DESTINATION INFORMATION
You know some places are different but you don't know how different until you've been there. Namibia is a classic example of this. See the photographs, read the brochures, yet nothing will prepare you for the sheer vastness of the country, or how barren it is. An amazing place which you must visit.
The Etosha National Park is one of the most famous game sanctuaries in the world. Located in the north, surrounding the Etosha Pan, the park is home to vast stocks of wildlife, particularly elephants, lions, zebras, giraffes, leopards, cheetahs, rhinos, springboks and many more, far too numerous to mention.
Waterberg Plateau Park, Namibia's only mountain resort, has striking red sandstone cliffs and is home to many rare and endangered species of game. En route to Etosha is Lake Otjikoto, 24km (15 miles) northeast of the mining town of Tsumeb. Once fabled to be bottomless, it is now known to be 55m (140ft) deep and contains some rare fish.
Fish River Canyon is in the south, and only second in dimensions to the Grand Canyon. Situated between Seeheim and Ai-Ais (a hot spring resort), the gigantic cleft stretches for 150km (93 miles) and is up to 27km (17 miles) wide and up to 550m (1804ft) deep in parts.
The Namib Desert, running almost the entire length of the coast, appears more like the surface of the moon with its towering sand dunes (some of them 300m/1000ft high), and is believed to be the oldest desert in the world. The delightful seaside resort of Swakopmund is situated in the middle of Namibia's coastline, surrounded by desert and sea. You must go dune driving. It is fantastic fun, and not very expensive. Further north, The Skeleton Coast is a strange desert shoreline with massive dunes and treacherous rocks, the name relating to the number of ships wrecked and lost in the vicinity.
The area around Sossusvlei is an ocean of sand dunes up to 300 metres high, stretching as far as the eye can see. Home to countless water birds in the rainy season and oryxes, springbok and ostriches during the dry period. Nearby, the Namib Naukluft Park is the fourth largest conservation area in the world.
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BEST TIMES FOR TOURING |
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Hockey [Apr - Sept] |
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Netball [Apr - Sept] |
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Cricket [Sept - Mar] |
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Rugby [Apr - Sept] |
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Athletics [All year] |
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Basketball [All year] |
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Golf [All year] |
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TRAVEL
Like every other destination, the scheduled flight services to any location in the world depends on the number of tourists and business people who want to fly there. Namibia is a very small country in terms of population but in geography, it is massive. Its geography is its particular strength.
But, primarily because of the distances between the various key tourist attractions within the country, there is a very limited domestic flight schedule. Most of these flights are with very small aircraft which means that internal travel is performed on road. Between the main destinations, the roads are excellent, and with very little traffic. Tar roads are the main roads which we are so used to. However, there are a huge number of non-tar roads which are used by tourists to get to the more difficult to reach destinations. All our tours travel internally by air conditioned luxury motor coaches between the main locations.
Flights to Namibia:
- Air Namibia ~ Non-stop flights from London. The airline connects Europe with Namibia on a daily basis with its four weekly flights from Frankfurt and three times weekly from London Gatwick. In addition, they have excellent connecting services between Windhoek and Cape Town and Jo'burg, flying twice daily, which makes it so easy to combine Namibia with South Africa. Daily services operate between Windhoek and other regional airports within Namibia.
- South African Airways ~ We use SAA to travel via the major hubs of Cape Town and Jo'burg to assemble these two-country tours.
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FIXTURES
Our commitment to the country is very strong and we want more people to go there because the country offers a unique combination of factors unlike any other country, even in Africa.
As part of this commitment, in conjunction with Air Namibia, we took an educational group of school sports teachers there in May and June 2006. The following are comments various teachers made about their visit to Windhoek High School:
- "Very warm welcome, drinks and food provided and staff very obliging."
- "Outstanding hospitality; would definitely use this school."
- "Very accommodating, lovely people and good venue."
These comments confirm that Namibia is a very welcoming destination for UK school sports tours. Having sent more schools to this country than any other UK sports tour operator, you can be assured that our people on the ground will get you quality schools and hosts. We'll give our customary expert advice on fixture levels.
"I believe we were the first sports tour operator back into Namibia after tours to South Africa were allowed. Since then, we have built up an unenviable experience with the many tours we have sent there. Namibia will always have to be combined with its neighbour South Africa as with a population of only 1.4 million, it does not have the infrastructure to fulfil a full tour." Edwin Doran
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FIXTURE SUITABILITY |
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ACCOMMODATION
For school tours, billeting would be the norm for most of your accommodation when playing games against the prime local schools in the major residential areas. However, there is no point in going to Namibia just to play sport. You have to see this quite amazing country.
Normally, we use the government lodges in the Etosha National Park. These lodges have been purpose-built to provided value for money accommodation in hotel blocks. They also provide catering and refreshment facilities in bars and restaurants to cater for their guests. They are basic accommodation with private facilities (do not expect 5* accommodation or facilities) but they do fulfil a purpose. Comments received from a recent visit by some teachers to Etosha Safari Camp include 'Fun place to stay'', and 'Good to do - very African experience'.
Outside of the park, if you are being accommodated in places like Swakopmund, which you must go to if only for the brilliant 4x4 dune driving, you will be accommodated in very good quality hotels, normally minimum 3*, very similar to what we use in South Africa. A recent visit by some teachers to Namibia produced the following comments about their accommodation:
Testimonials:
Hansa Hotel, Swakopmund: 'Great accommodation in suitable location - cheaper rooms perfectly adequate.' and 'Outstanding service, best hotel on trip - ideal location.' Tour Manager
Windhoek Country Club: 'Superb - beautiful surroundings, ideal for pupils', and 'Excellent hotel, would love to go back'. Tour Manager
One more thing to remember ~ People eat very early in Namibia, with many restaurants taking last orders at 9:30 pm.
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WHAT TO DO
- Etosha National Park ~ One of the most famous game sanctuaries in the world, covering 22,270 sq kms. See separate page.
- Waterburg Plateau Park ~ Namibia's only mountain resort, and home to many rare and endangered species of game.
- Namib Desert ~ Towering sand dunes and is believed to be the oldest desert in the world.
- Swakopmund ~ delightful seaside resort, situated between the coast and the desert. You must try dune driving!
- Brandberg/Twyfelfontein ~ Ancient rock engravings, of which the White Lady of the Brandberg is the most famous.
- Activities ~ Namibia is one of the best places in the world to enjoy sand skiing, with one of the best venues is the 30 km coastal dune belt between Walvis Bay and Swakopmund.
- Stargazing ~ Namibia's climate, altitude, minor light and air pollution offers stargazers sights of the southern as well as the northern hemisphere, missing only a few degrees around the celestial north pole. The Hess Telescope is situated 100 km west of Windhoek, an area well known for its excellent optical quality.
- Fishriver Canyon ~ By far the most popular hike in Namibia and one of Southern Africa's top five, the hiking route takes you through an ancient landscape of rock and utter silence.
- Katatura ~ Guided tours to Katutura introduce visitors to the vast diversity of cultures living together in peace, where you will see the lifestyle in the various settlements, homesteads, markets, different projects, local cuca shops and shebeens, schools and kindergartens.
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