Venture to Namibia

Namibia, a country in southern Africa, is a land of stark beauty and contrasts. From the towering sand dunes of the Namib Desert to the rugged mountains and vast savannas, Namibia is a destination for the adventurous and nature-loving traveler.

Etosha

Area Overview

With easy access by road or air, Etosha National Park is one of Africa’s most established and sought after national parks.

From open plains to arid savanna and some of the best game viewing around, this park has a lot going for it. Etosha pan is the most recognizable feature of Namibia’s premier national park. It is so enormous that you can see it from space. This 120 km (75 mi) long dry lakebed is the heart of the park and in fact is eponymous with the park itself, whose name translates to “Great White Place” after the characteristic coloring of this massive salt pan.

In the late dry season animals congregate in the hundreds around the many water sources, queuing to quench their thirst. When the rains arrive the area is transformed, bringing a plethora of birdlife that comes to take advantage of ideal feeding conditions. Thousands of flamingos and other water birds descend to the flooded salt pans to take advantage of this time of plenty.

Luderitz

Area Overview

Luderitz is an incredibly isolated harbour town that lies approximately 600 km (373 mi) southwest of Namibia’s capital, Windhoek.

The town is known for its German colonial architecture but is most famed for its proximity to the deserted old ghost town of Kolmanskop. Moving sand dunes have claimed the remnants of this old outpost, making for some fascinating stories as well as amazing photographs.

Although connected by a tar road, Luderitz is one of Africa’s most isolated towns, especially as it is no longer the booming trading and diamond town it once was. This in itself makes it an incredibly unique addition to a visit to Namibia. With a huge population of Cape Fur seals and penguins, the area boasts some wonderful wildlife that complement a visit here.

Damaraland

Area Overview

The dramatic barren landscape of the iconic Damaraland is home to some of the most fascinating flora and fauna in Namibia, and the best place to spot desert-adapted elephant, rhino, lion, and zebra.

The arid region’s attractions include a petrified forest of fossilized 280 million-year-old trees, some of the best preserved etchings and rock art dating back 6,000 years at Twyfelfontein, and the highest mountain in the country, the Brandberg, which is covered in thousands of ancient rock paintings.

The Late Stone Age art is thought to have been produced to pass on information about hunting expeditions, but the area has predominantly been used by pastoralists, such as the Damara and Herero, as well as more recently by the Himba, semi-nomadic herders whose female members distinctly cover their hair and skin with ochre colored paste.

Fish River Canyon

Area Overview

The Fish River Canyon is Africa’s largest canyon and is situated in the south of Namibia, forming a tributary with the Orange River.

The canyon measures 160 km (99 mi) in length, up to 27 km (17 mi) in width, and the dramatic inner canyon reaches a depth of 550 m (1804 ft). From long, challenging hikes through deep ravines to the hot springs of Ais-Ais, this is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Namibia.

Kunene River

Area Overview

This is one of the most remote and wild spaces in Namibia, a vast country of remote and wild spaces in itself.

Forming part of Namibia’s northern border with Angola, the Kunene River flows south then west from the relatively lush highland areas of southern Angola through to some of the driest and most desolate land anywhere on earth, before emptying into the Atlantic Ocean. By and large the river remains off the beaten track for most.

The river is a lifeblood to the nomadic Himba people, one of Africa’s most recognisable tribes for the red ochre female members apply daily to their bodies. In addition to bird watching, river rafting, and encounteres with the tribe, the main attraction here is the beautiful Epupa Falls, a series of large waterfalls across an area about a mile wide and up to 37 m (120 ft) high.

Skeleton Coast

Area Overview

Namibia’s Skeleton Coast is characterized by rough seas pounding an inhospitable Atlantic shoreline.

The area is so vast and arid that hardly anyone lives there. Despite its vastness and remoteness, the Skeleton Coast has an interesting array of highly specialized wildlife that can eek out a living in a place that has one of the lowest annual rainfall averages on earth. Amazingly, such species as desert-adapted elephants and lions occasionally make their way to the coast, while huge seal colonies are predated upon by brown hyenas.

The name “Skeleton Coast” itself evinces the fear that was felt both by the Bushmen people of the interior as well as the first Portuguese sailors that arrived here hundreds of years ago. It actually derives from the whale and seal bones that once littered the shore from its whaling industry days. But with the hundreds of shipwrecks scattered along its coastline as well it is no doubt especially fitting since it has claimed both man and beast alike. The area lies between the Swakop River at the town of Swakopmund and extends all the way up to the Kunene River.

Windhoek

Area Overview

Windhoek, translated from the Afrikaans language to “Wind Corner,” is Namibia’s capital and largest city.

Hosea Kutako International and Eros Airports service the city and, together with Namibia’s excellent road network, provide easy access to most of the country, although distances can be vast. Positioned centrally, Windhoek links important coastal towns to the country’s hub and is connected by well maintained national roads to South Africa and Botswana.

Although mostly a starting point for a trip elsewhere, local attractions include Christuskirche, the oldest church in the
country, the Independence Memorial Museum, the National Botanic Garden of Namibia, the Tintenpalast (seat of the government), and the old fort, “Alte Feste.” The influence of the German colonial period can still be seen today in architecture, street names, German beer, bread and sausages. The German carnival is celebrated every year.

Orange River

Area Overview

At over 2,090 km (1,300 mi), the Orange River is one of the longest rivers in Africa and one of just a handful of perennial rivers that run through Namibia’s mostly desert landscape.

Originating in the Lesotho highlands, the river forms part of Namibia’s border with South Africa, and eventually empties into the Atlantic. Its flow is a lifeblood to the local farming community, which takes advantage of the floodplains to grow a variety of crops, particularly grape vines for delicious, world-renown wines. It is also a very popular river-rafting destination.

Sossusvlei

Area Overview

Sossusvlei is a photographer’s dream. In fact it is so unique and beautiful that it is hard to take a bad picture.

Only a three hour drive from Namibia’s capital, Windhoek, it is one of the most sought after and unique destinations in the country. The stark yet ethereal beauty of Namibia is on full display here with the skeletal remains of old camel thorns
strewn amongst salt pans, surrounded by some of the most spectacular sand dunes in the world. This endless expanse of wilderness is home to desert adapted species such as the Gemsbok (Oryx).

One of the most mysterious natural phenomena of the surrounding Namib Desert are the weird and wonderful fairy
circles that give the desertscape an eerie lunar appearance. These are perfectly circular patches of grass that are inexplicably spaced evenly apart and never overlap. The area is extremely dry but every so often when it does rain it can transform the pans into a paradise for thousands of waterbirds, with the appearance of a sea of stunning wildflowers.