Best Of

Sandyfeet thank you so much for sharing your adventure with us. I booked this journey over a year ago and was waiting with bated breath for someone to take it and then share. So you have made my day! I know it’s sort of a long journey to get there and you have convinced me it’s totally worth it. I’m now getting psyched for the trip. Thank you again

Such a great narrative. Thank you for sharing your experiences.

Great Report Sandy Feet. A sidenote…..when we went to Namibia in 2018, one of the places we stayed was the old Andersson Camp, a very old basic tented camp, for example, the ‘shower’ was a round tin bath built into the floor and you stepped down into it. Our group were the last people to stay there before it was to be torn down to build the Ongava Lodge. But the hide was there then and we watched all kinds of animals at the waterhole, from rhino, giraffe, oryx, sable, zebras etc. Two of my photos there, we have blown up, one of the classic giraffe doing the splits to drink and another of five zebras in a row also drinking at the waterhole.. I’d go back to Namibia again in a heartbeat, it’s so beautiful. Our most recent tour of just under three weeks there was a mainly a road trip. Last time we flew everywhere. We so enjoyed the scenery along the way and visited the four corners of the country, it’s so large. We were lucky to stroll with San Bushmen and visit the largest meteorite ever found on earth too. We were able to cross the river border into Angola for a short while. Even though we have a rule that we don’t count a country as visited unless we stay at least one night, we counted that one.

Sandy Feet!
Terrific! I really look forward to experiencing this beautiful country!
Thank you for the detailed description of your magical journey.

First, the Tauck brochure spells everything out for you about this truly well curated itinerary so I will simply comment on our experiences and will not reveal any of the special Tauck surprises in store for these of you going on this epic tour. I will try to organize my comments into several categories so you can choose to read about what interests you most and skip the rest if you feel like it.

Accommodations: We loved each and every one of our hotels and lodges although the cancellation of our UA flight feom EWR to JNB prevented us from enjoying our gift of time at the Weinberg in Windhoek. Knowing we would miss the Welcome Dinner our superb TD arranged for dinner and a bottle of wine to be delivered to our room where we ate on our balcony. I cannot, therefore, make many observations about the Weinberg other than the breakfast was a nice buffet and we could eat outside in the courtyard with its lovely water fountains. Comfy bed, large enough room, and first rate service from the staff. Kwessi Dunes Lodge, again a wonderful setting with its nearby watering hole and proximity to Sossusvlei and Deadvlei We did not use the bedroom much because we preferred sleeping in the huge outside night bed under the African skies. There is both an indoor and outdoor shower. The spa is small but sweet, and Nancy gave a terrific massage.The pool is quite small,but when my husband came up for a breath he was face to face with a thirsty oryx at the trough abutting the pool. The Strand in Swakopmund is perfectly located on the Atlantic Ocean beach, close to shopping and good restaurants as well as wonderful Walvis Bay, approximately a half hour’s drive away. Every room had a mini balcony and a beautiful beach view. Ongava Lodge is one of the most exciting places because of the hide where you can watch animals at the water hole night and day. The pool there is quite cold, but I found it very refreshing. Our bed was the first place where there was netting, but the bugs were practically nonexistent, and sleeping there was just fine. This is the only site where you will spend three days. Don’t miss the tiny chapel. You need not be of any religious persuasion to enjoy the serenity and the history. Ask staff members Judith or Leroy to describe its fascinating provenance. Finally,the crown jewel: Omaanda Lodge located in the Zannier Reserve. Tauck sure knows how to end the tour with a big bang. Infinity pool ( water temp warmer than Ongava ), small watering hole without much activity that I saw, but by those last two days you will not be disappointed. Outdoor firepit and dining. A bathroom fit for a kimg and a fireplace that opened intto both bed and bath. Simon made a fire for us each night. The first night I made myself a bubble bath and sipped Amarula while fire gazing. Moderately sized private outdoor deck. Our TD said they are working with Omaanda to make it,rather than the Weinerg, the last option to use your “gift of time” I did not want to leave Omaanda.

