7 Day Southern Namibia and Sossusvlei Camping Safari

Exceptional tour of Southern Namibia.

The tour was a great way to see the wonderful country of Namibia and all of its spectacular nature. Our guide, Erastus, was exceptional with helping us enjoy the camping while providing us with excellent meals and information about the country as we traveled. He is a great ambassador for his country and I’m very glad that he was our guide so that we could make the most of our time in Namibia. I will recommend him and Chameleon to anyone I know who is looking for a guide in Namibia, and I hope to be back again someday.

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Namibia's south with Chameleon

I recently embarked upon the Southern Namibia Camping Safari with Chameleon Safaris, a comprehensive tour including Sossusvlei, Deadvlei, Kolmanskop, Fish River Canyon, and other sights. The two guides, Erastus and Bronhil should be commended for being incredibly hard-working and knowledgeable throughout the tour and were both guides I'd gladly travel with again. They made me feel welcome and ensured the tour ran smoothly. Food included was an excellent selection of dishes for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, prepared by the guides and with enough variety to satisfy a "picky eater" such as myself. No matter who you are, you'll be catered for easily by Chameleon on this tour. We were a very small group (Just me and one other traveller!) And therefore travelled in a regular 4x4 as opposed to a big bus - the vehicle was comfortable even throughout long drives on dirt roads. I was very, very happy with the itinerary for the tour and it's inclusions were a decisive factor in my choice to embark on this trip. Namibia's sights are stunning and worth seeing, and this particular tour includes the far south (Kolmanskop, Lüderitz, Fish River, etc) which a region many other Safaris skip. Chameleon should be commended for giving budget travellers the opportunity to see these locations.

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Intense 6 says in Southern Namibia

Our guide and driver, Taimi and Shaka, made this trip for me. The landscape speaks for itself but as a solo traveler, I was made feel so welcome. They were so generous with their explanations and insights as two young Namibians. They worked so hard to ensure our comfort and couldn't do enough for us. Strongly recommended.

Response from the operator: Warm greetings from Chameleon Safaris, Thank you so much for your wonderful review and for joining us on the 6/7 Day Southern Namibia and Sossusvlei Camping Safari. We are so pleased to hear that Taimi and Shaka made the journey such a special experience for you. Travelling through Namibia as a solo traveller can feel like a big adventure, so it means a lot to know that they made you feel welcome, comfortable, and well looked after throughout the trip. Southern Namibia’s landscapes are truly unforgettable, but having guides who share personal insights, stories, and knowledge along the way makes the experience even more meaningful. Taimi and Shaka will be very happy to know that their hard work, generosity, and care stood out to you. Thank you again for your kind recommendation. We truly appreciate it and hope the memories of Namibia stay with you for a long time. Warm regards, Gavin

via Tripadvisor

Amazing wonderful experience with 2 professional tour staff

The trip was amazing. Our guide was Erastus and the chef Bronihel. They were professional. The meals were healthy and nutritious and DELICIOUS!. Erastus was informative and great. The camping was such fun. Loved every second of the trip. They are an assest to Chameleon. Keen on another with Erastus and Broni.

Response from the operator: Thank you for your wonderful feedback! We're delighted to hear that Erastus and Bronihel delivered such a professional and enjoyable experience — they truly are valued members of the Chameleon Safaris team, and we’d be thrilled to welcome you on another adventure with the rest of the team! Jordan-Rohi..

via Tripadvisor

Poor communication, poor service. Beautiful country! Avoid Chameleon Safari.

Very poor communication. I'm not sure if the guide and office were being incompetent or dishonest. My tour was poorly planned, but the driver and office refused to consider and suggestions to improve the logistics. The driver (Raymond) was going much too fast on poor desert roads, leading to a tyre blow out and a battery exploding (!). It seems he was under pressure to get to his destination quickly. This might have been because of earning commission from the scheduled afternoon tour. On inspection, the damaged tyre was a cheap remould. We spent five hours in the Namib desert before a car came to take us to Walris Bay. Namibia is a beautiful country, and locals are kind and friendly. I'm afraid Chameleon Safari let their country down.

