 From
the massive dunes of the Namib Desert to the haunting beaches of the
Skeleton Coast, Namibia is a land of spectacular contrasts.......
The
Kaokoveld is one of Africa's last wildernesses. This is Namibia's least
inhabited area. It stretches from the coastal desert plain and rises
slowly into a wild and rugged landscape. Here slow-growing trees cling to
rocky mountains, whilst wild grass seeds wait dormant on the dust plains
for showers of rain
This is one of the
last refuges for the black rhino, which still survive (and thrive) here by
ranging wide, and knowing where the seasonal plants grow.
It is also home to
the famous desert elephants. Some naturalists have cited their apparently
long legs, and proven ability to withstand drought, as evidence that they
are actually a subspecies of the African elephant. Though this is not now
thought to be the case, these remarkable animals are certainly adept at
surviving in the driest of areas, using their amazing knowledge of the few
water sources that do exist.
 Skeleton Coast. Treacherous fogs and strong currents forced many
ships on to the uncharted sandbanks that shift underwater like the
desert’s sands. Even if the sailors survived the shipwreck, their problems
had only just begun.
The coast here is but a barren line between an icy,
pounding ocean and the stark desert interior. The present road (C34) runs
more or less parallel to the ocean, and often feels like a drive along an
enormous beach – with the sea on one side, and the sand continuing forever
on the other.
Etosha is an apparently endless pan of silvery-white sand, upon which dust
devils play and mirages blur the horizon. As a game park, it excels during
the dry season when huge herds of animals can be seen amidst some of the
most startling and photogenic scenery in Africa.
When people speak of visiting the Namib Desert, this is often where they
mean. The classic desert scenery around Sesriem and Sossusvlei is the stuff
that postcards are made of – enormous apricot dunes with gracefully curving
ridges, invariably pictured in the sharp light of dawn with a photogenic
gemsbok or feathery acacia adjacent.
Sesriem and
Sossusvlei lie on the Tsauchab River, one of two large rivers (the other
being the Tsondab, further north) which flow westward into the great
dune-field of the central Namib, but never reach the ocean. Both end by
forming flat white pans dotted with green trees, surrounded by spectacular
dunes – islands of life within a sea of sand.
At the far
southern end of the Kaokoveld lies a small cluster of mountains, rising from
the flat gravel plains that make up the desert floor. These include
Spitzkoppe, Klein Spitzkoppe and Pondok Mountains. Of these the highest is
Spitzkoppe which towers 600m above the surrounding plains: a demanding
technical climb. Its resemblance to the famous Swiss mountain earned it the
name of the Matterhorn of Africa while the extreme conditions found on its
faces ensured that it remained unclimbed until 1946.
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