Activities: There are so many cool ones that it’s impossible to pick a favorite. It is brilliant the way Tauck starts you off in the dunes of the NamibRand Reserve, next moves to the seashore, and finally into the savanna and the bush.. To fill time while our luncheon and rooms were being prepared at Kwessi Dunes, we visited a school called “Little Bugs”. It was hot. We were tired, and, even as a former teacher who loves children, this was my least favorite activity. The school we visited at the Zannier Reserve was much more pleasant for me as was the school at the Himba village. That’s right, we visited three schools: one too many in my estimation. Possibly,Tauck could eliminate LittleBugs, take a later flight from WDH to Kwessi Sunes where we could at least relax even if the rooms were not ready. While at Kwessi we rose before dawn to see the glorious sunrise over the dunes. We did not climb the 325 meter Big Daddy and instead enjoyed walking in Deadvlei while waiting for the intrepid climbers to return.. The 27 year old in our group did the long climb and he loved it. Game viewing is excellent, especially in Etosha. There are sundowners almost every night. I live at the beach so I felt very much at home in Swakopmund and Walvis Bay. The catamaran ride was fun and full of surprises. Nelson was our kayaking guide, and the baby seals were frolickimg all around us and the pretty pink jellyfish were spawning. There is usually a flock of flamingos which Nelson jokingly called “strawberry chicken”! We did not eat them because the beach barbecue was awaiting us and the others who hung back on the catamaran. I have already described the very special hide for game viewing at Ongava. Also great game viewing and another nice Tauck surprise involving rhinos. Ongava is Afrikaans for rhinoceros, and you will see many of them as well as almost all of the other Big Five. We went to a Himba village ( this is where our itinerary was tweaked a bit to account for an airstrip that was not in service, not sure why ) and spent time the chief and the women learning about their fascinating history and culture. Later that day we flew to WDH and drove about half an hour south to the Omaanda Zannier Reserve which was a true highlight. Again,Tauck saves the best for last. We started our last full Namibian day at a school/day care center where the children were so sweet, Visiting the anti poaching ranger headquarters was so informative. Namibia is all about conservation, and their motto is that there is no such thing as a problem animal. I will say cuddling rescued baby baboons while they groomed us was delightful despite getting pooped on a bit. There is one other activity at the Zannier Reserve, but let that be another surprise.

For all the foodies out there: Every meal was excellent. The lodges took great care of the vegetarian in our group. There was usually a game meat and/or or chicken or fish option. On our first night in Swakopmund we mixed it up a bit by having a light lunch,skipping the included dinner meal, and inviting the only solo traveler to dine with us at The Tug. The Tug is famous for its seafood, but there were many other choices the menu. It was an eight minute walk from the Strand and safe at night although The Tug does provide shuttle service. Reservations are required in advance as it is very popular. Your TD will provide other restaurant options for the second night at Swakupmond when dinner is not included. Three of our group chose the German restaurant and raved about the strudels. We enjoyed the “tugamisu” with our chocolate loving new friend. Because we knew we were going to be completely satisfied by the beach barbecue the next day, we decided against a big dinner, .The beach barbecue at Walvis Bay was elegantly prepared. Sipping ice cold champagne with oysters fresh from the oyster farms in the bay before tucking into surf ( rock lobster/crayfish - I ate three! ) and turf while sitting on the beach listening to the surf was heaven for us. After that large lunch we simply sat at the Strand’s Farmhouse Bar bar and had a great margarita pizza and baked oysters. The Strand has its own brewery,and if you like beer then you will love theirs.

Wrapping up this long-winded.recap with two final sentences: If you have been on other safaris and want to experience some of the loveliest landscapes on our planet, please choose Namibia, if you are really fortunate to have extremely experienced TD Chantél Van Der Linde, then I hope you will be as impressed as we were by her people skills, organizational skills, emotional intelligence, keen eye, her ability to listen closely and carefully to each individual, and to communicate clearly the depth and breadth of her knowledge of Namibia in particular and Africa in general.

So long from the “ Sandy, Salty, and Saucy Six” who were delighted each day with each others company in addition to the miracles we witnessed together

This was my experience of Namibia last November, my second time there. This is the sand dunes area

Stellie Hello!
Hey, I'm getting in touch with the kwessi dunes Louge to see if it's possible to do the Hot air Balloon, I will let you know.

Stellie, just returning from Epic Namibia and will post my comments and observations on that page soon. We left our Tauck duffels with our FABULOUS TD at the Omaanda Lodge, our final stop. One was full of some of our safari gear for the staff there, and our TD kept the second one as she said someone might need it in Windhoek. She mentioned she has one guest doing back to back Elegant South Africa(?) and Epic Namibia. If that is you, then please be our guest and enjoy. It is truly EPIC. ❤️👏