NAMIB DESERT

The Namib Desert is the world’s oldest desert and, although it stretches along the entire length of Namibia’s coastline into southern Angola, and even the Northern Cape Province of South Africa, the Namib commonly refers to the vast sea of sand extending from Luderitz to Swakopmund.

The vast expanse of breathtakingly beautiful sandy desert features remarkably varied scenery including the massive red dunes of the world-renowned Sossusvlei, the moonscapes of the Namib-Naukluft Park, the stark beauty of the Atlantic Coast and a diversity of fauna and flora.

The windswept, arid, ancient landscape is teeming with desert-adapted wildlife such as endemic chameleons, brown hyenas, gemsbok and jackals. A variety of plant life, including the famous welwitschia “desert rose”, a living fossil, also populates the terrain.

DAMARALAND

This vast desert landscape is known as one of the most beautiful regions in Namibia. Huge, untamed and ruggedly beautiful, Damaraland is an exceptionally scenic landscape featuring open plains, ancient valleys and spectacular rock formations. The major attractions are the sacred Spitzkoppe, the Brandberg, Twyfelfontein, Vingerklip and the otherworldly Petrified Forest. Visitors can take in the dramatic vistas, catch a glimpse of the rare desert-adapted elephant, and enjoy spectacular stargazing in crystal-clear night skies from one of the many safari camps dotting Damaraland.

SKELETON COAST

Stretching from the Swakop River to southern Angola, the Skeleton Coast is known as the ‘Land God Made in Anger’ and is remoteness at its best. Thousands of miles of sandy desert dotted with shipwrecks meet with the cold waters of the Atlantic and somehow an amazing array of wildlife and flora manages to survive in this harsh but beautiful environment.

Ocean fog creeps over the shoreline caused by the warm dry air of the Namib Desert colliding with the cold Benguela current. This enigmatic area is home to a diversity of wildlife including seabird colonies, Cape fur seals, zebra, gemsbok, desert-adapted elephant, lion and much more. Surfing enthusiasts are drawn to these powerful waves and photographers flock from around the globe to snap a shot of this eerie shipwreck graveyard and for the unrivalled maritime photographic opportunities. This coast is desolate but breathtakingly beautiful.

KAOKOLAND

Kaokoland is a vast, beautiful and harsh area with dry riverbeds and wide open plains that are traversed by desert-adapted elephants. These elephants have uniquely adapted to their arid environments, most notably in their thinner bodies and wider feet. The larger size of their feet allows them to walk with more ease across the very soft desert sand, which is useful when you consider the fact that they have been known to travel up to 200 kilometres (124 miles) in search of water. Kaokoland is also home to the remarkable Himba people, a tribe of 13 ethnic groups living in Namibia. The Himba tribe became internationally most famous for the red ochre the women apply to their skin, as well as the way they plait their hair in elaborate arrangements of leather, mud and the tufts of oryx tails.

ETOSHA NATIONAL PARK

Situated in northwestern Namibia, the Etosha National Park offers a premier game viewing experience. The park’s diverse vegetation ranges from dense bush to open plains attracting a variety of wildlife. Located in the heart of the park is the Etosha Pan – a shallow depression that covers an area of 5000 square kilometres. Dry and shimmering for most of the year, the pans fill up with water after seasonal rains, making it the perfect habitat for wildlife. In the dry season, the wildlife is attracted to the perennial springs and waterholes that makes for excellent game viewing. Visitors can look forward to world-class game viewing including a variety of large mammals such as lion, elephant, leopard, rhino, zebra, giraffe, a diversity of birdlife such as flamingoes and pelicans.

Wildlife and scenic drives | Cultural visits | Geological excursions | Bird-watching

Discover Möwe Bay seal colony and surrounding shipwrecks | 4×4 drive and sundowners on the dunes | Quad-biking and sand-boarding

Visit the Himba Community | Quad bike excursions | Boating trips on the Kunene River | Nature drives and walks in Hartmann’s Valley | Outing to Marienfluss Valley with picnic lunch

Game drives in Etosha National Park and the private Ongava Reserve | Waterhole views from the deck | Fantastic photographic opportunities from the hide