Namibia

Namibia – just northwest of the SA border – is a traveller’s wonderland.Its vast distances and desertlandscapes are home to a range ofnatural wonders and fascinating, otherworldly experiences. While it might seem wild and rugged, its tourist facilities are of the highest standard – making it easy to appreciate what this extraordinary desert country has to offer.

Windhoek, the country’s capital, and the coastal town of Swakopmund certainly offer a way in with their German-influenced architecture, culture and cuisine, but the true wonders of Namibia lie beyond the cities, in its breathtaking landscapes and natural attractions: the Fish River Canyon, the Etosha National Park, the hauntingly beautiful landscapes of the Kalahari and the Namib Deserts, the ghost towns of the Skeleton Coast and rare rock art.

These are six of its most spectacular highlights.

SOSSUSVLEI: THE RED SAND DUNES OF THE NAMIB

Walking on the ridge of dune 45, Sossusvlei

Sossusvlei is absolute catnip for photographers: vivid blue skies meet the sinuous curves and stark shadows of gigantic red dunes –some towering almost 400 metres high, making them among the highest in the world. These iconic visions are best appreciated when they’re animated by the mystical early morning and evening light. The bare skeletons of trees and the dramatic silhouettes of the oryx only add to the graphic imagery of this otherworldly landscape. Further opportunities are available at Deadvlei – the flatness of a saltpan punctuated with ancient camelthorn trees – and of course, the Namib-Naukluft NationalPark, which remains among Namibia’s best-loved attractions.

TWYFELFONTEIN: SACRED HOME OF ANCIENT ROCK ART

Prehistoric engravings, Twyfelfontein

If you venture north of the colourful laid-back charms of the seaside resort of Swakopmund, the historic port city stranded between the vast desert and the Atlantic, and head up the Skeleton Coast, you’ll find yourself approaching Twyfelfontein, home to one of the largest and most important concentrations of stone-age petroglyphs – that’s rock art to you and me – in Africa. This remarkable UNESCO World Heritage Site has more than 2 500 sets of rock engravings and paintings dating back six thousand years. Early hunter-gatherers and, later, the Khoikhoi, were attracted to the site by the perennial spring – the Twyfelfontein or ‘Fountain of Doubt’ in the Huab valley – and used it as a place of worship and ritual. The rock art includes imagery of local wildlife such as oryx, mountain zebra, rhino, elephant, giraffe and lion, as well as other shamanistic signs and symbols.

THE ETOSHA PAN

Huge herds of wildlife drinking at a busy waterhole, Etosha

In the heart of the Etosha National Park is 5 000 square kilometres of dry and shimmering pans in a vast shallow depression that fills up after the rainy season, attracting lion, elephant, leopard, rhino, zebra, giraffe, as well as a diversity of birdlife such as flamingos and pelicans. Even in the dry season, wildlife is drawn to the perennial springs and waterholes, making it a destination offering some of the world’s best game-viewing opportunities.

KOLMANSKOP: GHOST TOWN

Adandoned building being taken over by encroaching sand, KOLMANSKOP: GHOST TOWN

About 10km inland from the charmingly frozen-in-time seaside town of Lüderitz is an even more arresting site – the ghost town of Kolmanskop, which is entirely abandoned and is gradually being engulfed by the desert dunes. The discovery of a diamond in the early 20th century by a railway worker sparked a frantic rush of fortune seekers, and in no time at all, a little German town sprang up in the desert, complete with hospital, ballroom, power station, school, skittle-alley, theatre, casino, ice factory and the first x-ray-station in the southern hemisphere. Kolmanskop was also home to Africa’s first tram. When the world’s richest diamond deposits were discovered further south near the Orange River in the late 20s, it sparked another rush, and the town was abandoned as quickly as it spring up. You need a permit to visit, but there’s a museum now, and you can wade through the knee-deep sand that has flooded the houses.

THE CAPRIVI STRIP: WETLAND WONDERLAND

Elephants drinking from and bathing in Kwando River in Caprivi Strip

The storied Caprivi Strip remains one of Namibia’s best-kept secrets, and offers the safari experience to end all safari experiences. In contrast to the desolate beauty of the desert, this 450km panhandle surrounded by four perennial rivers, with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the south and Zimbabwe to the east, offers diverse wetlands, lush tropical vegetation, riverine forest and rich and abundant birdlife. Wildlife here includes elephant, roan antelope, kudu, blue wildebeest, giraffe and Burchell’s zebra.

THE FISH RIVER CANYON: ROCKY WONDERLAND

Fish River canyon - the second largest canyon in the world

This is the largest canyon in Africa and second largest in the world, carved out of the hot, dry, stony landscape of southern Namibia by the great Fish River. The staggering scale of the canyon – 160km long, at times reaching 27 kilometres wide and up to 550 metres deep – is gobsmacking, but when you consider that it slices through 1.5 billion years of ancient geology, you cannot help but feel awestruck. You may appreciate it by heading straight in and striking off on the 85-kilometre Fish River Hiking Trail, or simply view it from the spectacularly scenic viewpoints along its rim. However you do it, immerse yourself afterwards in the hot springs of Ai-Ais – it’s a once-in-a-lifetime destination.