Spanning an area of 172,200 hectares and encompassing four distinct ecosystems, the NamibRand Reserve of southern Namibia is among the largest privately owned game parks in Southern Africa. Founded to conserve the unique environment and wildlife species of the Namib Desert, the park’s mix of dunes, mountains, rocky outcrops, sandy flats, and gravel plains provides habitats for a diversity of mammals, including hyenas, jackals, foxes, antelopes, and various wild cats. A plethora of bird species, reptiles, insects, and frogs also have their home here, alongside an array of plant species. Discover the mysterious ‘fairy circles’, unexplained bare patches in the sand, or enjoy a night of sublime stargazing - having been named Africa’s first International Dark Sky Reserve, it is one of the least light-polluted areas in the world.
Where Kaokoland meets the Skeleton Coast, in western Namibia, the 270-kilometre-long Hoanib River is one of the last water oases in the country, providing a haven for numerous animals. Home to 75% of Namibia’s endemic species, including the largest numbers of desert-adapted, free-roaming elephants, lions, and rhinos in the world, as well as zebra, kudu, and giraffe, this is a truly exceptional and awe-inspiring place. Visitors can enjoy taking a wonderful four-wheel-drive route, going on adventurous hiking trails, running down enormous sand dunes, or climbing massive, strangely shaped rock formations as well as several guided nature walks.
Stretching from the Swakop River to southern Angola, Namibia’s Skeleton Coast is known as the 'Land God Made in Anger'. Thousands of miles of sandy desert dotted with shipwrecks meet with the cold waters of the Atlantic, where ocean fog creeps over the shoreline. Somehow, an amazing array of wildlife and flora manages to survive in this harsh but beautiful environment. Animals living here include seabird colonies, Cape fur seals, zebras, gemsbok, desert-adapted elephants, lions, and many more. Surfing enthusiasts are drawn to the powerful crashing waves, and photographers flock from around the globe to snapshot the eerie shipwreck graveyards and breathtaking coastline.
