Desert

Desert

Tours and Adventures

Namibia, South Africa Namibia posesses some of the most stunning landscapes in Africa, and a trip through the country is one of the great road adventures. Natural wonders such as that mighty gash in the earth at Fish River Canyon and the wildlife utopia of Etosha National Park enthrall, but it’s the lonely desert roads where mighty slabs of granite rise out of swirling desert sands that will sear themselves in your mind. It’s like a coffee-table book come to life as sand dunes in the world’s oldest desert meet the crashing rollers along the wild Atlantic coast.

Namibia Tours

Safaris

National Park

Camping

Adventuring

SIGHTS

PARKS & GARDENS

Sossusvlei Desert

SIGHTS / NATURAL LANDMARKS

Sossusvlei, a large ephemeral pan, is set amid red sand dunes that tower up to 325m above the valley floor. It rarely contains any water, but when the Tsauchab River has gathered enough volume and momentum to push beyond the thirsty plains to the sand sea, it’s completely transformed. The normally cracked dry mud gives way to an ethereal blue-green lake, surrounded by greenery and attended by aquatic birdlife, as well as the usual sand-loving gemsbok and ostriches.

This sand probably originated in the Kalahari between three and five million years ago. It was washed down the Orange River and out to sea, where it was swept northwards with the Benguela Current to be deposited along the coast. The best way to get the measure of this sandy sprawl is to climb a dune, as most people do.

At the end of the 65km 2WD road from Sesriem is the 2WD Car Park, and only 4WDs can drive the last 4km into the Sossusvlei Pan itself. Visitors with lesser vehicles park at the 2WD Car Park and walk, hitch or catch the shuttle to cover the remaining distance. If you choose to walk, which really is the best way to take in all the desert scenery, allot about 90 minutes, and carry enough water for a hot, sandy slog in the sun

Etosha National

Park

SIGHTS / PARKS & GARDENS

The 20,000 sq km (7722 sq mi) Etosha National Park is one of the world's greatest wildlife-viewing spots. For a few days each year, this immense, flat, saline desert is converted by the rains into a shallow lagoon teeming with flamingos and white pelicans. However, it's the surrounding bush and grasslands that provide habitat for Etosha's diverse wildlife.

It may look barren, but the landscape surrounding the pan is home to 114 mammal species as well as 340 bird species, 16 reptiles and amphibians, one fish species and countless insects.

The best way to see Etosha's animals is to hire a vehicle, park near a waterhole and wait for the lions, elephants and springboks to turn up for a drink.

Fish River Canyon

SIGHTS / NATURAL LANDMARKS

There's nowhere else in Africa like Fish River Canyon, which has been gouging this gorge for thousands of years with incredible results. It's huge - 160km (99mi) long and 27km (17mi) wide - and most of the canyon falls within Fish River Canyon National Park, where you can camp, walk, hike or relax in the bubbling hot springs.

At the northern end of the national park, there's the Hobas Information Centre, picnic sites, camp grounds, walking trails, and access to some of the best viewpoints in the canyon.

From Hobas, you can walk the five-day Fish River Hiking Trail to Ai-Ais, at the other end of the canyon. The 85km (53mi) walk follows the sandy bed of the river (it should contain water in May or June). There are also day walks at the northern end of the canyon.

At the southern end, Ai-Ais is a pleasant hot-spring oasis. The springs, which are piped into swimming pools and jacuzzis, apparently relieve rheumatism and nervous disorders. Ai-Ais has camping sites, bungalows and caravans.

Petrified Forest

SIGHTS / NATURAL PARKS & FORESTS

The petrified forest is an area of open veld scattered with petrified tree trunks up to 34m long and 6m in circumference, which are estimated to be around 260 million years old. The original trees belonged to an ancient group of cone-bearing plants that are known as Gymnospermae, which includes such modern plants as conifers, cycads and welwitschias. Because of the lack of root or branch remnants, it’s thought that the trunks were transported to the site in a flood.

About 50 individual trees are visible, some half buried in sandstone and many perfectly petrified in silica – complete with bark and tree rings. In 1950, after souvenir hunters had begun to take their toll, the site was declared a national monument, and it’s now strictly forbidden to carry off even a small scrap of petrified wood. Guides are compulsory.

Namibia is where dunes and

mountains

Namibia

is an elephant stomping ground

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