{"id":2066,"date":"2026-01-04T05:47:19","date_gmt":"2026-01-04T05:47:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/2066\/"},"modified":"2026-01-04T05:47:19","modified_gmt":"2026-01-04T05:47:19","slug":"exploring-africas-extremes-on-a-luxury-safari-through-namibia-and-botswana","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/2066\/","title":{"rendered":"Exploring Africa\u2019s extremes on a luxury safari through Namibia and Botswana"},"content":{"rendered":"

I have never been to Mars, but I imagine this is what it would look like. It\u2019s been a long, at times arduous journey but after a somewhat terrifying one-hour flight in a cramped four-seater propeller plane, I have arrived at a private airstrip surrounded by nothing except sand and craggy, granite mountains. We are on the eastern edge of the Namib Desert. It very much lives up to its name that in the local Nama language means \u201can area where there is nothing\u201d. One of the world\u2019s oldest, dating back at least 55 million years, the Namib is fabled for its towering sand dunes that stretch west all the way to the wild Atlantic coast.<\/p>\n

At first glance, it\u2019s hard to believe that anything can survive here, but it\u2019s home to an astonishing group of desert-adapted wildlife that has thrived for millions of years. I\u2019m here to embark on a different type of safari<\/a> \u2013 one that is a far cry from the Big 5 (the supposed \u201cmust-sees\u201d of lion, leopard, elephant, rhino and buffalo) or exhilarating game drives that have long made Africa a bucket-list destination. A short drive away is my home for the next few days, andBeyond Sossusvlei Desert Lodge, which sits on a private reserve spanning over 12,700 hectares. It\u2019s designed to blend into the dunescape that envelops it, and the glass and rock main building is topped with rust-coloured \u201ccanopies\u201d that make a statement in sustainable design. This philosophy continues through to the 10 stand-alone suites, all of which have solar panels and water treatment systems.\"TheThe game drive experience at andBeyond Sandibe Okavango Safari Lodge in Botswana. Photo: Handout<\/p>\n

Encased entirely in glass, each 893 sq ft villa has an expansive living room, fireplace, indoor and outdoor showers and a generous private pool. No matter where you stand \u2013 bathroom included \u2013 you can bask in unobstructed desert vistas.<\/p>\n

Luxury amenities aside, it\u2019s the small, thoughtful details that stand out. A special hatch allows the butler to make discreet deliveries without my ever having to open the door. I can mix my own cocktails at the bespoke in-room bar stocked with every spirit imaginable plus freshly made snacks. There are also watercolours, paintbrushes and crayons for when I am feeling artistic, and a retractable roof ideal for stargazing.<\/p>\n

As with traditional safaris, most activities take place in the early morning and late afternoon. There\u2019s a huge variety on offer, ranging from outdoor bush breakfasts complete with table service and shakshuka cooked on a charcoal grill, to romantic sundowners on the dunes. Then you have the adventures \u2013 hot air ballooning, helicopter rides, ATV excursions, guided hikes and visits to ancient caves decorated with paintings by the San people, considered the oldest collection of indigenous groups in Africa.<\/p>\n

\"AA romantic dinner by the pool at andBeyond Nxabega Okavango Tented Camp in Botswana. Photo: Handout<\/p>\n

High on everyone\u2019s list is a visit to Namib-Naukluft National Park, which features some of the world\u2019s largest and oldest sand dunes, including the tallest in the area, Big Daddy, at over 325 metres (1,066ft) high. Those with iron will and buns of steel can choose to climb its steep ridges. The sand seems to slide away underneath your every step, making the trek feel almost futile.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s still a worthwhile experience though, to take in panoramic views of colossal, undulating dunes spread out beneath you. I don\u2019t think it can get any better until I slide down the dune barefoot, feeling the cool sand beneath my toes. At the bottom, I explore Deadvlei, a large pan of cracked clay, where 900-year-old petrified trees stand like a surreal scene from a Tim Burton movie<\/a>.While my visit to the dunes is epic, so is watching nature unfold. After a few days I can identify the piercing calls of the male korhaan bird. I squeal like a little girl when I spot a rare mountain zebra galloping across the desert plain like a mythical unicorn. Watching wild ostrich, oryx and springbok at the watering hole outside my suite feels more entertaining than any Netflix series<\/a>. Night is another spectacle as the skies come alive. With the lodge located within one of the world\u2019s few dark-sky reserves \u2013 an area that restricts light pollution \u2013 I can spot the Milky Way and shooting stars with my naked eye before heading to the on-site observatory, where a resident astrologer points out constellations and far-flung galaxies.\"andBeyondandBeyond Sossusvlei Desert Lodge is surrounded by dunes. Photo: Handout<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"I have never been to Mars, but I imagine this is what it would look like. It\u2019s been…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2067,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[43],"tags":[2096,83,235,262,2095,1600,102,96,1033,2094,310,1073,592,929],"class_list":{"0":"post-2066","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-namibia","8":"tag-asia","9":"tag-business","10":"tag-china","11":"tag-economy","12":"tag-hong-kong","13":"tag-lifestyle","14":"tag-namibia","15":"tag-news","16":"tag-opinion","17":"tag-south-china-morning-post","18":"tag-sport","19":"tag-technology","20":"tag-us","21":"tag-world"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2066","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2066"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2066\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2067"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2066"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2066"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2066"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}