NAMIBIA SAFARI VACATIONS
Mysterious and enigmatic, Namibia possesses a unique beauty. From the harshly inhospitable Skeleton Coast with its shipwrecks to the vast salt pans of the Etosha National Park, Namibia is one of the most amazing countries in Africa.
Massive, shifting sand dunes, said to be the highest in the world, form an ever changing interplay of light and shade under the hot Namib Desert sun at Sossusvlei. This area is a must for photographers. Not only are the dramatic shapes of the red sands wonderfully photogenic but here you may get a picture of the magnificent desert oryx.
Botanists and zoologists are often keen to observe the adaptation of both animal and plant species to the apparently hostile environment. Namibia offers a rare chance to see fascinating animals such as the oryx, known as 'master of the desert', and the endangered desert elephant, both of which are very specialised. The Huab Valley also has rare specimens of Welwitschia Mirabilis, a strange tree that has been stunted by the desert climate and is a supreme example of evolutionary adaptation.
In Etosha National Park you will see more familiar wildlife where elephant, springbok, wildebeest, eland and zebra range the park and congregate at the water holes in far larger numbers during the dry months of June to December. There are also good numbers of lion, leopard and black rhino. The Ongava Game Reserve, next to Etosha, even has white rhino.
Swakopmund is a quiet seaside town with considerable charm. An extremely comfortable base from which to explore the desert and coast, this is a wonderful place from which to take exciting dune rides on quad bikes, to dune board at speeds of up to eighty kilometres per hour or, perhaps take a trip to the Cape Cross Seal Colony. There is even one of the only four desert golf courses in the world.
The desert is a wonderful place for those seeking solitude and the time in which to reflect, yet Namibia also offers so much more. Fascinating animals, a strange and interesting plant world, the heart-pounding thrill of adrenaline sports and some of the most strangely haunting landscapes in the world.
SKELETON COAST
Extending from the Kunene River, that divides Namibia from Angola, down to the Ugab river on the southern border, the Skeleton Coast Park takes in a strip of land of about five hundred kilometres in length. Mysterious, untamed, bleak and remote, yet with a harsh beauty all its own, the Skeleton Coast makes the traveller an explorer.
The coast here is littered with the skeletons of ships that have come to grief due to the uncertain coastal weather and the thick fogs that form because of the Benguela Current.
The harsh landscape has meant that only the well adapted may live here. Right in the most northerly part of the park you may take a boat ride on the Kunene River to see the crocodiles - however, this part of the park is restricted to fly-in safaris only.