Lovely Namibia
Namibia means "a place of great arid plains" and lives as much as this name. The northern parts of the country are grass covered savannah, but the lasting impression is one hunt in Africa all unrelenting harshness and lack of water.
This is among the most sparsely populated lands on earth. San hunters, Khoikhoi and European renegades fleeing justice in the Cape were a number of the pioneers of the area. Restless and wild, they have been free from any authorities management until 1884 when the nation was brought beneath the control of the German Empire. Second solely in measurement to the Grand Canyon of the USA, the Fish River Canyon is 161 km long, 27 km large and up to 549 meters deep.
The jagged ravine cuts deep into the arid land. Daytime temperatures reach 48ºC and infrequently drop below 35ºC, however nights could be very cold. The canyon is the scene of certainly one of Africa's finest mountain climbing trails. As you descend into the depths of the canyon at its northern end, civilization is left far behind, and for the next 4 or 5 days you possibly can experience one of many final tracts of true wilderness on the African continent.
Sossusvlei is one in all Namibia's most spectacular pure wonders. It lies about four hundred km northwest of the canyon in the heart of the Namib desert. It was opened to the general public solely in 1977 and is a good favorite of photographers and nature lovers. The large red dunes, up to 300 metres high are the biggest in the world and are an unforgettable sight at dawn or within the late afternoon sun.
The greatest experience of all nonetheless, is to see the pan filled with water. This is something that seldom happens and photographers from all over Southern Africa will drop everything and head for Sossusvlei for a once in a lifetime image on those rare occasions.
Although the Skeleton Coast could be mentioned to encompass the entire shoreline of Namibia, the Skeleton Coast Nationwide Park is bounded by the Kunene River in the north and the Ugab River within the south.
The early Portuguese explorers called it "the coast of hell" nevertheless it grew to become often known as the Skeleton Coast largely as a result of dismal destiny 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, very like the present day Okavango in Botswana. In former years large numbers of elephant, rhino, impala and hippo may very well be found here, at the moment they've largely been hunted out, however Willem van der Riet, the primary particular person to navigate the river in a canoe, reported that the Kunene crocodiles had been the largest and most fearsome that he had ever seen.