The immense Namib Desert is one of the most ancient deserts on earth. It consists of massive mountains of sand, fossilized driftwood, skeletons, ancient granite mountains, doleritic plains, San cave art, shipwrecks, the marvelous Welwitschia, desert elephants, and gemsbok. The desert lies on the southwest coast of Africa, mainly in Namibia.
Need Advice?The desert has few permanent inhabitants - only a few coastal villages. The sea of the Namib teems with fish, and the desert itself has a wealth of minerals, such as diamonds at Oranjemund and Alexander Bay.
The plants of the Namib have adapted to this barren area. A variety of animals, such as gemsbok, springbok, zebra, ostrich, and jackals, are found on the plains and dunes of the Namib Desert. Hyenas, elephants, rhinos, lions, and jackals inhabit the northern areas. The outer parts of Namib's dunes have an abundance of geckos, insects, and snakes but almost no mammals.
Experiencing the Namib Desert is a focus of this fourteen-day private overland tour of the highlights of Namibia.
Sossusvlei and parts of the desert south of this iconic destination are explored in the company of a private African Sky guide.
Visits to Swakopmund and the Skeleton Coast north of the town are the highlights of this short vacation in Namibia.
The Namib Desert covers an immense area and offers visitors unique accommodations in otherworldly settings.
Sossusvlei Desert Lodge offers luxury accommodation, sweeping views of ancient mountains, a dune sea, and a night sky you will see brighter almost nowhere.
Desert Camp offers comfortable self-catering accommodation near Sossusvlei. All twenty-eight units provide en-suite bathrooms and a verandah.
Le Mirage is a unique property about 85 km from Sossusvlei built on a desert plain with exceptional views of the surrounding landscape. It offers all amenities.
Desert Breeze Lodge is a stone's throw from central Swakopmund. The vivid colors of the lodge create a stark contrast with the surrounding desert landscape.
The Namib Desert is one of the most stunning places to go hot air ballooning. The vastness of the expanse can only be fully comprehended when you see it from the skies. Take an early morning trip as the sun rises over the sandy dunes of the desert, and see the landscape transform in front of your eyes.
It has some of the world's highest dunes, with several peaks exceeding 300m. Various operators in the area offer adventure activities on the dunes, of which the most renowned is sand boarding. Strap in and enjoy the ride as you kick up sprays of sand. Remember, however, sandboarding is not snowboarding, so take care to follow the instructions.
The largely uninhabited, untouched landscape of the Namib, combined with an annual rainfall of between 2mm to 0.079mm, means that the clear sky is also one of the darkest in the world. It is, therefore, one of the best places to view the shimmering brilliance of the night sky and glimpse fleeting shooting stars.
The fascinating experiences in the Namib Desert range dramatically in their scope of focus, from the minute, desert-adapted creatures that you should keep an eye out for to the vast open spaces that will take your breath away.
Guests traveling to the Namib Desert are welcomed at OR Tambo International in Johannesburg and assisted in boarding a flight to Hosea Kutako International Airport in Windhoek. Upon arrival, guests will board a light charter flight to Swakopmund or a commercial flight to Walvis Bay, depending on your first destination within the Namib Desert.
Traveling through Namib can be a daunting experience, but not when traveling with African Sky. An expert guide will transport guests in a private, air-conditioned 4x4 vehicle. If you are visiting various destinations in the Namib expanse, you will be chartered on a light aircraft over longer distances to ensure your comfort.
The Namib Desert covers a vast expanse with varying climates. The coastal climate is mild throughout the year, while inland temperatures vary drastically. The coastal regions are characterized by rolling fogs and are a regular phenomenon. The mist is further pressed inward by strong winds from the Atlantic.
The inland areas have sweltering summers, mild winter days, and freezing winter nights. It is better to go the Namib during the winter. Although this is the dry season, the temperatures are more comfortable compared to the summer daytime temperatures that easily exceed 45C. The pans are exceptional in winter and summer, depending on what you wish to see.
