Saddle Hill Dune Exploration
Join the Saddle Hill Dune Exploration for an unforgettable novice-friendly 4×4 adventure through the Namib Desert. Starting in Luderitz, this four-day journey features stunning desert and beach landscapes, old mining camps, shipwrecks, and the “blow hole” coastline. Learn essential sand driving skills, enjoy catered breakfasts and dinners, and relax around the campfire. Participants must arrange their own accommodation and bring bedding or camping gear. Experience history, nature, and thrilling dune driving!
Price:
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Description
This is the perfect adventure for the novice when it comes to dune driving. We strongly recommend that you first do one of these adventures before tackling the more advanced dune routes that we offer.
We will assist in teaching you the necessary sand driving skills that will assist you and equip you with the needed skills for the other Namib Desert products. The adventure starts at Luderitz where the group assembles on the morning of departure into the desert. Venue and time will be conveyed to you beforehand.
(Participants have to organise their own accommodation in Luderitz)
Day 1: We leave Luderitz after breakfast and first travel through spectacular desert scenery before we traverse the dune landscape. Arrive at Saddle Hill camp. Remainder of the day relax at campsite, beach or have fun in the dunes.
Day 2: After breakfast we travel to and along the beach to Saddle Hill South enjoying the scenery along the way. We’ll visit an old mining camp engulfed by shifting sand dunes, do some sight-seeing at old earthmoving equipment let to the elements. We will visit the “blow hole” on the rough coastal shoreline.
Day 3: Today is another scenic day – we travel northwards to Spencer Bay. We share interesting history and fauna and flora with you. At Spencer Bay’s beach, we stop and climb to the top of the hill to view the wreck of the Otavi, stranded on the beach in its own bay and surrounded by a resident seal colony. The Otavi, ran aground in the 40’s whilst loading guano from Mercury Island.
From Spencer Bay we head further northwards to sightsee the detonated vessel ‘United Trader’, a vessel that ran aground in the early seventies with 700 tons of explosives on board. The vessel with load, was detonated in 1974 with pieces of metal falling in an area to 5km radius. The explosion was even felt in the Luderitz area. Even further north we visit another shipwreck, the vessel ‘Tong Wha’. We return to camp travelling past a small fountain where Oryx drink & graze. We prepare warm dinner in the evenings and enjoy social time around a fire.
Please note itinerary on Day 2 & 3 might be scheduled vice versa depending on the tides!
Day 4: After breakfast we pack up to travel back to Luderitz via the dunes. During the return excursion wildlife can be observed. The total distance to be covered on this route is +/- 500 km (from last fueling point – Luderitz).
This is a catered adventure. We supply breakfast and dinner. You need to supply your own light lunches. There are prefabricated buildings with rooms and beds bud NO bedding, you need to supply your own OR you could camp. We supply hot showers every night and there are flush toilets.
Fuel consumption guideline:
Petrol vehicles: 3km/litre and Diesel vehicles: 4km/litre
The guide reserves the right to change / alter routes should weather- and tide conditions, vehicle- and / or driver performance or Government Ministries require so!!
