Blue Crane Safaris offers guided pre-packaged and tailor-made tours throughout Namibia.
Namibia offers a wealth of spectacular destinations from the dry beauty of the south and wild Atlantic coast to the dramatic landscapes and wildlife of the north.
Blue Crane Safaris can tailor your tour to meet your requirements, so that you get the most out of your African adventure.
The Kalahari Desert is a large, semi-arid, sandy savanna in southern Africa which covers much of Botswana, parts of Namibia and regions of South Africa. This beautiful landscape features red sands, low grassy dunes and acacia trees, set against a blue sky. The stark, lonely environment evokes a sense of freedom and humbling awe as one confronts our fragility in this harsh environment. Experience unforgettable Kalahari sunsets and search for the wildlife adapted to survive here, including eland, springbok, oryx and the iconic Kalahari lions. Leopards, cheetahs and brown hyena are common in the concession area. Several tribes call the Kalahari Desert home, including the San, Nama and Khois. Numerous heritage sites offer the opportunity to meet them, learn about their culture and survival skills. The exquisite lodges found here, offer activities like game drives and nature walks and will see you wanting to return for more.
This striking group of of rounded granite mountains is located between Usakos and Swakopmund. They rise dramatically from the Namib Desert with the highest peak reaches a whopping 1,784 metres above sea level and 700 metres above the desert floor. It is a paradise for rock climbers and hikers. On the eastern side is Bushman's Paradise. A steel cable aids with climbing the steep incline which leads to an overhang decorated with the remains of San paintings. Other rock paintings can be seen at the Small Bushman's Paradise and Golden Snake sites. The mountains are littered with boulders and dramatic rock formations including the frequently photographed rock arch.
FISH RIVER CANYON
The magnificent Fish River Canyon is situated in the south of Namibia and is the second largest canyon in the world. This immense and stunning ravine is engraved into a flat, dry plateau and is not visible until you are almost upon it. It measures 160km long, up to 27km wide and almost 550m at its deepest. The main viewpoint offers stunning views of the gorge, with several other vantage points available including at Hell's Corner and the Sulphur Springs. The Fish River runs intermittently through the canyon with the hot springs resort of Ais-Ais situated at the lower end. The famous Fish River Hiking Trail of 4 to 5 days, can be conducted during the months April to September.
NAMIBRAND NATURE RESERVE
The NamibRand Nature Reserve borders the Namib-Naukluft Park in southern Namibia, and is a private nature reserve established to protect the unique and sensitive ecology and wildlife of the south-west Namib Desert. It is a beautiful and captivating area of dunes, desert grasslands and wild, isolated mountain ranges. Wildlife in this harsh environment is scattered and includes gemsbok, springbok, kudu, zebra, klipspringer, steenbok and hartebeest. Activities in this beautiful, remote landscape include driving excursions, nature walks, hiking (including the amazing TokTokkie trail), hot air balloon flights and stargazing.
NAMIB NAUKLUFT PARK (& SOSSUSVLEI)
The beautiful Namib Naukluft Park is an ecologically protected area of about 49 768km2 in the south west of Namibia. It encompasses parts of the Namib Desert and the Naukluft Mountains and is an area of arid and semi-arid desert. It is dependent on the fog off the Atlantic Ocean for most of its moisture. A surprising collection of creatures survives here, including snakes, geckos, unusual insects, hyena, gemsbok, mountain zebra, springbok, chacma baboon and jackal.
The park is famous for its towering sand dunes, whose burnt orange color indicates their age. The color develops over time as iron in the sand is oxidized; the older the dune, the brighter the color. These dunes are among the tallest in the world, soaring, in places, to more than 300 meters above the desert floor. The dunes taper off near the coast, and lagoons which attract hundreds of thousands of birds. The main attractions in the area are Sossusvlei, a salt-clay pan surrounded by towering red dunes; Sesriem which features the magical Sesriem Canyon; Deadvlei, a much photographed white, clay pan, scattered with dead tree skeletons and surrounded by a red dune backdrop; and Sandwich Harbour, which is situated on the coast in the north of the Park and home to more than 200 000 birds, including flamingos, cormorants and pelicans.
