The Daan Viljoen Game Park is located within the capital city of Namibia Windhoek making it one of the easiest places where you can go and view some of the wild life while in Namibia. The game park covers over 40 square kilometers of and 24 kilometers away from Windhoek. Getting to this park is extremely easy as compared to the other National parks that are located in the country and this is due to the fact that it is located at a highway just a few kilometers away from Windhoek which means that it is extremely easy to spot and very hard for someone to get lost.
Game viewing in the Daan Viljoen Park
There aren’t a lot of animals in the Daan Viljoen Park but the few that live within the Park are a memory that you will want to live with. They are best seen during the dry season and some of the species that you will see while in the Park include springboks, Oryx, zebras, warthogs, the common eland, the blue wildebeest, the greater Kudu and many more other species. The animals can be seen using different methods that is by driving through the Park, hiking through the Park and taking some short bush walks around the Daan Viljoen.
Trekking through the National Park
The Daan Viljoen National park can be explored almost all throughout the whole year and you can also go for trekking alone without a tour guide for as long as you have a map with you and this is all because there are several trails that have been cleared within the game Park so that tourists can easily go about their hiking business without a problem. There are two trials that can be used for trekking and hiking through the Daan Viljoen and these are the Rooibos trail and the wag ‘n Bietjie trail.
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The Rooibos trail
This trails runs for about nine kilometers and is considered to be one of the longest trails within the Park. The rooibos trail passes through the game Park into the Mountains and once you get to the top of the Mountain, you will have a clear view of the whole park and the Windhoek city which is located not far away from the game park. It will take you past a River Bed, a dam wall and a restaurant and even though the hike is a bit hard, the reward of all that you will see while at the top is worth it.
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The wag ‘n Bietjie trail
This trails runs for only three kilometers and it is the shortest route in the game Park. The trail starts from the gate where you pay and your fees from to gain access to the Park and goes up to the dam and then back to the gate. It is not an exciting route and the only thing that you will see while on this route are a few baboons which keep a good distance away from the trekkers, a few birds and other wild animals which are rarely seen.
- The third trail is the longest and hardest and it runs for about 32 kilometers. When it comes to the other two trails it is very easy to access them without getting permission from the office of the authorities, the third trail is a bit different that is you have to first report to the office so that you are given permission and camping is also provided to all trekkers who take on the third trail.
Before heading out for hiking in the game park, there a few things that you will need so that you enjoy your hike through the different trails and these are:
- Good hiking boots to avoid blisters on your feet.
- Take a lot of water on your hike so that you remain hydrated throughout your hike.
- Do not carry a lot of luggage because it might weigh you down when during the hike.
- Put on appropriate light clothes as the heat tends to sometimes become unbearable,
- Make sure that you read the map to the dot while hiking or else you might get lost.
Birding in the Daan Viljoen game Park
The Daan Viljoen game park has a recorded number of bird species which amounts to about 200 species and all these can be seen when one visits the game park. Birding within the game park is done in the morning hours and during the wet season when the number of the bird species within the Park increase due to the migratory birds that fly from other countries into Namibia. Some of the most commonly seen bird species in the Daan Viljoen are include the red crested bustard, the Monteiro’s hornbill, the Ashy Tit, the red billed francolin, Rufous crowned roller, re headed finch, the short toed rock thrush, the red billed buffalo weaver, the common sparrow, the great rufous scimitar bill and many more other species.
Enjoy a bike ride through the Daan Viljoen Park
Before you head out for Mountain bike ride through the Daan Viljoen national park you should remember to pack a picnic basket that you will enjoy after the long ride. The Park has a Mountainous part to it and there are marked routes that one can use for a Mountain bike ride and after the ride is over, you can sit at the peak and get to enjoy some of the best views of both the National Park and Windhoek while enjoying a bite with your friends. You do not necessarily need to have a tour guide with you as you head out for the ride but you will need a map so that you do not get lost and you will also need lots of water. The ride will take a few hours and that is why it is advisable for one to go for the ride in the morning hours before the heat becomes unbearable.
Go for a photo safari in the Daan Viljoen
The Daan Viljoen game Park is a very good place for all those that want to enjoy photography and this is because the Park has several things that you can take photos of for example the animals in the park, the different bird species that breed from the game Park, the vegetation and not forgetting the favorable landscape. Photography is best done in the morning because the light in the morning is perfect for a photo session.
Explore Windhoek
It is extremely impossible for you to explore the Daan Viljoen game park without exploring the capital city of Namibia that is Windhoek which is just a few kilometers away from the game park. There are various activities that you can carry out and many tourist attraction sites that you can check out while on a safari to the game park and some of these include:
- Taste the greatest beer in the whole country known as a Windhoek and this brewed following the standard procedures of German brewing.
- Explore the Namibian independence monument.
- Take a walk to the Christ church which is believed to be one of the first churches in the country.
- Take a historical walk through the National museum of Namibia.
- Visit the Namibia craft Centre and get yourself some souvenirs at a relatively good price.
When to visit the Daan Viljoen National Park
The national park can be visited almost throughout the year but the best time that one can visit is highly determined by the activities that one can carry out while in the Daan Viljoen National Park. For all those that love birding, the best time for you to go is during the dry season as animals can easily be seen moving around the park in search of water and the vegetation is scanty making it easy to spot the animals and the best time to go birding is the wet season because this is the time when the migratory birds fly into the game park and join the species that locally breed from the Park. You can try to find out when the best is for a visit by asking friends but the best way is to talk with your tour operator who will make sure that the time you visit the Park matches with all activities.
