Tour Spotlight: Raw Namibia

07/08/2018

The ultimate adventure and bucket list trip is one that ventures to Africa. We are often asked what are the ‘highlights’ when we are taking travel enquiries. One of our regular blog posts include what we call ‘Tour Spotlight’ and this post highlights just some of the best bits of our Raw Namibia.

This journey is the ultimate conservation experience for cat lovers and those with a fascination in nomadic cultures! Whether it be cheetahs or leopards, bushmen or hunter-gatherer tribes, we have a journey that will provide you with a life changing experience as you contribute to the conservation of Namibia’s cats and diminishing traditional tribes. Have your camera ready because this is one destination that can turn even the most basic of photographers into a pro!

Go telemetry tracking for lions, elephants and leopards. Walk with caracals and go behind the scenes of the Leopard Conservation Fund. Join San Bushmen around their evening fire and listen to their traditional stories about the stars, animals, galaxies and the universe. Go on a bush hunt with the Ju’hoan hunters, collecting bush foods of berries, tubers, honey and small animals.

Cheetah Conservation Fund

Founded in 1990 by Dr. Laurie Marker, the mission of the CCF is to be an internationally recognised centre of excellence in research and education on cheetahs and their ecosystems. Visit the museum and learn about the behavior and biology of the cheetah, how their range and numbers have diminished, and the unique Namibian ecosystem that supports Africa’s most endangered cat species.

The Cheetah Conservation Fund is located in the spectacular Waterburg Region that incorporates the Waterberg Plateau National Park and the farming districts from Outjo and Otjiwarongo to Grootfontein and Tsumeb in the west. The Waterberg Plateau rises like an island some 200m above the surrounding African bush and savannah with brick-red sandstone formations and lush green vegetation. Established as a reserve for endangered and protected species it is home to 25 game species, over 200 species of birds, black and white rhino, roan and sable antelope and buffalo.

Cheetah Conservation Fund
Cheetah Conservation Fund

Nhoma Safari Camp

Nhoma Safari Camp is a small activity orientated tented camp, situated in the north eastern corner of Namibia on state-owned land. The camp was built by Arno Oosthuysen with the help of the Nhoq’ma community within the traditional area of the Ju’hoan San or Bushmen (as they are commonly known in Namibia). Your stay in the Camp allows the community to generate income, which in turn buys food and supplies not provided by the surrounding environment. Without the camp and the economy it creates, the community would have had to have left their ancestral land and moved to settled areas such as Tsumkwe.

Erindi Private Game Reserve

Erindi is a jewel in the heart of the wild Namibian landscape and covering 70,000 hectares it is one of the largest private game reserves in Africa. Erindi falls within the Nama Karoo biome, with the central Namibian highlands being much cooler and less harsh than the arid lowlands that make up the majority of the country. Considered arid to semi-arid, the land is characterised by scattered low dwarf shrubs interspersed with grasslands and has an amazing array of diverse landscapes including mountains, riverine thickets, inselbergs (‘island mountains’) and grassland savannahs for as far as the eye can see.

Game here includes big cats such as lion, leopard, and cheetah, and you may also see wild dog – one of the few locations in Namibia where you can spot these magnificent and endangered animals. Elephant, rhino, giraffe and a plethora of plains game also make their home here.

Caracal Walk

Sure to be everyone’s highlight is your walk with tamed Caracal cats. Their name is derived from the Turkish word ‘karakulak’ which means ‘black ears’, these slender, mid-sized cats are characterised by their black tufted ears. During the walk you will see how these beautiful animals behave in the wild, stalking birds and small mammals as they regain their natural instincts and hone their hunting skills. You will also experience the complete silence of the Namibian veldt while spotting antelope and a wide variety of bird species.

Caracal walk
Caracal walk

San Bushmen

Spend time with the Bushmen to learn about hunting, setting game traps and tracking animals in the veldt. Use traditional San fire sticks to make fire and discover plants used for medicinal purposes before joining in with traditional dances and singing! If you are here during school term, you may also visit the local school. The ancestors of the hunter-gatherer S?n are considered to have been the first inhabitants of what is now Botswana, Namibia and South Africa. The San Bushmen were traditionally semi-nomadic, moving seasonally within certain defined areas based on the availability of resources such as water, game animals, and edible plants.

San Bushmen
San Bushmen

More information about this experience can be found on our website. If you would like to make this experience yours then contact us so we can help you secure your spot on this amazing adventure of a lifetime – places are limited. We look forward to welcoming you on our Raw Namibia tour.