Testimonial from Thia Bunker

"What an adventure!"

What an adventure! The ‘Ultimate Namibian Safari’ is an overland trip across Namibia visiting many of its iconic locations. The Namib/Naukluft National Park encompassing a portion of the Namib Desert (thought to be the planets oldest at 43 million years). It is a barren and beautiful place, home to 700 year old dead trees that don’t decay because it is so arid, fog catching Namib Desert Beetles, and Oryx so efficient at absorbing water they concentrate their urine into pellets.

Sossusvlei is a land of sweeping red dunes. Over time iron in the sand oxidizes, like metal rusting, the brighter the color the older the dune. It is also home to some of the tallest sand dunes in the world, the tallest being Big Daddy measuring in at roughly 325 meters…

The dramatic desolation of Damaraland with its desert dwelling elephants was a trip highlight for me. They are uniquely adapted to extremely dry sandy environments and are one group of only two known populations in the world…Damaraland is also home to Twyfelfontein, a UNESCO World Heritage Site with one of the largest concentrations of rock art anywhere in Africa. Hundreds of San rock paintings and engravings spanning at least 2000 years can be easily seen.…

Etosha is one of the best places to see rhinos. The biggest elephants in Africa are found here, as well as the White Ghosts, Etoshas famed white elephants. Their skin stained white from the clay and calcite dust they regularly bathe in to cool themselves. We were most fortunate to see a standoff between a lone black rhino and a young bull elephant full of bravado. The standoff lasted less than a minute but seeing these two giants face off was mesmerizing. As with any encounter with a truly wild and endangered animal the experience was spellbinding…

The lions – wow. I have been to Botswana and Zimbabwe on previous trips to Africa but never saw lions. In Etosha I saw them numerous times. My first sighting consisted of a pride of nine including a young cub. We sat watching a lioness defend her kill from Black-backed Jackals and were close enough to hear her crunch through the bones. Truly incredible!...

The key to any successful adventure lies with the guide.  Franco was ABSOLUTELY THE BEST!!!. Always good humored, an excellent communicator, immensely knowledgeable, enthusiastic and passionate about nature and all creatures (large and small), expertly placing  us perfectly into the best positions for optimal wildlife viewing time after time. He brought every scene and second of Namibia to life. I am forever grateful to him for taking us on a remarkable journey of many layered and rich experiences and for helping us understand all that is Namibia.