Southern Namibia

The Namib-Naukluft Park is Namibia's largest nature reserve, about 50.000 sqkms in size stretching along the coastline from the Swakop valley in the north, towards Luederitz in the south. Most parts of this enormous area are not accessible to man. One can only visit a small stretch north of the Kuiseb river: the Naukluft Mountains and the Sossusvlei in the central dune fields.

Luderitz is a quirky town lodged in one of the best harbours on the least hospitable coast in Africa. It began life as a trading post, fishing and guano-harvesting town, but when diamonds were discovered in 1909 in nearby Kolmanskop, Lüderitz enjoyed a sudden surge of prosperity. Now the diamonds are mostly found elsewhere and offshore, so Lüderitz has reverted to its former self. One of Luderitz' main attractions is Kolmanskop Ghost Town. This previously bustling diamond town is now abandoned and fights a constant struggle with the sand dunes of the Namib Desert.

The Fish River canyon, situated along the lower reaches of the Fish River, is one of the most impressive natural beauties in the southern part of Namibia. With a depth of up to 550 metres, the Fish River Canyon is the second largest canyon in the world, before the Grand Canyon in America. The enormous gorge meanders along a distance of approx. 160 kilometres through the fissured Koubis massif all the way down to Ai-Ais.

The Sossusvlei, Namibia's highlight in the heart of the Namib desert, is a huge clay-pan, enclosed by mighty red sand dunes. Some of the spectacular hills of sand reach a height of 300 metres, and belong to the highest in the world. Only after a heavy rainfall, which is very seldom in this area, does the vlei fill with water. As the clay layers are hardly impervious to water, a turquoise lake remains for quite some time.