NAMIBIA PHOTO ADVENTURE JUNE 2025

Namibia Overland Worldwide Discovery Adventure

Destination summary

After two sold out trips in 2024 I’m heading back to Namibia in 2025 for another adventure.

This incredible Namibian Worldwide Discovery Photo Tour is an overland  journey exploring every aspect of the destination with a maximum 3 of photographer guests on each trip.

The  Namib desert is the world’s oldest and plays host to some of the planet’s highest and most dramatic sand dunes. Further north Etosha National Park, is a vast salt pan and the surrounding plain is home to a vast array of wildlife that’s adapted to Namibia’s dry desert conditions. We’ll expect to see Elephant, Rhino, Springbok, Zebra, Lion and more.

This Namibia Photo Tour will leave a lasting impression on your memory and one that is  well suited to photo safari exploration.

Spitzkoppe in south Damaraland  is range of high granite peaks that light up at dawn and dusk, Swakopmund with its German colonial past sits where the desert meets the sea and Skeleton coast.

The World Heritage Namib Sand Sea features two of the trip highlights in  Sossusvlei and Deadvlei and these will give you more creative  photo opportunities than you can handle. The option of  flying above them in a small helicopter at dawn creating aerial compositions will literally take your breathe away.

To the south The Namib Rand is an incredibly scenic area and Dark Sky Reserve that will offer you a sense of wonder and peace as you gaze across endless plains and soft dunes dotted with Oryx and Springbok.  To the east the Naukluft mountains rise up, its jagged peaks silhouetted below the starry night sky.

Ludertiz and the sand consumed diamond mining town of Kolmanskop are a mixture of decay, the bizarre and flaky pastel painted doorways and rooms. Over the years the town has been consumed with the encroaching desert sand which  creates some unique, abstract compositions. After our morning session we can enjoy a cooked breakfast on site and take in the history in its museum.

Making our way back to Windhoek our final night night on the road of this Namibia photo tour takes place at the Quiver Tree forest  where the soft dusk light makes these interesting trees come alive with bold colour and texture.

This is a photographic journey that’s bursting with amazing locations and experiences.

Namibia Photo Tour – On Location

Namibia ( formally South West Africa ) was a German colony from 1884 until 1915 when it was “passed on” to South Africa. It fought for its independence for over 20 years, finally achieving it 1990. This mix of history, culture and amazing geography creates a fascinating experience.

Etosha National Park

First stop is Etosha National Park and Namibia’s premier wildlife Park. It is without doubt one of the best places in Africa to view and photograph Rhino, Elephant, Giraffe, Lion and Zebra. We can observe and photograph them as they congregate around water holes during the dry winter season. Springbok, Wildebeest and Namibia’s iconic Oryx  also roam the park and the Kalahari and Namib deserts.

Spitzkoppe, Damaraland

Spitzkoppe is  a group of granite peaks in the Namib desert formed over 100 million years ago. The high domes reach into the cobalt blue sky in winter but its at dusk and dawn that we’ll capture these majestic mountains when the warm sunrise and sunset brings them to life. Camping out under the clear skies we’ll also photograph the night sky.. the Milky way seems within touching distance as the air is so clear.

From Spitzkoppe we’ll travel to the town of Swapkopmund on edge of the Namib desert at the southern end of the Skeleton coast. Here we’ll re-stock, get a few shots of the Germanic architecture and catch a sunset from the beach at the legendary Tiger bar. In the morning we’ll have a short session in nearby Walvis bay photographing the local flock of Flamingos.

World Heritage Sand Sea Desert – Sossusvlei 

The drive to Sossusvlei takes us across the Namib Naukluft National Park which extends all the way south to the South African border. Our base here for 2 nights is Sesreim, as close as we can get to the giant dunes and salt / clay pans. Dunes 45 sits  close to our base and we’ll scale its heights to photograph a sunset over the surrounding desert.

Deadvlei is one of the star attractions for photographers from all over the world. Its dramatic  dead camel thorn trees are a stark contrast against the morning shadows and warm hues of the dunes. We’ll tackle this location in post sunrise light so we can make use the shadows rising up the sand walls. The giant red dunes around Sossusvlei are said to be the highest in the world. We’ll walk up one of the smaller dunes making a circuit to capture the surrounding landscape from above. After a bush breakfast at the foot of Sossusvlei dune we’ll head back to our base. Later that afternoon we’ll explore nearby Sesreim canyon.

At dawn the following morning there will be the option of a fantastic 1 hour helicopter or fixed wing aerial session over Sossusvlei. With the doors off, our pilot is briefed on the best flight path to take in aerial shots of the red dunes, Deadvlei, fairy circles and any wildlife that may be wandering the desert.

Namib Rand Reserve

From Sossusvlei, we head south on gravel roads to the privately owned Namib Rand Reserve. With just a handful of visitors this is one of the unexpected highlights to Namibia. A mixture of open plains, surrounding mountains, wildlife and some of the darkest skies your ever likely to see. From our remote and *private camp we’ll capture the area at dusk and dawn, make a drive through the dunes and breathe in the awesome beauty of this special place. The night sky will again offer the chance to create some magical Milky Way imagery.

Luderitz and Kolmanskop

Luderitz, a small port town Luderitz again has a weird mix of Germanic colonial architecture and isolation. Nearby is the slightly weird and wonderful deserted mining town of Kolmanskop.  Now long since deserted the sand has slowly taken its toll on the derelict ruins, creating interest and fantastic photography. Ever changing patterns of sand against pastel shades of colour and worn textures are great to experiment with. Windows, doors and shafts of light all combine to create hours of rich photography.

