There are certain countries that can go quietly ‘below the radar’ despite offering exceptional travel experiences and we have long found Namibia to be a great example of this.
A land of breathtaking scenery and wildlife, Namibia often features in a rather unheralded fashion on lists of travellers’ favourite destinations suggesting it consistently surpasses expectations for those who visit.
It is a country of vast panoramas and true wilderness and is home to the world’s oldest desert, highest sand dunes and second largest canyon.
In the north, the silver Etosha salt pan offers superb game-viewing and has floodlit waterholes where each evening you can observe elephant, giraffe and zebra quietly emerging from the surrounding inky darkness to drink their fill side by side.
Roaming the wilds of Damaraland further to the west are endangered black rhino and desert-adapted elephant. Here too can be explored Brandberg Mountain and the Gross Spitzkoppe which are endowed with a wealth of African rock art.
Pelican Point near Walvis Bay gives the chance to gently kayak through colonies of up to 300 cape fur seals and northwards from the town of Swakopmund a light aircraft flight along the Skeleton Coast affords a birds-eye view of wave-battered beaches that host flocks of flamingos and are strewn with shipwrecks and whale bones.
To the south, perhaps the most spectacular scenery of all is found amidst the dunes of Sossusvlei, where ascending the crest of one of these huge sand mountains at sunrise to witness the landscape becoming flooded with deep-hued colours helps you understand why Namibia is so beloved by photographers.
There is so much more too – from the wetlands of the Caprivi strip to the wildlife of Okonjima, and from the diamond-mining ‘ghost town’ of Kolmanskop to hiking in the Erongo mountains. It’s a country that also boasts some of the most comfortable self-drive road conditions in Africa.
The best time to visit is during the dry season from April to October when skies are typically clear of clouds.
As an extension to your trip, consider combining your visit with a few days sightseeing in Cape Town or add on a stay at Victoria Falls.
We have various small group tours, fully tailor-made and 4WD itineraries based from 3-star accommodation upwards that we can assist you with.
So, if all this grabs you, get in touch – we’d love to help you explore the outstanding unsung nation that is Namibia.
Happy travelling!
The Nomads