Namibia is the driest country in Sub Saharan Africa. To put that in context: There are 54 countries in Africa, of which 46 are considered Sub Saharan. It therefore stands to reason that a country such as this, which is the 34th largest in the world, has one of the lowest populations at only about 2.2 million inhabitants.
See desert adapted creatures eke out their existence in the sparse desert environment, including elephant, rhino and lion. Visit ancient rock engravings or stand in complete awe at the foot of the giant sand dunes of Sossusvlei. And still there is more – the ghost town of Kolmanskop reclaimed by the desert, the desert-adapted wild horses of Aus, the ocean fishing town of Swakopmund, the wildlife around the pans of Etosha National Park, and the Bushman of the Kalahari… Namibia is a place that demands attention and time, but gives back so much more than it takes.
Known as Namibia’s foremost wildlife sanctuary, Etosha National Park boasts a unique and varied landscape, with a wide and interesting variety of animals. Lion, elephant, leopard, giraffe, cheetah, hyena, springbok, two kinds of zebra, eland and many more species roam the area. Etosha is home to one of the largest and most stable populations of black rhino in the world, as well as many rare and unusual species – like the black-faced impala, Hartmann’s mountain zebra and the smallest antelope in the world, the Damara dikdik.
The word Etosha means the ”great white area” and refers to its huge salt pan. The pan in itself is an impressive sight, certainly the biggest salt pan in Africa. When it rains, the water pools in the pan and attracts hundreds of thousands of flamingos – a truly glorious natural phenomenon.
Etosha National Park is any photographer or nature lover’s dream. In the wet season, huge numbers of game stroll the plains and as the rain season comes to an end, the wildlife congregate around waterholes, set against an otherwise starkly dry landscape. This activity creates some of the densest game viewing opportunities in the world.
Sossusvlei epitomises unspoilt desert beauty. A salt and clay pan, the area is situated in one of the largest conservation reserves in Africa – the Namib-Naukluft National Park. The Sossusvlei area is incredibly popular with photographers and tourists, with this scenic region being famous for its large, red sand dunes. The dunes of Sossusvlei are some of the tallest in the world, and is one of Namibia’s most visited attractions.
The word Sossusvlei originates from the Nama word for ‘dead-end’ and the Afrikaans word for ‘marsh’. Strictly speaking, the area refers specifically to the salt and clay pan at the end of the Tsauchab River, however it’s often used to include Dune 45, Deadvlei and Hiddenvlei in its entirety. At Sossusvlei, the dunes meet and this prevents the Tsauchab River from flowing any further, hence its name meaning ‘dead-end marsh’.
The famous red dunes of the Namib Desert have developed over many millions of years and change shape with the wind. The Sossusvlei sand dunes specifically, are known as ‘star dunes’, due to the wind shaping them from different directions.
The fauna and flora of the Namib Desert have adapted to survive in their extreme environment, with temperatures reaching upwards of 40 degrees celsius in the day and then falling to below freezing at night. Some of the larger mammals you can see are ostrich, springbok and gemsbok. Larger predators include spotted and brown hyena with some of the smaller mammals being the bat-eared fox, black-backed jackal, porcupine, Cape fox and aardwolf.
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