The Quiver Tree Forest 

Stopping on the western edges of the Kalahari desert the iconic forest will provide our final location. The Quiver tree is seen all over Namibia, but here near the town of Keetmanshoop, they’re  concentrated and surrounded with rocky terrain and various critters. A colourful subject at dawn and dusk.

From here we make our way  back to the capital Windhoek and the end of our Namibian photo adventure. We’ll enjoy a final dinner at either Joe’s Beer House ( outdoor BBQ restaurant) or the Stellanbosch winery restaurant.

Trip Information

Starts early June @ 4pm – 6pm 2025 dates added in due course .  Meet up at the Vondelhof guest house or Olive Grove in Windhoek and enjoy a dinner together .

Ends June @ around  6pm in Windhoek. Drop off our vehicle and refresh before a final dinner together.

You may wish to leave at any point on the final day after returning to Windhoek.

This Namibia Photo Journey is an overland photo adventure that travels a circle anti clockwise from the capital Windhoek by 4 wheel drive vehicle. It’s   fully equipped with comfortable safari roof tents ( twin share ) for a few nights of remote on – location camping mixed with comfortable lodge stays.
The vehicle is equipped with fridge, water and all the supplies we need to travel overland, breaking up the trip with lodge stays.
We will be covering around 3000km over 12 days  mostly on gravel roads, some days will have minimal distances and some longer days up to 500km. You will see the landscape first hand as we make our way to each location, stopping when we like, where we like.

Accommodation* is a mixture of guest houses, lodges and comfortable roof top safari tents (with thick mattresses and all bedding provided) this allows us to be closer to our locations offering more flexibility and opportunities.

Accommodation 

Lodges are single occupancy and vehicle safari tents are twin share , so please bear this in mind before booking. All bedding required for camp is provided.

Standard trip fee – 5 nights guest house /  lodge rooms ( single occupancy ) 7 nights safari camp on location

Windhoek 1 night – single occupancy room

Etosha – 2 nights twin share safari  roof tent (  chalet upgrade – subject to availability )

Spitzkoppe – 1 night twin share safari roof tent

Swakopmund  1 night – single occupancy lodge 

Sossusvlei 2 nights – inside park gates  – safari roof tent

Namib Rand 1 night – twin share safari roof tent

Luderitz  2 nights – single occupancy guest house 

Quiver Tree Forest 1 night – twin share roof tent /or room upgrade if available.

Windhoek 1 night  – single occupancy lodge

It’s a photography journey  full of stunning locations with the added experience of camping out under the African night sky by camp fire, sharing a bottle of wine and discussing the days events.

Please read the testimonial by a previous client for a participant perspective.

Meals 

These will be either buffet style meals or at local pubs and restaurants.

When at camp, our meals will be freshly prepared  at our camp kitchen / open fire  ( approx 4 camp meals ) by myself ( or volunteer if you have any cooking skills ) with a little help from my guests. As with all adventures teamwork plays a vital part in making this a successful experience. 

As mentioned, this  photo journey covers a large part of Namibia by road in a 4×4 vehicle. You’ll have the opportunity to see the landscape and terrain change through the journey. Through the  Kalahari, salt pans, giant sand  dunes, seascapes along the skeleton coast  and mountain ranges that all combine to make this an incredible adventure. 

Remote camping with limited facilities at some camps is also part of the itinerary, this enables us to access some of the best locations in Namibia under on our own terms and schedule. Basic toilets and shower facilities are available at all the camps and towels are provided as are sleeping bags. 

Sossusvlei – our camp is inside the main gate for accessing the park which means we can reach Deadvlei before many of the other travellers and tourists.

Please ensure that this trip meets your requirements, comfort levels and abilities before booking, if you would like to discuss any of the logistical factors involved please just get in touch.

At the moment  there is a maximum of only 3 participants with an emphasis on creating a intimate group dynamic while on location. This makes shooting at locations more manageable which helps you get the shots you want. At camp  it’s all hands on deck and guests are asked to participate in meal preparations and maintaining the camp while we are in remote areas. Toilets, showers and clean running water is available at every camp.

When you arrive in Namibia’s capital Windhoek you’ll make the 40 minute drive from the airport by shuttle / taxi to our guesthouse where I will meet you. This is the day before we depart.

What to expect

It’s winter in June in the southern hemisphere but the days are settled and sunny, temperatures range from mid to high 20s to 5 or 6 degrees during the night (centigrade). So it can feel pretty warm during the day and cooler at night the further south we go. It very rarely rains.

Namibia has good infrastructure / wifi at lodges but not much outside of towns. This is Africa but Namibia’s parks and reserves are well organised as long as you stick to the rules. Wildlife is plentiful but patience is still needed to wait and spot each animal if and when they decide to make an appearance. Its random but always an exciting event when they appear.

Fitness – mostly short walks with the exception of two dune accents but nothing too strenuous.

Recommended Equipment 

Only bring what you need and will use.

DSLR or Mirrorless camera with wide angle 16-35 / 50 or 24 -70 / 70 -200mm / a 150 – 600mm long telephoto or similar, I use this lens as much as any other to get up close for wildlife.
Nikon, Fujifilm, Sony, Sigma or Canon are all good options contact me for advice

Once booked a fact sheet of what to bring will be available.

Luggage

Space in the vehicle is limited.

Please limit your luggage to 2 pieces only.
One luggage bag and one camera bag.
I travel with and recommend a soft shell 90 litre ( or smaller )  Osprey rolling duffel bag. These are ideal for adventure travel .

Suitcases are bulky and impractical for  storage in the rear of the vehicle canopy so please keep this in mind.

There will be an opportunity to wash some clothes during our trip.