Destination Namibia

---

NAMIB DESERT

"Namib" is the Nama word for "vast" - and this desert, stretching for 1,600km along Namibia's coast, is certainly the embodiment of vastness. The most arid parts of this sandy expanse receive an average of just 2-5mm of rainfall a year, which would manke you think that this is 1,600km of nothing - yet even here, in one of the planet's most extreme wildernesses, life perseveres. The Namib, at 55 million years old, is the world's most ancient desert, as well as being one of the driest. Much of it is protected as part of the Namib-Naukluft National Park which covers almost 50,000 square kilometers, making it larger than Switzerland.

NAMIBRAND NATURE RESERVE

The NamibRand Nature Reserve, located in southern Namibia, is a private nature reserve established to help protect and conserve the unique ecology and wildlife of the south-west Namib Desert. Conserving the pro-Namib, the area along the eastern edge of the Namib Desert, is critically important in order to facilitate seasonal migratory wildlife routes and to protect biodiversity. It is probably the largest private nature reserve in southern Africa, extending over an area of more than 200,000 ha. The Reserve shares a 100km border with the Namib-Naukluft National Park in the west and is bordered in the east by the imposing Nubib Mountains. Virtually all facets of the Namib Desert are represented on the Reserve – sand and gravel plains and stretches of savanna alternate with mountain ranges, inselbergs and vegetated dune belts.

SOSSUSVLEI

Sossusvlei, located in the red dunes of the Namib Desert, is formed where the natural course of the ephemeral Tsauchab River is blocked by a mass of sand. This mass of sand stretches for 400 km south of Walvis Bay, sandwiched between the cold Benguela Current of the west coast and the escarpment that runs parallel more than 100 km inland. The path of the Tsauchab is flanked by some of the tallest sand dunes in the world and then ends in a series of pans or vleis that dot the end of this blind river. Sossusvlei is one such pan, Dead Vlei another. 

DAMARALAND

Damaraland is characterised by flat-topped mountains, wind-sculpted sandstone cliffs, broad valleys and dry riverbeds that carve their way through deep gorges and ancient geological features indicating a wetter past. Today, the rivers – mainly the Huab, Ugab, Uniab and Koigab – flow only sporadically; their riverbeds are ribbon-like oases that push through the most desolate of terrains, the underground water and tree-lined courses allowing even large species like arid-adapted elephant and giraffe to roam the seemingly inhospitable desert and semi-desert. Away from the river lines are vast open plains that in good rainfall years are covered by annual grasses, attracting herds of specialist arid antelope such as gemsbok and springbok. 

SKELETON COAST & KAOKOVELD

The Kaokoveld is one of the harshest environments on the planet, with endless vistas across stark plains, ancient valleys, rugged peaks, ending at the desolate shores of the Skeleton Coast. The ephemeral rivers that bisect the north-west form linear oases as they meander their way west towards the sea – the permanent Kunene being a remarkable exception. The vegetation that fringes their courses provides sustenance to a diverse array of superbly adapted desert wildlife like black rhino, elephant, springbok, gemsbok, giraffe and Hartmann’s mountain zebra. The most reliable source of water here is the fog created when the icy Atlantic waters meet the warm air of the coast. Meanwhile, the bleak Skeleton Coast of the Atlantic Ocean, ironically, is filled with life – huge numbers of Cape fur seals, seabirds and predators.