Namibia Safaris

Wildlife, Namibia's chief tourist attraction includes the lion, leopard, elephant, rhinoceros, giraffe, zebra, ostrich, and antelope. Etosha National Park is one of the largest game parks in the world. The beautiful National Parks, such as Etosha, Namib-Naukluft, Waterberg and Kaudom, give you the opportunity to view the African wildlife on game drives and on foot. The wildlife ranges from the tiny dik-dik antelope, elephants, rhinoceros and giraffe to the big cats such as lion and cheetah.

Twyfelfontein

Situated in a beautiful valley in Damaraland and about 7 km from our camp at Aba Huab, Twyfelfontein is home to one of the most important archeological sites in Southern Africa. Here there is an extensive collection of pre-historic rock engravings, or pectoglifs, some dated as early as 3000 BC, carved onto the flat surfaces of a petrified sand dune. The engravings are easily accessible on foot and we take a walk for about one hour with a local guide. We make our visit in the late afternoon, avoiding the heat of the day and catching the engravings in the soft light just before sunset.

Organ Pipes

Close to Twyfelfontein there is geological site called the Organ Pipes. Millions of years ago there was a volcanic dolerite intrusion into the overlying rock. The dolerite cooled very quickly and has formed a series of vertical rock columns that have cracked into symmetrical shapes. The site is called the Organ Pipes because the rock columns resemble the pipes on a large church organ.

Petrified Forest

The Petrified Forest is a geological site situated about 50 km west of Khorixas. The trees are about 260 million years old and became petrified, or fossilised, after being buried under tonnes of wet, silica-rich mud. They have been exposed mostly by the forces of erosion and in some cases are still in remarkably good condition, with the growth rings and bark so well preserved that they could be mistaken for living wood. The "forest" covers an area of about 800m by 300m and lies on a low rise in the Aba Huab River valley. There are at least 50 visible trees, some still only partly exposed. We make a short stop here and have lunch on both the Namibian Explorer and the Northern Highlights safaris.

Sesriem

Sesriem is the gateway to the sand dune desert and is the location of the National Park campsite for this area. Set in a beautiful landscape with mountains to the east and dunes to the west, the sunset colours are unbeatable and the stars at night are almost unbelievable. We camp under the shade of massive, ancient Camelthorn trees, some said to be in excess of 500 years old and in the evenings we are serenaded by the music of the Namibs gekko lizards. 

Sossusvlei

Vlei is the Afrikaans word for pan. In this context a pan is a place where water collects. Sossusvlei is the end of a river, the Tschaub, which flows out of the Naukluft Mountains to the east of Sesriem. Millions of years ago the Tschaub used to flow all the way to the Atlantic but, not being a permanent river and relying purely on seasonal rainfall to make it flow, the "walking" dunes eventually cut the Tschaub off from its natural course, and it now floods into Sossusvlei about once every 10 to 15 years. It is normal for Sossusvlei to be dry. It is a major national event in Namibia when the Tschaub reaches waters end.

The Dune Fields

Sand dunes are the main feature of the Sesriem landscape. Formed over countless millennia, Namibias red sand dunes (red because of a high iron oxide content) are reputed to be the highest in the world. The sand is ocean sand that has been blown inland by the wind. The ocean is very cold because of the Benguela current, an on-shore stream of freezing water straight out of the Antarctic that pushes up against the west coast of Africa, carrying with it tonnes of sand and silt that gets dumped on to Namibias beaches.