Desert to Delta Journey in Namibia and Botswana

Arrive at Windhoek Airport, meet your host and transfer to your hotel in central Windhoek. Depending on your arrival time, you may have a chance to explore the local area, or if you'd rather relax, the hotel has its own pool. Join your group and guide later for dinner and a chat about the epic adventure ahead.

Jump into a desert truck heading for the Namib-Naukluft National Park. Get your first glimpses of Namibia's famous expansive desert landscapes as you head for the southwest part of Naukluft in the granite hills. Arriving after lunch, settle into your desert camp before heading out for a warm-up hike to get the legs moving. Tonight, enjoy a campfire dinner – your first of many – and some desert stargazing.

Tackle a spectacular day hike today on the Olive Trail, meandering through a diverse range of landscapes and habitats, from riverbank to canyon, plateau to rocky ridge. Hike alongside the Naukluft River, past a series of pools that make for a quick dip (depending on the season). The trail climbs steeply to a 6,260 ft ridge, the highest point on the hike, giving you incredible desert views. More small pools and an impressive waterfall dot the path to the finish line. There is a 26-33ft fixed-chain section to traverse on this hike; your guide will show you the way, navigating large boulders on your descent into the valley. Finish up an epic day with a drive through stunning mountain scenery to your next camp at Sesriem, surrounded by enormous red sand dunes and with an inviting pool to cool off in.

Start early today with a pre-dawn ride in the desert truck to the Sossusvlei area of the National Park. Staying overnight inside the park gates gives you a head start, allowing you to reach the dunes before sunrise. Hike up the iconic Dune 45 and watch as the sun breaks over the desert valley, casting an otherworldly canvas of colors and shadows from the ridge. Walk, run or roll back down the towering wall of sand, then tuck into breakfast and coffee at the foot of the dunes. Afterwards, delve deeper into the park to explore the acacia trees and ever-shifting shapes of Hiddenvlei. All day, it’ll feel like you’re wandering through a film set – Mad Max: Fury Road was filmed here, and the landscapes wouldn’t look out of place in Star Wars. After lunch, take a short drive to your next desert camp and head out for a sunset stroll on the edge of the Namib dunes, near the settlement of Solitaire. If your group wishes to visit Deadvlei – a surreal, cracked clay pan scattered with fossilized trees, there is a compulsory 4x4 transfer to get there and back. This costs 200 Namibian Dollars per person (around $11) and is payable locally.

Any trip around Namibia involves some epic drives – there are big distances to cover between the various highlights – but the landscape is fascinating and you'll be able to spot ostrich, warthog, and oryx just off the road. Today's journey takes you through the heart of the Namib Desert (regarded by many scientists as the oldest in the world), towards the coastal city of Swakopmund. Enjoy lunch and a cool Atlantic breeze while watching flamingos at Walvis Bay Lagoon before the final drive up the coast to Swakopmund, a popular town with a German flavor. Arriving in the afternoon you can explore and grab a cold beer overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. Alternatively, treat yourself to an optional desert flight over the dunes.

Enjoy a relaxed start to the day in Swakopmund before heading inland to the imposing Spitzkoppe mountains. You'll see the iconic shapes of the massif from the road as you approach, and as you enter the huge campground you'll see why our adventurers say this is the best camp spot in all of Namibia. Settle in to camp, then set off hiking beneath the massive, pyramid-shaped, granite boulders which reach 5,413 ft high. Pass by stone arches to a viewpoint for an amazing panorama of the area. Spitzkoppe is a truly spectacular spot for sunset and another night camping beneath the star-studded sky – with no light pollution for miles.

Enjoy a leisurely start today, watching the sun rise and hit the peaks while you grab coffee and breakfast at your camp spot nestled among the boulders. Today you'll explore this incredible place on a four-hour hike, treading among the expanse of granite hundreds of millions of years old, with many bushman rock paintings dotted around the lunar landscape. You'll hike in the shadow of Spitzkoppe ('Namibia's Matterhorn') on a circular route, ending back up at camp where you can enjoy some chill time before dinner and another night in the best camp spot of your life.

Soak up your memorable camp spot one last time before leaving the peaks and hitting the road north toward one of Africa's greatest national parks. You are heading for Etosha – truly one of the planet's most incredible wildlife-watching arenas. You'll enter the park gates in the late afternoon and drive toward your first camp at Okakuejo. The drive to the camp is a safari in itself, as you are well inside the park with chances to spot myriad animals already. Etosha is all about waterholes, with hundreds of them dotted all over this vast area where animals congregate to drink, particularly in the dry season from April-October. Staying at Okakuejo is a treat as it has a waterhole right on the edge of the camp, where you can head after dinner to watch the nocturnal parade of Etosha's main characters: elephants, rhinoceros, lions, leopards, hyenas, jackals, and more. Staying up late at a waterhole in Etosha as the lingering twilight turns to stars, soaking up the calm silence of the African bush and waiting with bated breath for the next visitor is one of the true highlights of this trip.