COAST & CENTRAL
Windhoek, the gateway to African adventure, is the capital of Namibia. Nestled in the midst of several mountain ranges, it is one of the world's smallest and cleanest cities and home to a diversity of cultures and ethnicities. Its charm is found in its informal street markets interspersed among old German colonial structures and contemporary aluminium and glass buildings.
This beautiful city offers some amazing restaurants and accommodation or explore its streets, where you can buy handmade crafts at a number of street markets or curio shops, locally produced leather products and jewellery made from Namibia's own precious and semi-precious stones. Windhoek is also home to Namibia's brewing industry and it is well worth sampling some of their wares.
Culturally, the city has a national art gallery and various theatres and cultural institutions, such as the Franco-Namibian Cultural Centre, which present regular shows.
The city offers several sites of interest, including the Alte Feste (an old German fort) and Heroes Acre, a monument to fallen soldiers, scenically located on a hill just outside of the city. There are a number of museums, including the Independence Memorial Museum, Railway Museum and National Earth Sciences Museum.
Guided tours include City tours, and, if you would like to discover the daily life of most Namibians and learn about the city's dark, colonial past, Township tours.
The beautiful surrounding areas offer a further variety of enjoyable excursions including spas, game reserves and restaurants.
THE SKELETON COAST
A true, desolate wilderness, the Skeleton Coast of Namibia is a place of dramatic beauty. It extends from the Ugab River in the south for 500 km to the Kunene River in the north and about 40 km inland. Along its coast, majestic, mountain-like sand dunes collide with the waves of the cold, inhospitable Atlantic Ocean and the bones of whales and shipwrecks add to this wild, isolated atmosphere. Be transported to a different world as a haunting fog seeps over the road comprised of salt and sand leading to the Skeleton Coast National Park.
Expect spectacular landscapes of long, sandy beaches, towering dunes, ephemeral riverbeds, canyons and extensive mountain ranges.
Wildlife is sparse, but you may encounter desert dwelling elephant, lion, cheetah, hyena, springbok, zebra, oryx, seals and 306 bird species, including Greater and Lesser Flamingo, Lappet-faced Vulture and Rüppell's Korhaan.
Relax in a world that pays no homage to time and enjoy raw nature by camping in Terrace Bay or reserve an exclusive site at Torra Bay which is only open during December and January. Both bays offer a great fishing location.
Swakopmund is Namibia's top beach holiday destination. Sandwiched between the cold, blue Atlantic and the beautiful towering dunes of the Namib desert, it offers a stunning location. The Mole, its most famous beach, is a great place to swim, sunbathe, have an ice-cream and watch the occasional seal. The promenade and surrounds offer coffee shops, relaxing restaurants, African curios and souvenirs, a museum, aquarium, the iconic Swakopmund lighthouse and a park. The town, which is characterized by beautiful old German buildings and sandy streets, provides excellent restaurants, a beach bar and charming shops. Many adventure activities are on offer including sand-boarding, quad biking, skydiving, go-karting and camel rides.
Cape Cross is situated 53 km north of Henties Bay on the Skeleton Coast. In 1486, the Portuguese explorer, Diego Câo, who was searching for a sea route to India, erected a cross (padrâo) here, establishing his country's claim to the territory. A replica of the cross now stands at the site which was declared a national monument. The first sightings of Cape fur seals off the coast of southern Africa was recorded in 1884. Today this reserve is a sanctuary for the world's largest breeding colony of Cape fur seals with over 200 000 seals present in the breeding season in November and December. Visitors can view the seals in their natural habitat from a 200m walkway. Their playful, inquisitive behavior makes for great entertainment, although the smell can be quite overpowering. From November, you can watch thousands of seal pups frolicking around the beach.
