Classic Namibia

Arrive at Hosea Kutako International Airport and transfer to Villa Violet, a renovated boutique B&B in the leafy suburb of Klein Windhoek. En-suite rooms open onto a garden patio with a small pool, close to restaurants and the city centre. Meet your guide for a welcome briefing on a bed & breakfast basis.

Drive south via Rehoboth into the red sand dunes of the Kalahari, a semi-arid landscape of vegetated dunes and camel thorn acacia. Settle in at Bagatelle Kalahari Game Ranch and head out for an afternoon game drive in search of springbok, gemsbok, blue wildebeest, red hartebeest and cheetah, followed by a sundowner on the dunes. Dinner, bed & breakfast at the ranch.

Travel west via Maltahöhe into the low plains of the Namib to Sesriem, gateway to the Namib-Naukluft. Check in at Desert Camp, set at the foot of the dunes, and visit Sesriem Canyon where the Tsauchab River has carved a narrow gorge into the conglomerate rock. Dinner, bed & breakfast; first of two nights at Desert Camp.

A pre-dawn start to reach the towering apricot-coloured dunes of Sossusvlei at sunrise. Climb Dune 45 for views over the sand sea, then walk into Deadvlei, a white clay pan where fossilised camel thorn trees stand against orange dune walls. Look for ostrich and oryx on the pan and the desert chameleon on the dune aprons. Return to Desert Camp for a second night.

Travel north via the Kuiseb Canyon and the Moon Landscape, passing the ancient Welwitschia mirabilis plants, to reach the Atlantic coast. Flamingos feed on the Walvis Bay lagoon en route. Arrive in the German colonial town of Swakopmund and check in at the Swakopmund Guesthouse on a bed & breakfast basis.

A morning dolphin cruise on Walvis Bay Lagoon for Cape fur seals, dolphins and pelicans, with an afternoon at leisure in Swakopmund. Optional activities include a living desert tour, quad biking over the dunes or a visit to the Cape Cross seal colony. A second night at the Swakopmund Guesthouse.

Head north along the Atlantic Coast past the lichen fields and Cape Cross seal colony, then turn inland through the Skeleton Coast Park and Springbokwasser into the rugged Damaraland Highlands. Arrive at Malansrus Tented Camp near the UNESCO-listed Twyfelfontein rock engravings. Dinner, bed & breakfast; first of two nights under canvas.

Explore Twyfelfontein's 6,000-year-old rock engravings, the Burnt Mountain and the Organ Pipes basalt columns. The surrounding hills are home to desert-adapted elephant, gemsbok, springbok and the occasional black rhino. A second night at Malansrus Tented Camp, with sundowners over the rocky landscape.

Travel via the Grootberg Pass to Etosha National Park, entering the southern reaches of the park. An afternoon game drive onto the pan introduces Etosha's plains game and predators — elephant, giraffe, zebra, springbok and the big cats that follow them. Check in at Taleni Etosha Village just outside the park gates. Dinner, bed & breakfast; first of two nights.

A full day of game drives across the Etosha salt pan and its perennial springs, where large herds of springbok, zebra, blue wildebeest and elephant gather. Lion, cheetah and black rhino are drawn to the same waterholes. Return to Taleni Etosha Village for a second night.

Travel east across the pan via Halali and Namutoni to the Onguma Nature Reserve on Etosha's eastern boundary. An afternoon game drive seeks lion, elephant and the plains game that favour the wooded eastern reaches of the park. Overnight at Onguma Bush Camp overlooking a waterhole that draws game well into the evening. Dinner, bed & breakfast.

A final morning game drive or leisurely breakfast before the drive south via Okahandja — a good stop for last souvenirs at the Woodcarvers Market — to Windhoek and onward departure from Hosea Kutako International Airport.