LAND OF CONTRASTS
Namibia a tourist spectacle to savour, from Windhoek to Walvis – and more
OF ALL the countries of sub-Saharan Africa, Namibia is arguably the most comprehensively tourist-friendly. Not only does it have exceptional wildlife – including a quarter of the world’s cheetahs and the largest free-ranging population of black rhino – and a well-developed network of parks, reserves and safari lodges, but the landscapes of its coastline and deserts are some of the most photographed and gasped over in the world, meriting a visit in their own right.
Traditional culture remains strong, despite successive colonial occupations by Germany and then South Africa (Namibia gained independence from the latter in 1990) and, for many visitors, meeting the Himba people in the far north-west, or the San (formerly Bushmen) of the Kalahari, is an enriching and humbling experience.
Add to all this efficient infrastructure and you have a recipe for invigorating, trouble-free travels. But where to start?
Namibia is so vast and wild – bigger than France, with a population of just two million – it’s impossible to do it justice in a single trip.
Topographically, it varies from the dunescapes of the Namib Desert in the west to the mountainous wilderness of the north, from the forbidding flatlands of the Kalahari in the east to the stupendous Fish River Canyon in the deep south.
Windhoek, the capital, is the starting and finishing point, a place to stock up and recharge (in decent guesthouses and boutique hotels); while Swakopmund, a Germanic resort on the coast, is a destination in its own right, with palm trees, gift shops, good restaurants and a laid-back feel – not to mention some of the best extreme-sports options, from skydiving to sandboarding, in southern Africa.
Most people opt to combine
wildlife and landscape, and the best way to do it is by driving yourself. Most roads are tarred and suitable for standard 2WD saloons, while, in the remoter areas, the roads are gravel.
Among the must-see destinations for any first-time visitor are Etosha National Park, Swakopmund and Walvis Bay on the coast; and the extraordinary, immense, apricot-coloured sand dunes of Sossusvlei in the Namib-Naukluft Park. Other, more adventurous, destinations include, in the north-west, the bleakly beautiful, fog-bound Skeleton Coast, and the mountainous desertscapes of Damaraland and the Kaokoveld, home to the Himba people (you’ll need a 4x4 to explore).
Also, in the far south, the ghosttown of Kolmanskop, abandoned when diamond-mining operations ceased half a century ago; the restricted area of the Sperrgebiet; and the geological freak show that is the Fish River Canyon. The five-day, 80km trek along the latter is one of Africa’s greatest hiking trails. A way to maximise your time in Namibia, is to take a plane for some of the long distances. Plenty of visitors opt for a combination of flying and driving to pack in as much as possible (a bonus, incidentally, being the opportunity to see wildlife from the air); but this is, of course, more expensive than driving yourself.
The other option, if your pockets really are deep, is to fly everywhere. And the climax of any holiday by air has to be a Skeleton Coast Fly-In Safari, which promises to unlock the secrets of this haunting region on a series of flights and vehicle excursions, with accommodation in private tented camps. For those with a passion for conservation or community work, as well as game-viewing, there are camps that combine these elements.
They include, in Damaraland, Desert Rhino Camp, the field HQ of the Save the Rhino Trust; Okonjima, halfway between Windhoek and Etosha, which is also home to the AfriCat Foundation; the Naankuse Lodge and Foundation near Windhoek; and Nhoma Safari Camp in the Kalahari, where guests immerse themselves in the San culture. – The Telegraph