milkyway2007

My husband and I have been to Namibia once before and LOVED that place, and are starting to plan the second trip for next year. The places that we have been to are:

Etosha: Little Ongava
Sossusvlei: Little Kulala

In our next trip, we'd like to visit:

Moon landscape
Welwitschia Plains
Twyfelfontein
Spitzkoppe
Erongo mountains
and hopefully, Himba village.

Your advice on how to develop itineraries to cover all places as well as on accomodations is greatly appreciated. In our previous trip, we used Wilderness Safaris service and it was excellent, so we would like to stay at Wilderness Safaris lodges as much as possible.

tuckeg

For the Himba you will want to stay at Serra Cafema. There is a village nearby you can visit and some of the Angola Himbas cross the river and visit the camp for supplies. Very nice location on the river. I'll put a few phots on flickr if I get a chance.

Patty

We stayed at Erongo Wilderness Lodge a few weeks ago and enjoyed it very much. I'll try to get some photos uploaded this week and maybe start on my trip report (no promises ).

milkyway2007

Thank you for your replies:

tuckeg: I did a little bit of research and Serra Cafema looks great! Thanks for your advice.

Patty: I saw your photos. They are so incredibly beautiful!! Did you have a chance to visit Spitkoppe from there? I wonder if there is a day trip that we can purchase to go to Spitzkoppe, because we are not confident of doing self-drive. Do you happen to know??

mkhonzo

You have answered your own question.
You want to do this with wilderness, then do it with wilderness what other advise are you seeking?

Patty

An excursion to Spitzkoppe was not on their list of offerings, but perhaps you could email them and ask if that's something they can arrange for you.

If you're planning to spend time in Swakopmund, you could also get a tour operator there to take you to Spitzkoppe if Erongo can't do it.

sniktawk

You would find it far cheaper and may even see some real Namibia if you used the local campsites and a local operator. But as per normal Wilderness is the choice of the many, good luck.

milkyway2007

We had such a good experience with Wilderness on our first trip to Namibia, and were thinking of using them again next year, but with your advice we are starting to think it might be a good idea to explore other options too, especially now that we know much more about Namibia and feel much more comfortable traveling. I would appreciate recommendations on good local tour operators and camp sites. Thank you

tuckeg

I think you could do a self-drive for most of your trip. However I think you should include a flight to Serra Cafema if you want to experience the Himba culture. Driving there is not an option. Even if you self-drive, you might also consider a stay at Doro Nawas, a Wilderness Lodge that caters to self-drivers.

atravelynn

There is a place in the Namib Desert where you can see wild horses. If one allotted 4 nights to the desert, could 2 be spent in the area where you might see the horses and 2 be spent in the more traditional areas where you see big dunes? Or is 4 nights not enough? Thanks!

Patty

Lynn,
The horse are near Aus, I believe, which is some distance from Sossusvlei (assuming this is the area you mean). According to my Bradt guide the distance from Sesriem to Aus is 434km. If you do both, you might also consider spending a few days in the NamibRand (either at Wolwedans or doing the Tok Tokkie walking trail). We considered including Aus but ultimately decided it was too out of the way.

tuckeg

For milkyway2007 (great name by the way): Here is an article about Doro
!Nawas:

http://allafrica.com/stories/200710020210.html

For Lynn: The horses are near Aus as Patty indicated. I did the drive from Sossusvlei Mountain Lodge to Luderitz in 2003 and stopped to see them. After heading south from Sossusvlei you finally hit the road heading west to Luderitz. Not far along that raod to the right (north) you will see a sign for the horses. There is a water hole and when I was there the horses were gathered there. Several were dead on the ground. Not an uplifting sight and a very long haul to get there. I found the coast near Luderitz very interesting but I don't think that opinion would be shared by many. If you decide to go, Tok Tokkie is a great idea but it is not very far towards the horses so you will still have a long drive from there. If you decide to go, post and I'll give you some ideas about places to stop and which roads to take.

mcwomble

You can see Himba in a number of places. Serra Cafema is about the most remote camp in Africa, and there are some near there. But the town of Opuwo is their "capital" and you can simply drive there (on tar roads) and see them in the street selling their wares or go to a nearby village.

Both experiences are Himba - one will cost you an arm and a leg, the other won't. Your choice.

atravelynn

Belated thanks Tuckeg.

tuckeg

While I agree with mcwomble that you can see the Namibian Himbas by doing a self-drive, I would make three points. First the original poster indicated they were happy with their previous experience with Wilderness and wanted to stay at Wilderness properties if possible. Second, the Himba villages near Serra Cafema include both Namibian and Angolan Himbas and there is a distinct difference between the two. Finally, the villages near Serra Cafema are virtually untouched by civilization, something that cannot be said for the Himbas of Opuwo. Is Serra Cafema worth the significant extra cost? All depends on the individual.