Guided Self-Drive Tour in the Kaokoveld

Fourteen nights into the Kaokoveld of north-west Namibia, self-driven behind a guide vehicle, camping throughout, with the price quoted on application.

The operator states plainly that off-road driving experience is required, and it means it: Van Zyl’s Pass, which the route runs close to, is among the most notorious descents in Africa and the country around it has no infrastructure at all.

Damaraland and the Kaokoveld open it, then Epupa Falls on the Kunene, where the river drops through a gorge on the Angolan border and makoré palms grow along it. The remnants of the Marble Mine follow, abandoned mid-operation, then the Marienfluss Valley, Puros and the dry riverbeds that serve as roads through that country. The Otjiha Plains and Onjuva come next on back roads, with a community campsite near the Khumib River, in country used by Himba families for grazing cattle and goats.

A fully stocked camping 4×4 with a roof tent, an experienced guide in a separate vehicle, campsite accommodation with shared facilities and the specified meals are all included; international flights, fuel, other meals, drinks, optional activities, tips, visas and insurance are not. The price is given on application. The dry season from May to October is the window, since the riverbeds that serve as tracks are impassable when they run. No wildlife sighting can be promised. This is the hardest route the operator sells and the most remote: fifteen days with almost no settlements, no fuel for long stretches and a guide vehicle that is the only backup there is. Anyone without real off-road experience should look at the operator’s easier itineraries first.