Accompanied by wildlife photographer and Wildlife Worldwide team member Emma Healey, travel in a small group through the diverse landscapes of Namibia, photographing the best wildlife that this spectacular country has to offer.
Whether you are looking to see and photograph the larger residents, such as elephant, rhino and lion or if you’re more interested in the smaller ones, such as the birds or desert adapted snakes, lizards, chameleons and insects, this trip has it all.
Starting in Okonjima, in the foothills of the Omboroko Mountains, is an excellent beginning to the trip as we can expect to see a wide range of animals with endless photographic opportunities in this private nature reserve. Going on from there to the iconic Etosha National Park, we will encounter the resident elephants, accompanied by rhino, impala, zebra, wildebeest, gemsbok and more. If we are lucky, we should also have the opportunity to see lion and leopard. We have included two sessions at a waterhole hide during our time in the park to provide some creative photographic opportunities and something a little different.
Leaving Etosha, we head further west into the spectacular desert landscapes, searching for desert-adapted elephant, rhino and more against the perfect backdrop for some dramatic images. The final stop takes us further south to the dunes of Swakopmund, where we spend one day exploring the sandy landscape for desert-adapted animals. This will give us the opportunity to get close to some of Namibia’s smaller inhabitants and capture some characterful images. On our final day here, you have the choice of a bird and wildlife trip into the dunes for our last opportunities to add some captivating images to our portfolios.
Typical Itinerary
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Day 1:
Depart UK
Today, we depart the UK on overnight flights to Windhoek, the capital city of Namibia.
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Day 2:
Arrive Windhoek and transfer to Okonjima
On arrival in Windhoek, once we have passed through immigration, we will be met by our driver/guide and transferred to Okonjima, where our safari will begin. We should arrive around lunchtime, so after we have freshened up, we will head out for an afternoon game drive to get our first taste of this private reserve.
Accommodation: Okonjima Bush Camp, 3-nights
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Days 3-4
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Morning and afternoon game drives in Okonjima Reserve
During our stay, we go out on morning and afternoon game drives from the lodge. With our local guide, we look for some of the resident wildlife and good photographic opportunities, and Emma is on hand to provide advice and answers any questions.
Okonjima is privileged to have its own private reserve covering more than 200 square kilometres and is a haven to a huge range of wildlife ranging from plains game and small mammals such as Damara dik-dik and Hartmann's mountain zebra to large carnivores, particularly leopard and cheetah. The birdlife at Okonjima is equally impressive, so we have plenty of avian subjects to look out for and photograph.
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Days 5-7
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Safaris in Etosha National Park
This morning we drive north to Namibia's premier wildlife destination, Etosha National Park. Famed for its dazzling saltpan, abundance of big cats and large herds of plains species, Etosha is home to four of the ‘big five’ and a must visit for any wildlife enthusiast.
Over the next two days we will focus on wildlife viewing and photographic opportunities in the park. We have included two sessions in the waterhole level hide, providing some fantastic possibilities of creative angles and different perspectives. The rest of the time will be spent on game drives in the park. Among the mammals we are likely to see here are black-faced impala, gemsbok (oryx), Damara dik-dik, eland, greater kudu, hartebeest and springbok, together with large numbers of elephant, lion, leopard, black rhino, giraffe, Burchell's zebra and wildebeest.
Accommodation: Onguma Bush Camp, 3-nights
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Days 8-10
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Ongava Private Reserve
After a final waterhole photography hide session, we will make our way across Etosha to the southwest of the park, giving us a different range of landscapes and wildlife, and access to Ongava’s 125 square mile private reserve. During our stay we will go on morning and afternoon game drives, particularly looking for black and white rhino as well as big cats and more of the park’s resident wildlife. We will also go out for a night drive in Ongava’s private reserve to see the more elusive species.
Accommodation: Ongava Lodge, 3-nights
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Day 11:
Transfer to Safarihoek
This morning, we continue heading west across Etosha and this time our destination is Safarihoek Lodge, where we spend the next two nights. This transfer is effectively another game drive until we reach our next accommodation in time for lunch. This afternoon we venture out into the desert landscape to see the desert adapted wildlife.
Accommodation: Safarihoek Lodge, 2-nights
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Day 12:
Explore Western Etosha
This morning, we head into Etosha National Park once again in search of further sightings and photographic opportunities. We return to the lodge for lunch before heading out on another game drive in the late afternoon, this time exploring our lodge's exclusive private reserve.
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Day 13:
Transfer south
This morning we head south through the impressive and often moonlike landscapes of the Damaraland region, stopping en route to break up the journey. We arrive at our next accommodation with time to freshen up before heading out on a game drive in search of desert-adapted elephants and other species.
Accommodation: Malansrus Tented Camp, 1-night
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Days 14-15
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Transfer to Swakopmund & explore Sandwich Harbour
This morning we continue on our journey south to the coastal town of Swakopmund, which takes up most of the day.
The next day we spend the day in and around the dunes surrounding Swakopmund. We start by heading south to Sandwich Harbour, where the sand meets the sea. We explore the dunes looking for opportunities with ostrich, oryx, jackal, springbok and other species that call the area home. In addition to the local wildlife, we look for other photographic opportunities in the dunes.
This afternoon, we drive on to the Walvis Bay lagoon, where there's an abundance of birdlife, including flocks of flamingos.
Accommodation: Swakopmund Luxury Suites, 2-nights
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Day 16:
Swakopmund Sand Dunes & transfer to Windhoek
This morning with our guide, we embark on a voyage of discovery in a landscape that looks uninhabitable, but is in fact alive with a fascinating variety of desert adapted species. Organisms that survive almost entirely on the moisture provided by the fog that rolls in from the cold Atlantic.
Stopping to examine the animal tracks in the dunes, we endeavour to identify which species have been active the night before and, with luck, we'll locate them in their daytime hideouts. This should allow for some fantastic opportunities to photograph these creatures up close and where possible, we'll look at more creative angles encapsulating the landscape too.
After the morning excursion, we make our way towards Windhoek and our accommodation near the capital for our farewell dinner and final night.
Accommodation: River Crossing Lodge, 1-night
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Day 17:
Final game drive & departure
This morning, we enjoy a short morning game drive before returning to the lodge to pack up our bags and then heading to the airport for our flight home or other onward travel arrangements.
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Day 18:
Arrive UK
Please note: The itinerary for our 2026 departure is different to the one shown above. Please contact us for further information about this departure.
