The Namib Desert Ride

Welcome to Namibia!
The Windhoek Airport Shuttle will collect you from Windhoek International Airport and transfer you to your first overnight in Windhoek. Here you will meet your guide and fellow riders. Over dinner you will be introduced to the rest of your fellow riders and be briefed about what to expect on your adventure!

After breakfast you will be transferred to Sossusvlei, an exciting journey via Spreetshoogte Pass which will provide the first sightings of the vast Namib Desert below. Meet and greet will happen with the horses and crew at the first camp site before a delicious lunch is served. In the afternoon it is possible to explore the terminal pan of Sossusvlei and clamber up the soaring sand dunes for a panoramic view before heading back to camp as the sun sets. Dinner is cooked over an open fire in true Namibian style.

Venturing out on your first ride you will be stunned by the huge grassy valley stretching out ahead of you, with sights of the distant Namib sands. Riding into the lunch spot you will be pleasantly surprised by the desert oasis of Solitaire. The afternoon ride meanders past the rugged Namib Naukluft Mountains before returning for dinner around the camp fire. The camps water trough is often the victim of theft from mountain zebra, kudu and oryx who won’t pass up the opportunity of a handy water stop in the night!

Camp life has a leisurely pace – days begin at sunrise with the aroma of freshly brewed 100% Arabica coffee wafting through camp. After an ample breakfast we start riding around 8 am for 4 – 5 hours. Lunch breaks are 1 – 2 hours, followed by another 2-3 hours riding in the afternoon. Most days the backup meet us for lunch. We ride 20 – 60 km per day at all paces over rough terrain. This ride has a technical scramble into and out of the Kuiseb Canyon on foot.

Morning number four leads you along gentle dunes and through untouched wilderness without a soul in sight. Adrenaline starts to soar in the afternoon as you canter across the dry riverbeds before climbing up to tonight’s campsite, set up on a small hill. This evening you will see a change from the usual alfresco dining as dinner is served in an old converted farm barn which serves for an excellent dining room.

This morning brings stunning red sand dunes and descent into the rugged Gaub Canyon where lunch is then taken. In the afternoon you climb back out of the canyon, before venturing onwards across the plains to a cave boasting impressive views of the badlands and the ephemeral Kuiseb River.

While Namibia’s westward-flowing rivers rarely flow, they all run through deep valleys etched at a time when Namibia was wetter and sea levels were lower. We cross two river canyons on our way to the Namib plains; the Gaub and the much larger Kuiseb which forms a dramatic end to the 400-km long Namib Sand Sea. The river marks the end of the Namib Sand Sea and its sporadic flow stops the dunes from crossing it. Following the tracks of Mountain Zebra which crisscross the steep sides of the canyon, a technical descent requires some challenging walking/scrambling into and out of the Canyon. The high, narrow walls of the canyon preserve an almost year-round supply of precious water for the game in this area.

Good riding surface often results in an increase in pace as you head to the water point situated at Ganab, a stop-off that often provides some plains game sightings such as zebra, oryx and ostrich. The plains are cut across by various watercourses, dividing the vast space with lines of trees, which if you are lucky, can sometimes be seen giving shelter to desert-adapted giraffe.

Day eight is another day where faster riding is often possible and a chance to release your inner cowboy as you travel across the Tinkas and Tumas plains to Hotsas. As the plains become more arid strange shapes form and disappear in mirages and dinosaur-like plants, the gnarled Welwitschia Mirabilis, tell of a land of great antiquity and of tremendous solitude.

The Swakop river basin has eroded a truly ancient geology (600 million years old) exposing a bizarre moon-like landscape. Curious black ridges of dolerite intrusions form whalebacks on the hills surrounding the river basin. From the desert, you pass through the spectacular Moon Valley on your descent to a wonderfully sheltered campsite in the Swakop River.

Awake and set off for your final ride along the Swakop River to the coast and take in your first view of the Atlantic Ocean and first sign of civilization for ten days! To round off the spectacular adventure you will have one final canter along the brilliant white sands of the beach before collapsing in a gloriously satisfied heap at the comfortable guesthouse. The horses will also be putting their feet up in a paddock nearby overlooking the sea. The last supper is taken after sundowners and you can take a look back over what will have undoubtedly been an adventure of a lifetime.

You will return to Windhoek after breakfast for your flight home. Flights should depart Windhoek earliest 15:00.