At the crack of dawn you are woken by a knock on your tent and a cheerful “good morning happy campers” from your overland guide as she goes about preparing breakfast on the open wood fire in the middle of your camp.
Spitzkoppe campsite / Flickr photo by Tak from HK
Campfires and beer
Memories flood back to you as you become aware of your surroundings. The previous afternoon the custom-built overland truck carrying all camping necessities, pulled up at a wild camp at the base of the beautiful Spitzkoppe, a granite outcrop rising some 1700m above the surrounding gravel plains of central west Namibia. The granite rock became a playground as you explored its heights and crevices. As the sun dropped to the horizon, the dust in the air over the gravel plains created a magical African sunset, the suns rays reflected burnt orange off Spitzkoppes granite rock. A magical evening was spent under the clear starry sky, Barking Geckos called while you sat around a glowing campfire sipping a Windhoek lager with your fellow campers and guide.
Another day another destination
After a tasty breakfast of French toast, hot tea and cereal prepared by your guide, with communal effort, camp is packed up and you board the overland truck to head off to the next exciting destination – Etosha National Park. Many hours are spent travelling on board the overland truck, its kind of part of the overlanding experience. Rough gravel roads, dust, the rattle and shake of the truck, African tunes of “The Best of Johnny Clegg” playing in the background, a competitive card game enjoyed by your fellow travellers, as you watch the African savannah pass by.
Three giraffes / Flickr photo by naddel@weltfrauschaft
As you enter Etosha National Park in northern Namibia, the pace slows right down and everyone grabs a window seat to start the game spotting in this popular game reserve. Here your guides experience and knowledge of wildlife is brought to light. If she is worth her salt, she will be interpreting the signs of the bush to you, not only identifying the animal, bird, tree, rock, insect, snake species but giving you some background on their habits and habitats. Being a Field Guide means being able to interpret the African bush and all overland guides are registered field guides.
Not for everyone
Overland Safaris are not for everyone and a clear understand should be obtained before heading out on one. They are adventurous, active and continuously on the move. It’s a wonderful way to experience the major highlights of a few countries. Large distances are covered and you will travel with a relatively large group of people. You will get dirty, some camps don’t have showers and you will need to be prepared to rough it. The tour does not always run to schedule, sometimes a flooding river will stop you in your tracks or your guide will have to test the trucks 4×4 abilities and sometimes get stuck, which then requires your assistance to push. The guides have a great ability to create excellent teamwork within the group and most of the time these safaris are excellent fun!
Southern and East Africa offer a diverse range of exciting overland safaris aimed at the budget traveller. These range from 7 to 56 days long and can traverse multiple countries.
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A day in the life on an overland safari
At the crack of dawn you are woken by a knock on your tent and a cheerful “good morning happy campers” from your overland guide as she goes about preparing breakfast on the open wood fire in the middle of your camp.
Spitzkoppe campsite / Flickr photo by Tak from HK
Campfires and beer
Memories flood back to you as you become aware of your surroundings. The previous afternoon the custom-built overland truck carrying all camping necessities, pulled up at a wild camp at the base of the beautiful Spitzkoppe, a granite outcrop rising some 1700m above the surrounding gravel plains of central west Namibia. The granite rock became a playground as you explored its heights and crevices. As the sun dropped to the horizon, the dust in the air over the gravel plains created a magical African sunset, the suns rays reflected burnt orange off Spitzkoppes granite rock. A magical evening was spent under the clear starry sky, Barking Geckos called while you sat around a glowing campfire sipping a Windhoek lager with your fellow campers and guide.
Another day another destination
After a tasty breakfast of French toast, hot tea and cereal prepared by your guide, with communal effort, camp is packed up and you board the overland truck to head off to the next exciting destination – Etosha National Park. Many hours are spent travelling on board the overland truck, its kind of part of the overlanding experience. Rough gravel roads, dust, the rattle and shake of the truck, African tunes of “The Best of Johnny Clegg” playing in the background, a competitive card game enjoyed by your fellow travellers, as you watch the African savannah pass by.
Three giraffes / Flickr photo by naddel@weltfrauschaft
As you enter Etosha National Park in northern Namibia, the pace slows right down and everyone grabs a window seat to start the game spotting in this popular game reserve. Here your guides experience and knowledge of wildlife is brought to light. If she is worth her salt, she will be interpreting the signs of the bush to you, not only identifying the animal, bird, tree, rock, insect, snake species but giving you some background on their habits and habitats. Being a Field Guide means being able to interpret the African bush and all overland guides are registered field guides.
Not for everyone
Overland Safaris are not for everyone and a clear understand should be obtained before heading out on one. They are adventurous, active and continuously on the move. It’s a wonderful way to experience the major highlights of a few countries. Large distances are covered and you will travel with a relatively large group of people. You will get dirty, some camps don’t have showers and you will need to be prepared to rough it. The tour does not always run to schedule, sometimes a flooding river will stop you in your tracks or your guide will have to test the trucks 4×4 abilities and sometimes get stuck, which then requires your assistance to push. The guides have a great ability to create excellent teamwork within the group and most of the time these safaris are excellent fun!
Southern and East Africa offer a diverse range of exciting overland safaris aimed at the budget traveller. These range from 7 to 56 days long and can traverse multiple countries.
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