Response from the operator: Hi Wayne, I see my General Manager did write a response to you regarding your review above, but I wanted the pleasure to respond to you personally. Just a bit of housekeeping up front, your trip was called the 3 day Budget Sossusvlei Camping trip not the 7day Southern Namibia Camping trip that you have reviewed, just thought I would point that out for transparency and clarity. You were provided a full itinerary prior to booking and paying for this trip. You departed Wednesday morning from Windhoek and were scheduled to arrive in Swakopmund mid afternoon Friday. You decided to book a flight out of Windhoek (360km from Swakopmund) for Saturday morning departing at 09h20 and your airport transfer was booked for 06h00 from Chameleon Backpackers in Windhoek, all this was arranged in advance and you were advised that the shuttle would be at 14h00 from Walvis Bay on Friday to ensure you would be back in Windhoek at a safe time on Friday evening. Another passenger on the same trip, with the same outgoing flight was also advised that this was the best and safest course of action and she was also booked on the same shuttle back to Windhoek. Sometime during your trip, yourself and the other passenger decided you wanted to do the afternoon activity and cancel your shuttle bus back to Windhoek. The Office advised this was not a good idea as all the shuttles departed latest at 15h00 from Swakopmund. Enroute to Walvis Bay from the desert our vehicle had a puncture and the tyre had to be replaced. I see your expert opinion on the tyre that it was a remould, but we do not have the opportunity to buy remoulds/retreads in Namibia and if they were available they would not be in line with our company safety policies, as the safety of our guests is a priority to us. You were in fact now delayed as the vehicle would not re-start and our priority was to ensure yourself and the other passenger could get to the coast in time for your shuttle as your onward flight was a concern for us. The vehicle tracking shows us the time standing in the desert and the speed the vehicle travels, which shows that the vehicle was not speeding and it may have felt like 5 hours but it was considerably less. The roads, however, are poorly maintained gravel roads which carry a large amount of traffic and can be uncomfortable to travel on. The state of the roads is unfortunately out of our control. The car that came to take you away was our service provider for the afternoon activity and they responded to our call for assistance, I am reliably informed that you were dropped in Swakopmund via Walvis Bay and the special transfer that we arranged and paid for, left Swakopmund at 16h00 and brought you back to Windhoek safely. Which was our priority and what was organised with you both in advance. Our guides are authorised to organise activities for our guests with our recommended service providers, they do earn commission which adds to the value chain and enables them to earn more money, I am not sure why you find this a problem. Empowering our staff and local communities is on our Mission Statement, everyone must benefit from the tourist dollar, not just the companies that provide the services. The itinerary is designed with maximum time to enjoy each destination and is run every week of the year, clients purchase this scheduled trip in advance so they know what they are getting, taking suggestions on changes and logistics during the course of the trip usually only gives advantage to the person giving those suggestions and not considering the other people who have paid for the same journey and same itinerary. If you wish to have something more flexible then it pays to create your own journey and pay for the enhanced services and flexibility, but most people choose a budget scheduled option because of the price, which I am sure was your motivation as well. You claim above that Chameleon Safaris is incompetent and dishonest. In terms of incompetence, if you had missed your onward flight out of Windhoek, you would be correct, however we ensured and paid a premium to get you back for that. For your dishonesty accusation, I am unable to answer to that, as you have not specified where we were dishonest, so there is obviously no foundation for the statement. For anyone still reading this response, I would like to suggest that if your safari starts or ends in Swakopmund ensure you give yourself some extra time to enjoy the optional activities available here. Ending a safari in Swakopmund midafternoon and having a flight early the following morning from Windhoek, puts you under undue pressure and may lead to missing out on a fabulous activity and some disappointment, so plan accordingly and ask lots of questions before you book those flights. Wayne, thank you for the opportunity to respond to your experience. It is always reassuring that both sides are able to give their version of events. Chameleon Safaris are celebrating 30 years of pioneering safaris throughout Namibia, this year and we are very proud of that fact. Client safety and enjoyment are high on our priority list as well as the well being and happiness of our staff. Safe travels in your future and if you do return to Namibia, Chameleon Safaris would be happy to again transport you for an unforgettable journey, just like the time you have spent in Sossusvlei/Sesriem.

via Tripadvisor