Settle into your overlanding truck for a classic day of safari game drives throughout Etosha National Park today. You'll be taken to various spots by your trained wildlife guides, giving you the best chances of seeing Namibia's most famous wild residents. Etosha is renowned for its density of wildlife; the concentrations of animals here are huge compared to other national parks, and in the dry season you'll often have amazing spectacles at the waterholes with several species at once congregating to drink. You'll journey on later in the day to your next camp at the eastern side of the park at Namutoni. There's another waterhole here to pitch up at after dinner, for as long as you can stay awake after another epic day.

The option to go on a game drive in an open 4x4 Jeep with a park ranger is also available for those wanting to explore the area further. For more info, please see our FAQs below.

Bid farewell to Etosha and head north as your journey makes a dramatic shift, leaving the arid landscapes of southern and central Namibia behind and heading for the wetlands of the Okavango. Watch Namibia go by on a long road trip through rural villages heading for the Caprivi Strip, a little-visited area where the Okavango River marks the border with Angola to the north. The river is one of the main vessels transporting water into the Okavango Delta hundreds of miles to the west. The waters originate in source lakes and peat bogs in Angola – check out National Geographic's excellent documentaries and podcasts on the Okavango Wilderness Project to learn about this remarkable part of the world and the ongoing cross-border project to protect it. The rest of the trip is all about the water in this part of Africa, and the astonishing array of wildlife that call the waters home. Buckle up, the Okavango is a truly magical place unlike any other, and marks an incredible crescendo to this trip. There's an optional sunset river cruise available tonight before you camp on the banks of the Okavango to a cacophony of insect and birdlife while hippos grunt and groan in the water. Dinner tonight (not included) is at a local restaurant along the way.

Have you ever crossed a border while looking out for elephants and lions along the way? You can check that one off your list today as you cross the border into Namibia through the Mahango Game Reserve, a small and remote pocket of wilderness and an important corridor for wildlife moving between Angola, Namibia, and Botswana. Once in Botswana, the road skirts the edge of the Okavango Delta on the way to Maun – the main gateway to the Delta. Here, you'll switch into 4x4s to journey deep into the Delta, safari-ing as you go with giraffes, elephants, zebras, and buffalo for company. Reaching the water's edge you'll meet your 'poler' – a specialist guide from a village at the mouth of the Delta. The polers are a remarkable group of local people with a deep knowledge of the Delta and its incredible ecosystem. They'll guide you serenely in a mokoro (a traditional dugout canoe) for a few hours upstream to reach a remote camp on the edge of Cha Cha Island, deep in the wilderness. A mobile safari camp will already be set up for you to relax in – take in a famous African sunset while watching the hippos in the water, keeping your eyes peeled for other wildlife as the light fades. Enjoy dinner and a campfire, hearing stories from your local crew of their time working in wildest Africa, as the stars come out. You'll go to sleep tonight to the sounds of the bush.

Please note that the timings of the driving, walking and mokoro rides can vary depending on the time of the year and the water levels found in the delta.

Wake up in the heart of the African bush, starting your day with coffee and a light breakfast before hopping in the mokoro to quickly cross to the other side of the water for an extended bushwalk safari. Your guide will lead the way, explaining the intricacies of the African bush and sharing stories about the wildlife and plant life as you track various species. You’ll likely see giraffe, zebra, antelope, buffalo, herds of elephant, impala, and countless bird species. Your guide will look out for tracks from the early morning activity for signs of big cats in the area—lion and leopard sightings occur regularly in this part of the Delta. Being immersed in the bush on foot is a unique way to spot African animals, so different from the classic game drive safaris. Eventually circling back to the water's edge, you can enjoy brunch and some downtime back at camp. In the afternoon, you can hop in the mokoro with your guide to reach a safe place for an unforgettable swim—safely away from any hippos or crocs! Later on, take another mokoro ride through the tranquil river channels, eyes peeled for wildlife emerging as the light fades. Watch a classic African sunset from the water before another evening around the campfire after a truly magical day.

Please note that the timings of the driving, walking and mokoro rides can vary depending on the time of the year and the water levels found in the delta.

Rise early again – the African bush is at its most alive at dawn and dusk - before tucking into one last breakfast at the camp and then saying goodbye to the wonderful crew who have looked after you while far from civilization. Hop back in the mokoro for one final meander through the tranquil waters back to where it all began, with the 4x4 waiting to finish your journey back to Maun. In Maun, settle into your hotel and enjoy some creature comforts. The afternoon is yours to spend relaxing after your wilderness exploits of the past few days—there are craft and artwork shops to visit, and we highly recommend heading to an excellent restaurant called Marc's Eatery this evening to toast the end to an unbelievable two weeks.

Please note that the timings of the driving, walking and mokoro rides can vary depending on the time of the year and the water levels found in the delta.

Home time. If you are leaving today, your host will transfer you to Maun Airport in time for your onward flight home. If you need to kill time at the airport, there are two excellent cafes just outside the terminal: The Duck Cafe and, a little further down the road, The Dusty Donkey.