We are a family of five (children ages 14, 11 & 9 in Dec 09). We have traveled extensively with our children (South America and Europe) and would love to experience Namibia. I normally organize my own trip itinerary and try and find local, small accomodations and locales so the children can experience both the environment and the local people.
1. We plan on spending around 18-20 days in Namibia at the end of December 09/early January 2010.
2. We'd love a mixture of wildlife, village life and humanitarian opportunities.
3. My wish is to cover much of Namibia, though this could end up being unrealistic in our time frame. Highlights to include: Etosha National Park, maybe Khaudom Game Reserve, Caprivi Strip, Damarland, Skeleton Coast Wilderness, Namib-Naukluft Park, Sossusvlei, and Fish River Canyon National Park.
4. We'd love to spend a few days with a tribe that sees very few foreigners. We would love the opportunity to do a house stay in a small village of one of the local tribes (Kavoango, Himba, Dmara, etc.) I know we'll need a really local tour guide to arrange this--tough figuring out how to do this from across the world (Berkeley, California)! Luckily we have Lonely Planet to help us out!
5. My children would love to organize a book drive or something that we can bring with us to this village.
6. When visiting Etosha or other game reserves, we'd love to go to the less-traveled regions, where we wouldn't see many other tourists, if this is realistic.
7. Accomodations: We would like to have a mix of basic camping, homestay, and comfortable lodging. We do not need anything luxurious--just clean and somewhat comfortable.
8. We'd like to arrange a mix of self-drive, guide-driven and air flights. This way the children aren't in the car endlessly, and we can cover more ground.
9. We want to avoid traveling in a tour group. We prefer to travel alone as a family with a private guide.
10. We do not have an unlimited budget, and we are definitely saving for this trip, as it is a priority for my husband and I to open our children's eyes to all the beautiful people and places in the world.
Thank you for your thoughtful responses to my inquiry.
