13 nights Family tour

13 NIGHTS FAMILY TOUR

The tour embraces

WINDHOEK: the capital of Namibia is located right in the center of the country as if to remember its importance to those who do not want to give it. The city nestles between the rolling hills of Eros to the east, the Auas ​​mountains to the south and Khomas Hochland to the west. It represents in all respects the meeting point between Africa and Europe, between past and present, tradition and worldliness, ancient and modern. In the main street of the capital, well-preserved German colonial buildings are in stark contrast to modern architectural styles; Herero women with their Victorian clothes and Himba women dressed in nothing mix up with managers dressed in current international fashion. Although not typically “African” it is undoubtedly a city to see and understand.

DESERT OF KALAHARI: although it is not famous here in Namibia as the Namib desert, it recalls for its mysterious silence that instills a deep and overwhelming sense of solitude. Because of its vastness it is the fourth desert in the world. There are four countries that it crosses, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia and South Africa. Botswana covers most of the territory and in fact the name takes it from the word Tswana “Kgalagadi” which means “the great thirst”. It consists of a sand desert but also a semi-arid basin. Namibia is its most arid area due to poor rainfall, which is why it is considered a fossil desert. A unique setting for endless sunsets. DESERT OF THE NAMIB:

with its 80 million years, it is the most ancient desert in the world, a desolate paradise where nature is still the only undisputed mistress. It starts in Angola and goes down along the coast for about 2000 kilometers to South Africa, extending for about 250,000 square kilometers. The Nama, who were the first to inhabit it, gave it the name that in their language means “space without end”. Despite its hostile conformation, it is home to several animal species including the famous desert elephants and lions that populate the north coast. This is because, apart from the scarce rains (25mm of water a year), the cold Benguela current that rises from South Africa on the Atlantic Ocean, produces a mist that nourishes a very particular vegetation. Unique in the world is the Welwitschia mirabilis which counts 2000 year old specimens!

SWAKOPMUND: with its tree-lined avenues, its walks on the beaches, a pleasant climate during the summer, and an infinity of adrenaline activities available, this city on the Atlantic coast is Namibia’s main holiday resort. Its buildings and the morning fog carried by the cold ocean current of Benguela make it look like a typical German village that, however, inserted in the Namib desert, gives it a special charm.

SKELETON COAST:so called for the sad end that awaited the survivors who reached from the sea a land so inhospitable and for its ability to call to those who are now wrecks of ships that have made shipwreck. The mutability of its seabed, the often rough sea, the unpredictable currents and the fog generated by the Benguela current have always made it a very difficult area for sailing enthusiasts. The Portuguese were the first to arrive in this area while trying to discover new routes to the East by circumnavigating Africa. It is an area that isolates itself naturally, where one can experience the true meaning of solitude. DAMARALAND:

this indescribable land offers one of the most beautiful landscape settings that you can even remotely imagine. With its plateaus and its many rivers, however ephemeral, it hosts a substantial animal variety, constituting one of the last unofficial wildlife areas of Africa. The presence of geologically interesting sites shows that this is one of the oldest lands in the world. Its obvious change with the change of seasons makes it unique and unforgettable. In this area once lived the Bushmen who have left real rock art galleries that give the region an all mystical flavor in which the past and the present meet and mingle. KAOKOLAND:

positioned in the northwestern corner of Namibia, this land lives in silence and in disparate, as if it did not want to disturb but also as not wanting to bend to the prevailing modernization. It has always represented an area where it is very difficult to access for the rich presence of diamonds, but also for the lack of easy access. It is a mostly rocky and sandy territory, but when it rains sufficiently, it turns into a vast green prairie with wild flowers where springbok, oryx, giraffe and ostrich graze. Here the extraordinary ethnic group of the Himba dwells has carved out a space in which to live in peace his love and attachment to tradition. The most arid, the most difficult to sustain, is chosen

ETOSHA: the Etosha National Park is one of the most extensive nature reserves in the world. Reduced over time to its current size (more than 22,000 square kilometers), it became a reserve in 1907. The name takes it from its vast salt depression, the Etosha Pan, which in the Oshivambo language means “great white place of water” dry “. This basin 12 million years ago was a lake fed by the river Kunene. When this changed its course the plain became desert and turned into a beautiful lagoon with shallow waters teeming with pelicans and flamingos only during the rainy season. This arid calcareous saline crust, however, surrounds dense forests and endless prairies and explains why there is such a varied fauna. Waterberg:

this “mountain of water” (which is what its name means), as well as hosting an extremely rich ecosystem, has an extraordinary historical charm. It is in fact here that the Herero, one of the ethnic groups present in the country, fought and lost their battle against German domination at the beginning of the 20th century. They were exterminated! It is said that two thirds of the entire population lost their lives in this battle. On the Waterberg plateau you can breathe all the ineluctability and crudeness of history, but also the pride and courage of those who fought for their land, for their family, for their rights. And it does not matter that it was in vain.