09 Namibia

Episode 9 Info: Click Here

Ground Rush Adventures

Ground Rush Adventures / Skydive Swakopmund was founded in 1997 and operates in Swakopmund and surrounding. We work in close harmony with booking agencies, hotels, guesthouses and tour operators.

At Ground Rush Adventures / Skydive Swakopmund we offer Tandem Skydiving as well as courses in Accelerated Freefall and Static Line jumps.

Experienced Tandem Masters are always around to attend to the adrenalin seeking tourist. Accelerated Freefall Instructors and Static Line Instructors are always available for coaching or presenting skydiving courses.

Ground Rush Adventures / Skydive Swakopmund is open seven days a week all year round and skydiving happens daily (weather permitting).

Students and spectators are collected with the Ground Rush Adventures courtesy vehicles and brought to the office for paper work, where after they taken to the Drop Zone which is in the beautiful Namib Desert, adjacent to the Atlantic Ocean for tandem skydiving. After the experience of a lifetime the students are taken back to their accommodation.

All skydiving at Ground Rush Adventures / Skydive Swakopmund is operated under the control of the Parachute Association of Namibia (PANAM) which is the governing body for all forms of skydiving in Namibia.

Website: www.skydiveswakop.com.na/

The Hansa Hotel

Nestling in the very center of the charming little town of Swakopmund, wrapped in the shape of a timelessly classical building dating from 1905, and integral part of Swakopmund’s architectural heritage, offers you a feeling of being enveloped in a luxurious and sophisticated hospitality with a satisfying blend of both classic atmosphere and truly elegant interior, matched with friendly and personalized service.

Centrally situated, the hotel serves as the perfect gateway to all tourist amenities which Swakopmund and the surrounding area has to offer, from sandboarding some of the highest dunes in the world to big game viewing in one of our country’s world renowned game parks. Surrounded by local tour operators, aviation and safari offices and five minutes from the beach, the Hansa Hotel is perfect for the discerning traveler looking for an adrenaline filled holiday or merely a bit of relaxation.

The Hotel boasts 5 Family units, 4 Suites and 49 Twin/Double rooms. Each room is individually decorated and fitted with under tile or under carpet heating, 15 channel television stations, radio, direct dialing telephones, hairdryer, safes, coffee/tea facilities and en-suite bath/showers.

Website: www.hansahotel.com.na

Tommys Living Desert Tours

The Living Desert Tour, originally developed by Tommy himself, is a unique 4×4 adventure drive through the dunes outside Swakopmund, Namibia. Just the drive in the dunes is an amazing experience, but Tommy will show you a lot more than sand. The tour takes you from the vegetated, life-rich eastern side of the dunes, right through the dunes to the Atlantic Ocean on the western side of the dune belt.

Tommy introduces you to some of the fascinating, hidden life in this apparently barren landscape that is part of the Namib Desert. Here you can find creatures endemic to the Namib: the sidewinder (Peringuey’s Adder), the Palmato Gecko with its transparent skin and beautiful colours – we dig into the dune side to find this nocturnal desert-dweller. We track the large Namaqua Chameleon, and watch it enjoy brunch. Then it’s a dash to catch the swift sand-diving lizard.

We find out how the area’s plants and small animals survive the harsh climate, and how they obtain water for life. You will also track a FitzSimon’s Burrowing Skink across the dune face, in hopes of catching this legless lizard. Along the way, Tommy will explain the variety of dune colours. At the end of the tour, weather permitting, you will experience a ‘roaring’ dune.

Other characters to be found in the dune belt are the ‘dancing’ White Lady Spider; the Parabuthus Villosus black scorpion; the occasional horned adder or sand-snake; desert wasps, fish-moths, crickets and several beetle species, and many more.

A Living Desert Tour with the enthusiastic Tommy is educational, fun and an unforgettable experience. You will see the desert and dunes with new eyes. The photographic opportunities are endless too: make sure those batteries are charged before you leave!

Website: http://www.tommys.iway.na/

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