The Kalahari is an exceptionally beautiful living desert a large semi-arid sandy savannah draped over a gently rolling inland sea of sand covering most of Botswana and large parts of Namibia and South Africa. It is also the last bastion of the San people with the modern world having enveloped all the other areas they once roamed. Here in Namibia it is typically red sands covered in thin, wispy, mostly golden grass and dotted with acacia trees and wide ranging wildlife including gemsbok, impala, jackals and cheetah.
Spanning more than 172,000 hectares and encompassing several distinct desert ecosystems, the NamibRand Nature Reserve in southern Namibia is one of the largest private nature reserves in Southern Africa. Founded to conserve the unique ecosystem and biodiversity of the Namib Desert, the reserve'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. The reserve is also home to numerous bird species, reptiles, insects, and amphibians, alongside an array of plant species. Discover the mysterious fairy circles, enigmatic bare patches in the desert landscape whose origins remain the subject of scientific debate, or enjoy a night of sublime stargazing; as Africa's first International Dark Sky Reserve, it is one of the least light-polluted areas in the world.
As previously described
The Kaokoveld is a dry, mountainous and relatively undeveloped region that takes in the harsh beauty of the Skeleton Coast and the coppery sands of the northern Namib Desert. The area is inhabited by three main ethnic groups – the Damara, Herero and Himba people – each with their unique customs, traditions and rituals.
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.
