Desert Rhino and Elephant Walking Safari

"An Adventurer Safari"

On Adventurer Safaris, a philosophy of partially serviced camping exists with tin styles, thus setting the tone for an adventurous but comfortable wilderness experience. Each large 3m x 3m Dome Tent is fully furnished with comfortable camp stretchers and bedrolls (with pure cotton linen), a bedside table (with 12v electricity) and two small luggage racks. Each camp has two separate flushing toilet systems and two hot water bucket shower systems. Amenities and towels are also provided. Camp is lit with hurricane lanterns and has a 5m x 5m dining area, set with metal director chairs and tables with linen tablecloths. Experience an old-style serviced camping safari, which recreates a sense of pure adventure for the traveller seeking an authentic safari. Wilderness’ Adventurer Safaris provide fully serviced spacious tents, styled to provide elegant comfort in the ultimate wild camping game safari.

For more than 20 years, the Save the Rhino Trust (SRT) has worked ceaselessly to protect the last free-ranging rhino population on Earth: the rare desert-adapted black rhino. In the remote, rugged Palmwag Concession, teams of local trackers use camel trains to help with the research and monitoring of this animal. On this original and exciting Exploration, guests join the "ships of the desert" on a great adventure: an eight-day walk (little time is spent actually on the camels) across the oldest desert in the world, where a camel train and a team of Save the Rhino trackers take us deep into the heart of the Namib Desert in search of this rare and endangered species. Guests thus gain access to some of the most remote and almost inaccessible regions of the Concession.

The revenues generated by this venture are directly channelled into the critically important conservation of the rhino population of the area. This serviced camping safari offers a unique adventure for the traveller seeking an authentic African experience and a means to join skilled rhino trackers in their conservation, research and custodian work. By means of lively camp fires, hurricane lanterns and a warm atmosphere permeating the camp (and its simple comforts), Adventurer camping brings the guest closer to nature. Such camps are specifically outfitted to create that sense of wilderness with a clear emphasis on essential camp comforts and maximum wilderness experience.

Guide: The entire safari is guided and hosted by a professional and passionate guide, Gary Booth who shares in-depth knowledge with the guests, to present a seamless, well-rounded experience. In addition, a team of experienced Save the Rhino Trust trackers accompany the trip, providing comprehensive interaction and valuable experience of the positions they hold as caretakers of these magnificent animals.

Exclusive experience: As the 450 000-hectare Palmwag Concession in north-west Namibia is a private reserve, exclusivity in this pristine and unspoiled is unrivalled. All campsite allocations are for the use of Wilderness Safaris guests only, while at Palmwag Lodge we meet other independent guests.

Day 1: Palmwag Lodge, Palmwag Concession

Palms whispering in the wind and spectacular surroundings (with awe-inspiring sunsets), the home of the famous desert-adapted elephant and the rare black rhino - this is Palmwag Lodge, one of Namibia's oldest and most popular tourist locations.

The lodge offers 24 beds in 2- or 3-bed thatched bungalows, a fully licensed restaurant, swimming pool under shady palms and a small "Pool Bar". On our arrival at Palmwag Lodge, we are welcomed by the guide to the area and receive a full briefing on the tour ahead.

Day 2: Aub River, Palmwag Concession

After an early breakfast, we depart northwards by game drive to Mbakondja Camel Camp to meet the Save the Rhino Camel team.

Then we ride/ walk south to the Aub River, where our Adventurer camp has been erected prior to our arrival. In addition to the tracking and hopefully viewing of desert-adapted elephant and black rhino (the latter a rare subspecies of rhino), our guides reveal the sheer magnificence of nature's survival strategies in this arid environment, concentrating on a variety of topics from birds, insects, medicinal uses of plants and viewing general wildlife.

Day 3: Barab River, Palmwag Concession

Our journey continues today with a walk to the Barab River, concentrating on the tracking of the elusive desert giants through a series of hills, rocky landscapes and diverse geology. After even a little rain, the gravel plains are covered in long golden grasses that ripple in the wind.

Day 4: Kudu Springs, Palmwag Concession

After an early breakfast, we ride out further west through the Okomutati Springs to Kudu Springs. This area is almost inaccessible to vehicles, an area of pristine wilderness where the sense of remoteness is complete. En route we also have the opportunity to see extraordinary plant life including the ancient Welwitschia plants and numerous lichens.

Day 5: Hunkab Spring, Palmwag Concession

Heading northwards, we move to the next popular drinking point for the Kaokoland's diverse animal life, the Hunkab Spring. Fresh drinking water in the desert forms the basis for seasonal animal movements and a surprisingly diverse range of animal life can be seen here. Animals from Hartmann's zebra to elephant come to slake their thirst.

Day 6 & 7: Hoanib Camp, Kaokoland

We bid farewell to the Save the Rhino Trust trackers and depart on game drive from Hunkab, travelling through the concession to the ephemeral river of the Hoanib Valley. Here, in an area seemingly parched and desolate, we enter one of Namibia's richest desert wildlife areas. We stay at Hoanib Camp, and enjoy game walks, rhino tracking, game drives and night drives into the Hoanib River valley.

Our Discoverer-styled tented Hoanib Camp close to the Hoanib River is a relaxed haven from which we explore this wild land on foot, or from the comfort of one of our safari vehicles. The camp is powered by solar-powered inverter systems and there are no generators or pumps running whilst guests are in camp. There are 5 guest walk-in hexagonal meru-style tents with en suite and flush toilet and bucket shower bathrooms in a separate portion of the tent. Each tent is furnished with necessary comforts and styled with burnt orange interiors, wood and brass, effectively recreating a sense of the early explorers.

Day 8: Air charter to Palmwag Lodge

After an early breakfast and game drive, we fly back to Palmwag Lodge, in time for a lunch and final farewell to the adventure.

THIS ITINERARY IS AVAILABLE ON FLEXIBLE DATES AND ITINERARIES, FOR TAILOR-MADE SAFARIS FOR SMALL GROUPS UP TO EIGHT GUESTS, MINIMUM 4 GUESTS.