SEA OF DUNES

Located in the southern part of the Namib desert in the Namib-Naukluft National Park, Sossusvlei is one of the most iconic desert destinations in the world, thanks to its massive red sand dunes which are among the tallest in the world and its distinctive, salt and white clay pans dotted with 900 year-old dead trees. 

The contrast between the dead trees, the pale pans, dark red dunes and the sky makes this area one of the most photographed in Africa and it possesses a stunning, if stark beauty all of its own, whether in colour or black and white! 

Exploring Sossusvlei is best done in the early morning before the heat of the day sets in. Enjoy hot-air ballooning over the dune sea, a helicopter flight or climbing the dunes on foot to enjoy the stunning vistas from their peaks. Game drives are also available in both the Namib-Naukluft and its neighboring private reserves.

You can see a wide range of wildlife in Sossusvlei, from larger mammals like gemsbok to the tiny palmato gecko that lives in the loose sand of the dunes, as well as a range of interesting bird, reptile and insect life.

Etosha

THE GREAT WHITE PLACE

One of the largest national parks in Africa, Etosha is a salt pan so large it can be seen from space! The park covers 8,600 square miles, of which more than a quarter is the salt pan itself, formed millions of years ago when a shallow lake dried up following the shifting of the Earth's tectonic plates beneath it. 

Today, Etosha is home to the largest concentrations of game in Namibia, with the big five - elephant, buffalo, leopard, lion and rhino - all present, as well as a diverse variety of other plains game and endemic species. The game gathers around permanent waterholes surrounded by the shimmering pale clay that makes this place so distinctive.

The huge bull elephants that dust-bathe in the pale clay develop an ethereal, white appearance that has given them the name "the grey ghosts of Etosha" making them some of the most photogenic in Africa! It's not uncommon to see elephant, rhino, giraffe, springbok and zebra in huge numbers all interacting around the waterholes, producing incredible photographic opportunities for guests keen to capture scenes seen nowhere else in Africa.

OUT OF THIS WORLD

From the towering Spitzkoppe and the great massif of the Brandberg to the ancient petroglyphs and organpipe rock formations of Twyfelfontein, the Damaraland region is one of Namibia's most dramatic and mountainous, offering up simply awe-inspiring landscapes and out-of-this-world vistas. 

Damaraland is also home to some of Namibia's most iconic desert-adapted species, including elephant, white and black rhino and lion, making it an absolute must on any safari itinerary. 

With its vast, starkly beautiful plains interrupted by the jagged peaks of mountains and rocky outcrops, plunging valleys and ancient riverbeds, Damaraland was the traditional hunting ground of the San bushmen, who engraved images of the animals they encountered on the bare rock faces.

Those same images now capture the imagination of visitors from across the world, drawn to this epic land of prehistoric and natural wonders that captivates all who see it.

HIDDEN GEMS

The burning shores of the Skeleton Coast have claimed the lives of countless seafarers throughout history and its beaches are littered with the remains of ships old and modern who have sailed too close to these treacherous shores. 

In spite of its remote and inhospitable reputation, the Skeleton Coast is nonetheless breathtakingly, if not hauntingly beautiful and is home to large colonies of Cape fur seals and the mysterious "strandwolf" - the brown hyena.

It stretches northwards from the coastal town of Swakopmund to the northern border of Angola, where the Kunene River empties into the cold Atlantic.

The region south of the Kunene is known as the Kaokaveld and it's one of Namibia's most beautiful, remote and fascinating areas, being home to the Himba people whose women daub their bodies and hair in "otjize" a paste made from aromatic resin, butter, fat and red ochre. 

This is where you can find desert adapted lion, giraffe and rhino, as well as elephant making it one of Namibia's top wildlife hotspots and home to some of its most remote and beautiful safari camps.