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A Mineral Safari to Namibia |
Date: May 15-29, 2010 ------- Group Size: 8 - 12 |
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| Highlights 2005 Highlights 2007 Testimonials/References Itinerary(pdf) Trip Details (pdf) Sign-Up(pdf) |
Here is your once in a lifetime opportunity to visit the southern African continent to collect minerals from world-famous locations plus see the wildlife for which Africa is famous. Tour guides are two geologists: Doug Coulter from America and Colin Corser from South Africa. Click above links for highlights from our 2005, 2007 and 2009 trips as well as a downloadable itinerary, registration form, and more tour information or you may email doug at geodite.com. Doug has traveled to Namibia for over 10 years, and each time has found new and different stops both mineral and wildlife. In 2009, the World Cheetah Conservancy and a coastal seal colony at Cape Cross, Namibia were added to the the tour. Both were extraordinary! Arrangements are made for anyone who wants to extend the "official" trip by going to such places as Victoria Falls, Kruger Park, or Cape Town, South Africa. SEE YOU IN AFRICA! |
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| Stop 1- Usakos A night at the Bahnhof Hotel in Usakos. The owner has a small mineral shop on the premises with some nice specimens. That evening we will have a wild game buffet dinner in the courtyard which includes oryx, kudu, and osterich. |
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| Wild game buffet dinner | Adjacent Erongo Mountains | |||
| Stop 2 - Tubusis Visit the African village where the Erongo miners live. The very friendly villagers are happy to see us, sell rocks, and show us around. See how the average Africans live, plus buy aquamarine, schorl, garnet, smokey quartz, and fluorite. |
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Tubisis villagers |
Can buy acqumarine, garnet, smokey quartz and fluorite |
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| Stop 3-Uis, Brandberg Mining Camp We spend two nights at the White Lady B&B in Uis at this very pleasant B&B; with thatched roofs, pool, A/C. At night with the lights out, you can see the southern sky in all its glory. We spend the day in the Namib Desert visiting the Brandberg mining camp. These miners live in very primitive conditions so they can mine for amethyst, prehnite, calcite, and epidote.Many of the quartz crystals are fensters or anhydro. |
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| White Lady B & B in Uis | A Namibian miner with amthyst crystals |
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| Stop 4- Omaruru, Otjiwarongo We stop in Omaruru to visit a dealer who sells the very best quality of schorl and aquamarine. Great rocks at great prices. We continue on to Otjiwarongo where we stay at the Otjibamba Resort |
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| Otjibabma Resort | Schorl from Omaruru | |||
| Stop 5-Cheetah Conservancy, Okorusu At 8:00 am the next morning we visit the Cheetah Conservancy to see the Cheetahs for their morning run. We actually go inside the pens with a guide; very exciting! In the afternoon we visit the large and famous Okorusu fluorite mine.The chief metallurgist gives us a mine tour, then he takes us to the specimen shed where you can buy all the fluorite you could ever want. We overnight at the Makalani Hotel in Tsumeb. |
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| Namibian Cheetah Conservancy | Okorusu fluoite mine | |||
| Stop 6- Tsumeb In the morning we go to the Hoba meteorite which is the largest intact meteorite in the world. The afternoon is spent in Tsumeb. Although this most famous of mines in the mineral collecting hobby is closed, you can still visit the headframe, town, and mineral museum. Mid afternoon we start the short drive to Etosha. |
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| Hoba Meteorite | Tsumeb Mine | |||
| Stop 7- Etosha National Park For the next two nights we stay at an Etosha Park safari lodge. Etosha is famous for its animal viewing: elephant, rhino, zebra, wildebeest, impala, springbok, lion, giraffe, warthog, and leopard. During the day we drive the park viewing wildlife and at night there is a lighted watering hole next to the park where you can sit and view the animals coming in for water. |
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| Etosha Park | Zebras at waterng hole | |||
| Stop 8-Hentis Bay After we leaving the park, we drive to Hentis Bay on the coast to view a spectacular seal colony. With close to 100,000 seals, they cover the rocky coast for almost a kilometer. You can get within 30 feet of the seals. |
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| Seals at Hentis Bay | Namibian seashore | |||
| Stop 9- Swakopmund On to Swakopmund for two nights. This beautiful Old German style coastal city is a real gem. From here we venture to the skeleton coast shipwrecks and the famous coastal sand dunes just a mile south. There are several rock dealers here where you can get lots of Namibian stuff including shattuckite and dioptase. If you are into shopping this is the city. Great seafood and German food! We stay at the Rapmund B&B with a view of the ocean. |
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| Swakopmund Fort | Krystall Galerie in Swakopmund | |||
| Stop 10- Spitzkoppe Mountain Our next stop is at Spitzkoppe Mountain which is famous for topaz. A rough topaz for $5 which I had faceted into a flawless 14 carat gem!! There are dozens of roadside dealers where the miner's wives sell some real goodies: topaz, aquamarine, schorl, amethyst, dioptase, etc. |
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| Topaz | Spitzkoppe Mountain roadside dealers |
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| Stop 11- Windhouk We continue on to Windhoek, the capital, for two nights. Spend the day visiting this charming city with a tropical flair. At night by the side of our B&B pool, wee will wrap our rocks for transport while enjoying the great local beers and wine. Great restaurants and fellowship. |
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| Windhoek old German architecture | Windhouk National Parliament Building |
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Geodite Minerals - 2009 |
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