road before turning west toward the Namib-Naukluft Park and the Sperrgebiet, the historic restricted diamond area in southern Namibia. The scenery becomes increasingly arid and dramatic as rocky hills give way to open desert plains.

By mid-afternoon we arrive at Desert Horse Inn near Aus, conveniently located on the edge of this vast desert wilderness. After some time to relax and soak up the silence of the Namib, guests enjoy a guided sunset drive into the surrounding landscape. Here you may encounter the famous desert-adapted wild horses near Garub as well as hardy desert flora and antelope species, before returning to the lodge for a hearty dinner under star-laden skies.

This morning we set out towards the coast and the historic harbor town of Lüderitz, passing dunes and rocky outcrops that hint at the wealth of diamonds once extracted from this region. Just inland from the Atlantic lies Kolmanskop, a former mining settlement now slowly being reclaimed by the desert. Once home to grand German colonial houses, an ice factory and even the first X-ray machine in Africa, the town was abandoned in the 1950s when richer diamond fields were discovered elsewhere.

On a guided tour you’ll wander through sand-filled homes and public buildings, learning how fortunes were made and lost during Namibia’s diamond rush. Afterward we continue to Lüderitz itself, where you may enjoy lunch and a short orientation of this windswept coastal town, with its colorful houses and Lutheran church perched above the bay. We then return to Desert Horse Inn in time to relax and enjoy another peaceful desert evening.

From the tiny settlement of Aus the tour continues north, with the Namib-Naukluft Park providing a spectacular backdrop of rugged mountains and open gravel plains. Several comfort and photo stops are made as we traverse this sparsely populated region, watching the colors of the desert shift with the light. As we approach Sesriem the famous red dunes of the Namib, often cited as some of the highest in the world, rise on the horizon in sculpted curves and ridges.

Sossusvlei is essentially a clay and salt pan created by the Tsauchab River, which only reaches the dune belt in years of good rainfall, making it a true “dead-end marsh”. The surrounding dunes form part of the Namib Sand Sea, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Over the next two days guests enjoy guided excursions into the Sossusvlei and Deadvlei areas, sunrise or sunset visits to selected dunes, and time at the lodge’s pool or bar to absorb the grandeur of the desert landscape.

After a final early-morning excursion or a leisurely stroll around the lodge, breakfast is enjoyed with sweeping views over the desert plains. Your guide then transfers you to the nearby airstrip for a scenic flight back to Windhoek, offering a last aerial perspective on the dune fields and rugged mountain ridges that characterize the Namib Desert.

At Windhoek’s international airport you connect to a regional flight to Johannesburg, where you are met and transferred to any location of your choice in Johannesburg or Pretoria. As your Southern Namibia overland journey concludes, you leave with lasting memories of vast canyon vistas, wild horses on empty plains, ghost towns reclaimed by sand and the iconic red dunes of Sossusvlei – a compact yet in-depth exploration of this remarkable desert region.