Lovely Namibia

Namibia means "a place of nice arid plains" and lives up to this name. The northern components of the country are grass covered savannah, however the lasting impression is one in every of unrelenting harshness and lack of water.

This is one of the most sparsely populated lands on earth. San hunters, Khoikhoi and European renegades fleeing justice within the Cape had been among the pioneers of the area. Restless and wild, they have been free from any government control until 1884 when the country was brought below the control of the German Empire. Second only in size to the Grand Canyon of the USA, the Fish River Canyon is 161 km long, 27 km broad and as much as 549 meters deep.

The jagged ravine cuts deep into the arid land. Daytime temperatures reach 48ºC and infrequently drop beneath 35ºC, but nights might be very cold. The canyon is the scene of one of Africa's finest mountaineering trails. As you descend into the depths of the canyon at its northern end, civilization is left far behind, and for the subsequent four or five days you can expertise one of the last tracts of true wilderness on the African continent.

Sossusvlei is one of Namibia's most spectacular pure wonders. It lies about four hundred km northwest of the canyon within the heart of the Namib desert. It was opened to the public solely in 1977 and is a great favorite of photographers and nature lovers. The huge red dunes, as much as 300 metres high are the most important on the earth and are an unforgettable sight at dawn or within the late afternoon sun.

The greatest experience of all however, is to see the pan stuffed with water. This is one thing that seldom happens and photographers from all over Southern trophy hunting Africa will drop every thing and head for Sossusvlei for a once in a lifetime picture on those uncommon occasions.

Although the Skeleton Coast can be stated to encompass all the shoreline of Namibia, the Skeleton Coast National Park is bounded by the Kunene River within the north and the Ugab River within the south.

The early Portuguese explorers called it "the coast of hell" but it surely grew to become often known as the Skeleton Coast largely because of the dismal fate awaiting shipwreck survivors by way of the centuries.
The Kunene River types Namibia's northern border with Angola and is Namibia's largest river.

In historic times the Kunene emptied its contents into the Etosha Pan, much like the present day Okavango in Botswana. In former years massive numbers of elephant, rhino, impala and hippo could possibly be discovered here, right now they've largely been hunted out, however Willem van der Riet, the primary person to navigate the river in a canoe, reported that the Kunene crocodiles have been the most important and most fearsome that he had ever seen.