September 5, 2008

AFRICA & MIDEAST | NAMIBIA

Wild Ride

By Nicole Cotroneo

Done your African safari? See Namibia in a whole new way.

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If there’s one place that proves Africa has more pull than just the Big Five, it may be Namibia. With a dramatic landscape extending from desert dunes to coastal lagoons, the southerly nation is poised to receive one million visitors this year — that’s half the entire Namibian population. And Kempinski, for one, has seen the writing on the wall: They’ve sited four new luxe hotels in the country, including Mokuti Lodge, slated to open in December as Namibia’s first five-star lodge in Etosha National Park.

Meanwhile, biking specialists Butterfield & Robinson have just added Namibia to its roster of far-flung trips. Debuting September 16 (with another ride starting October 17), the 11-day cycling tour explores the nation’s wildest regions: including the windswept Skeleton Coast (littered with shipwrecks); some of the world’s oldest and highest sand dunes at Sossusvlei; and colorful rock formations at Twyfelfontein, inscribed as a World Heritage site last year for its collection of 6,000-year-old rock art.

Of course you couldn’t cover all this on just two wheels — you’ll hop about the country by plane, and by boat (to view seal colonies off Bird Island), while your bike is delivered to each new location. Your lodgings are some of the swankiest in Namibia, including Okahirongo Elephant Lodge’s seven stone cottages, each with private gazebo and soaking tub. From the lodge you can hike to local Himba villages, or join a game drive where you’re bound to see at least one of the Big Five — elephants, of course.