Namibia is a vast country dominated by the Namib Desert, an extensive inland plateau and stunning mountain ranges. From the lush, northern Caprivi Strip and the wildlife of Etosha National Park to the vast Namib Desert and the desolate Skeleton Coast, a Namibia safari has something for everyone. Self drive tours/safaris or luxury holidays here are safe and uncomplicated, the infrastructure is excellent with well-maintained roads, frequently situated fuel stations and a wide variety of shops.

Guests taking part in self drive tours or safaris around Namibia are well supported by ATI Holidays, we offer emergency medical evacuation insurance and mobile phones.  Luxury fly-in safaris are another excellent way to explore Namibia, especially the more remote areas such as the Caprivi, Kaokoland and even Etosha National Park. Sesriem & Sossusvlei or the Fish River Canyon.  Self drive tours or luxury safaris offer flexibility during your Namibia holiday and fly-in safaris allow visitors to experience a wide variety of environments in a shorter time.

Etosha National Park is the wildlife centre of Namibia and a highlight of any Namibia safari or luxury tour whereas the Namib Desert dunes of Sesriem and Sossusvlei offer superb photographic & walking opportunities for guests participating in self drive tours or safaris.  Self drive tours or safaris bring travellers right into the heart of Namibia on their safari, tour or holiday.  Self drive tours also allow travellers to enjoy some of the more remoter areas during a luxury Namibian safari.

Namibia stretches along Africa's west coast and covers a total land area of 824,290 sq km. It is bordered by Angola and Zambia in the north, Botswana in the east and South Africa in the south. Although the majority of the country is very arid, there is much variety to explore on a Namibian safari, holiday or tour from the dune fields and coastal desert plains in the west to the 1660m high central escarpment, the densely wooded bushveld in the north and the lush, green caprivi strip. The coast receives only 15 to 100mm of rain per year.

The long, narrow Namib desert from which the country derives its' name, stretches 2,000km from the Oliphants River in South Africa to San Nicolau in Angola. Hence, the entire coastal strip of Namibia falls within the realms of the Namib desert.  Skeleon coast safaris are an excellent way to explore the really remote regions on a namibian tour, safari or holiday. 

The climate is arid with a usually brief rainy season between October and March. The desert days are extremely hot with summer temperatures reaching into the 40's centigrade and sometimes higher. Nights are, conversely, very cold and warm clothes are needed in the early morning while on your Namibian safari. A major factor in the shaping of Namibia's environment, flora and fauna has been the Benguela current which flows south to north off the coast, up from the Antarctic.

The cold waters reach the coastline and meet warm, offshore winds to create a fog belt which condenses on land. This moisture sustains many varied and fascinating species of plant and animal including the toktokkie beetle which has an interesting method of gathering the water from the condensing fog. The beetle stands with its' behind raised in the air and waits for the fog droplets to condense on its carapace and flow into its mouth! Such unusual forms of plant and insect life form the basis of a surprisingly rich and varied desert food chain.

The mountainous red dunes of the coastal desert give way to gravel plains as the altitude rises inland. The width of the coastal plain varies; in Luderitz it is almost 300km wide whereas it is almost none existent in the Kaokoveld area to the north where the mountains reach almost to the sea. The Namib itself is criss-crossed by many dry riverbeds leading the way from the mountainous highlands to the coast, most of these rarely carry water although some will flood briefly in years of high rainfall. These riverbeds stretch across many roads on a self drive Namibia tour or safari and can be seen from the air on a luxury fly-in safari.

Millions of years ago, however, these river beds carried huge volumes of water and were responsible for carving out spectacular canyons such as the famous Fish River Canyon in the south of Namibia, great for hiking safaris as part of a self drive tour, safari or luxury holiday. The inland landscape boasts chains of dramatic mountains and inselbergs. Some of these are volcanic with caves and rock shelters where remains of ancient human habitation have been found.

The desert vegetation consists of many drought resistant species such as the nama melon, various lichens and some stunted acacias. Desert species give way to savanna grassland near the central escarpment which is dominated by Stipagrostis, Eragrostis and Aristida species. Areas of aloe plants, euphorbias and quivertrees are found in the south and buffalo and camel thorn acacias grow along watercourses. The Caprivi Strip is characterised by mopane woodlands, acacia belts and grasslands as well as reed-beds near the rivers.

The wide variety of vegetation across Namibia supports an equally staggering array of insect, bird and animal life. The "big five" rhino, elephant, buffalo, leopard and lion are represented across the country, and in addition approximately 20% of the world's cheetah population is found in Namibia, most of the animals living on private farmland as opposed to protected wildlife areas. For this reason much work has been done by organisations such as The Cheetah Conservation Fund (CCF) and Africat in conjunction with private farmers to find methods of protecting farm animals from cheetah without the removal of these magnificent predators from their habitat.  CCF can be visited on a Namibian self drive tour, or guided holiday or luxury fly-in safari.

The bird life is equally prolific with many water birds supported by the rich fish stocks and several hundred land based species present throughout the country. Namibia is home to the worlds' largest bird, the ostrich, as well as the worlds' heaviest flying bird, the Kori bustard.