The Namib Desert is the oldest in the world. It has been an arid environment for the last 55 million years. These conditions were brought about by the continental split of west Gondwana 130 to 145 million years ago, and the area that is now the Namib Desert moved north toward the Tropic of Capricorn. Because the region's climate remained stable for such an extended period, it allowed for an evolutionary environment specific to arid environment species found nowhere else on earth. Fog constantly forms as cold air brought about by the Benguela Current, and warm air from the Hadley Cell collide. As a result, the coastal region experiences 180 days of fog a year.
The constant coastal fog has been disastrous for ships and caused more than a thousand to meet their end here. The Skeleton Coast gets its name from these wrecks that litter the landscape. This unforgiving, arid environment has seen very little human habituation over time. Stone tools and some rock art indicate that the Stone Age Bushmen that followed a hunter-gatherer lifestyle, once occupied the area. Even today, very few people live here. There are only some small scattered settlements of pastoral groups like the Topnaar Nama in the central region and Ovahimba and Obatjimba Herero in the north.
Due to the unmatched age of the desert, it is the home of more endemic animal species than any other desert in the world. An example of this is the endemic darkling beetle species. The beetle is one of these species and survives by capturing morning fog with bumpy elytrons that consist of hydrophilic bumps and hydrophobic troughs. The elytrons then condense the fog into droplets that roll down the beetle's back to its mouth. Collectively, these beetles are known as "fog beetles." Another endemic specie of darkling beetle that is only known by the scientific name 'Lepidochora discoidalis' builds webs to trap the fog.
The coastline seasonally produces large amounts of prey in the form of Cape fur seal pups. Predators include leopards, lions, black-backed jackals, brown hyenas, and some spotted hyenas in the east. Cape fur seals provide abundant prey, but only during the breeding season - other prey species include springbok, steenbok, klipspringer, Chacma baboon, feral horses, and gemsbok. The predators here have also adapted to eat insects and fruit to survive. Desert bird species attract birders from far and wide. Birds one might find here include Herero chat, Karoo lark, lesser honeyguide, and Karoo eremomela.
The Namib is described as the only true desert in Southern Africa. It is understandably not particularly famous for its diversity in terms of vegetative species. The desert is, however, known for its unusual flora and enchanting terrain. One of the prominent features of the area's geology is the sand seas on the coast. With dunes that reach 300m in height and span 32km, these are some of the giant dunes in the world. Moving away from the Atlantic Coast, the desert transforms into dry, cracked plains and stone mountains. It covers an area of more than 80 000 km2, larger than some countries, including Ireland, and is almost twice the size of Switzerland.
After the rainy season, in the inland mountains, you can find several temporary rivers in Namib. However, they last only a short time, and most never make it to the coast. Upon exploring the area, you are sure to find some plants whose sheer will to survive and method of survival will surprise you. For example, the Welwitschia mirabilis, or tree tumbo, only produces two leaves that grow endlessly along the ground and can become thousands of years old. The Camelthorn tree also plays a vital role in providing shade for other plants and animals - especially nesting birds during the spring – and for seed distribution. It is truly remarkable to see how the vegetation has adapted to survive.
When visiting the oldest desert in the world, you will find a surprisingly large amount of things to do and places to see. It is almost impossible to comprehend the immense vastness of the Namib, and the closest you will get to understand its enormity is by taking a hot air balloon ride. You will not regret a single second. If this doesn't make you feel small, looking up at the night sky on one of the many cloudless evenings is a sure cure. Sossusvlei has been certified as a "Dark Sky Reserve," which means that the night skies viewed here are among the darkest in the world because of the absence of pollution. Go on, breathe in the stars.
If you're attracted to the coastline or have an interest in seafaring, you must make your way to the Skeleton Coast, named after the multitude of ships that met their end here due to the fog-riddled climate. Wherever you travel along the Namib, be sure to take your camera, as the various landscapes are mesmerizing. There are also many types of safaris offered in the region, such as 4x4, boat, or walking safaris. For the more adventurous spirits, quad biking, horse riding, dune boarding, skydiving, and surfing are available and are sure to get the heart racing.