Damaraland, situated in Namibia's north-west, is one of the most ruggedly beautiful areas of the country, from the amazing rock formations of the Spitzkoppe, Erongo and Brandberg in the south to the glorious red-rock, wild mountains in the north. It features open plains and grassland, euphorbia bushland, massive granite koppies and deep gorges. To the west are endless sandy wastelands. This environment still sustains small, but wide-ranging populations of animals, including the critically-endanged black rhino, desert-adapted lion and elephant, spotted hyena, giraffe, gemsbok, ostrich and springbok. Catching sight of these desert-adapted animals silhouetted against this stunning desert backdrop is amazing. The area is home to a number of worthwhile sites, including Twyfelfontein, home to thousands of San rock engravings; the Brandberg, Namibia'Ss highest mountain and home to the ‘White Lady’ Bushman Painting and Brandberg amethyst, believed to have healing qualities; Spitzkoppe, a group of beautiful granite inselbergs and a rock-climber's paradise; Vingerklip rock, a 35m towering finger of limestone; Damaraland Living Museum, where you can learn more about the traditional culture of the Damara people who live here.
Discover the wild, pristine beauty of Kaokoland. Situated in north-west Namibia and bordering Angola, it is a world of incredible arid, mountain scenery, a refuge for the desert-adapted elephant, black rhino and giraffe and home of the Himba people. This sparsely populated area is bordered by the Hoanib River in the south and the Kunene in the north. Mountain ranges near the river are rugged and impressive. Here you will find the 120m high Ruacana Falls and the cascading Epupa Falls. The river is home to crocodile and hippo. The area features beautiful and iconic trees such as wild fig, baobab and makalani palm and bird watching here is rewarding. A number of wonderful accommodation establishments in the area allow you to explore this spectacular landscape, although many parts require a guide and 4x4 vehicle. The Kaokoland is also home to the extraordinary, semi-nomadic Himba tribe. Many of the lodges and camps offer cultural excursions to meet them.
Twyfelfontein, Namibia's first World Heritage Site, is a massive, open-air art gallery. The 2000 plus rock engravings, estimated to be 6000 years old, represent one of Africa's largest and most noteworthy concentrations of rock art. There are 17 different rock engraving sites, with the most famous being the lion with the kink in its tail, the giant giraffe and the fabled animal that works at the ‘place of ceremonies’. There are a further 13 rock painting sites, as well as stone artefacts. Many believe that the creators of the rock art were the medicine people or Shaman's, who engraved their art as a means of entering the supernatural world and recording the shaman's experience among the spirits.
The area offers various other attractions. The Petrified Forest is a deposit of giant tree trunks which have turned to stone. The Organ pipes consist of a mass of vertical basalt columns and at Doros Crater, fossil remains have been found among the rocks. South of Twyfelfontein is the Burnt Mountain, a 12km long volcanic ridge which features a beautiful display of colours at early morning and dusk. Other activities in the area including locally sourced crystals at the craft market near the Spitzkoppe, buying marble souvenirs at the Karibib marble works, a vist to the Damara Living Museum.
ETOSHA NATIONAL PARK
Etosha National Park, situated in northern Namibia, is a wildlife paradise and Namibia's top wildlife destination. It is home to no fewer than 114 mammal species, 340 bird species and 110 reptile species. Larger mammals include lion, elephant, rhino, leopard, giraffe, cheetah, hyena, impala, springbok, zebra and eland. Birds include flamingo, pelican, eagle, goshawk, kori bustard, ostrich and lilac-breasted roller. The scopes owl emerges mostly in the evening, merging perfectly against the mottled bark of the mopane tree.
Vegetation in the park is varied, but consists mostly of mopane woodland and grassy plains. Animals, particularly during the dry season, are dependent on the many waterholes found in the park, and these serve as great places for game viewing. Watch a family of elephants silently appear and hurry excitedly towards the water, lions lazing in the shade, elegant giraffes loping across the road and herds of springboks grazing on the grassy plains.
