Total drive time approximately 3-3.5 hours. Please note that activities while at Okonjima may be done in a different order than described; Okonjima is also a rehabilitation facility, so animals resident on the reserve may change from what is described.
At the lodge, our breakfast buffet will include cereal, fruit, bread, and hot dishes such as eggs, sausage, bacon cooked to order. Coffee, tea, water, fruit juice provided.
After checking out of the lodge, our luggage is loaded for us into the enclosed, climate-controlled 4x4 vehicles we will use throughout the program. We will depart Windhoek heading north towards Okonjima Nature Reserve and the AfriCat Foundation, our destination for the next two nights. Along the way, we’ll stop in Okahandja, where our Group Leader will provide an overview of the town, followed by some time to explore the market on your own. The name Okahandja comes from Herero and means “small widening,” the place where the rivers meet. It is a place of great significance to the Herero people because it was once the seat of the famous chief Samuel Maharero, who was laid to rest here on August 26, 1923, at a funeral attended by approximately 2,000 people. Since then, August 26th has been celebrated annually. The town is also an important center for woodcarvers, who practice their ancient skills at the wood-and-thatch Mbangura woodcarvers’ market next to the main road, both at the entrance and at the exit of the town. We will then continue driving to Okonjima Plains Camp and check in.
At Okonjima Plains Camp, we will have a salad and lighter entrée choices. Water, coffee, tea provided; additional beverages available for purchase.
This afternoon, we will head out with local conservationists to track leopards from game-viewing vehicles. These leopards, roaming freely throughout the extensive reserve, have been fitted with radio collars so that they can be monitored.
At the lodge, a plated 3-course meal with water, coffee, tea; additional beverages available for purchase.
At leisure.