The park spans an area of 22,270 square kilometres and is dominated by a large, white depression (the Etosha Pan), which used to be a lake. It is now a dry, dusty, clay and salt pan, which occasionally fills with water after heavy rain. This temporary water attracts thousands of wading birds, including flamingos. Springs along the edge of the Etosha Pan also draw large concentrations of wildlife and birds.
The park is serviced with very well maintained roads. There are a variety of accommodations establishments to choose from, including lodges and campsites, both within and on the outskirts of the park. They offer a variety of facilities and activities, including game drives in the park.
The Waterberg Plateau is a spectacular feature of the northern region. This large plateau rises from the plains below to a height of up to 200 metres. Its sheer, red sandstone cliffs are surrounded by luxuriant, dense, subtropical vegetation. The area gets a fair amount of rainfall and is fed by natural springs.
The foothills were the site of the Battle of Waterberg in 1904, when the Herero people lost their last and greatest battle against German colonial forces in the Herero and Namaqua Wars.
Waterberg is famous for the nature reserve established on the plateau in 1972. It is the home of game such as buffalo, white and black rhino, giraffe as well as eland, roan and sable antelope. Activities here include game drives and nature walks. A hike to the top of the plateau rewards you with breathtaking views of the surrounding landscape.
The narrow Caprivi strip of north eastern Namibia is surrounded by 4 perennial rivers - the Chobe, Kwando, Linyanti and mighty Zambezi - and is a wetlands paradise. Experience acacia woodlands, mopane forests and floodplains filled with plants and animals as the area is virtually a game park. Wildlife includes elephant, large herds of buffalo, roan, kudu, impala, warthog, hippo, zebra and wildebeest. It also home to over 400 species of birds. A variety of lodges and camps, usually located along the rivers, offer a means to explore the area. It has much to offer the African adventurer, including 4x4 trails, nature walks, boat trips and extraordinary wildlife. Listen to the magical sounds of the wild African bush or float down the river in a traditional mokoro looking out for hippos and crocodiles along the waters edge. It is a popular fishing destination, with Tiger fish and bream being the main catches. It is home to several ethnic tribes and the people here are naturally warm and welcoming.
The Kavango, in the north east of Namibia, borders the Caprivi strip, with the Okavango River in the north, separating it from Angola. It is home to the Kavango people who mostly make their living along the Okavango river. Some farm livestock and crops such as maize and pearl millet. The women weave incredible baskets and make beautiful clay pots and ornaments, while the men make stunning woodcarvings, drums and furniture. The area boasts many exciting national parks, including the Bwabwata National Park, Mangetti National Park, Buffalo Park and the popular Mahango Game Park, with large wildlife populations. Other attractions are the breathtaking Popa Falls. Relax in one of the many riverine lodges while enjoying a sundowner and views across the river. Visit the Mbunza Living Museum, where you will be introduced to the traditional culture and everyday life of the Kavango people. See their huts and how they hunt and learn about their trades such as blacksmithing and fishing. You can even partake in traditional games and dances.
BWABWATA NATIONAL PARK
Lush vegetation, dense trees, rivers and magnificent wildlife make this a stunning, must-see destination. The Bwabwata National Park is situated in the Kavango East and Zambezi (Caprivi) regions and lies between the Okavango and Kwando rivers. It offers an authentic old-school safari experience, supporting a fantastic variety of wildlife, natural vegetation and beautiful birds. It is made up of five different areas. The Kwando Core area, where you are bound to see four of the big five, is only accessible by 4x4. Other areas are the Buffalo Core area, Mahango Game Reserve, old West Caprivi Game Reserve and Popa Falls. Wildlife includes hippo, crocodile, large herds of elephant, buffalo, lion, warthog, kudu, wildebeest, impala and leopard. Activities offered include game drives, boat rides, sundowners, nature walks and fishing.