It is one of the world’s oldest deserts, after the Atacama, has existed for over 55 million years, completely devoid of surface water but bisected by several dry riverbeds. The Namib Desert flanks the Indian Ocean in southern Namibia and it is well protected in a series of National Parks, Recreation Areas and Protected Diamond Areas.

This extremely arid eco region comprises shifting sand dunes, gravel plains and rugged mountains. Stretching 1,200 miles in length, but average a width of only 70 miles, the Namib Desert is home to the highest sand dunes in the world.

Namibia offers a diverse range of highlights: the Kunene River – unusual geological formations including Fish River Canyon; the abundant bird and wildlife; pristine wilderness National Parks and waterfalls; and various adventure opportunities – from sand boarding, canoeing, white water rafting to hot air ballooning.

Namibia is a country in southern Africa on the Atlantic coast with riveting contradictions. The vast and forbidding landscape is outworldly.

These are tourists climbing one of the Sossusvlei dunes, which rise as high as 1,000 feet and cover an enormous area as large as Maryland (along 400 miles of the coast).

Namibia generally attracts eco-tourists with its different climates and natural geographical landscapes such as the great estern desert, plains and the elephants in Etosha National Park.

The majority of Namibian population is Black African- mostly of the Ovambo ethnicity. There’re also Herero and Himba people, who speak a similar language. The picture displays Himba women in their village outside Opuwo.

Absolutely unbelievable, there’re also seals, which lounge very often on boulders at the Cape Cross Seal Reserve along Namibia’s coast.

Cape Cross Reserve is crowded with seals.

Some animals, like an albatross, are distinguishable by a single unique body part – in this case, wings. What stands out more than anything about a giraffe is a quality, more than any particular part. Everything about a giraffe is long. A giraffe is often almost 19 feet tall, making it the tallest animal on earth. Its legs alone are about six feet long. Its neck is even longer. Even a giraffe’s tongue is just about two feet. The distinctive black and white stripes of the zebra sharply contrast with the scorching, dry Etosha landscape. Only about four feet tall at the shoulder, the zebra (Equus burchelli), is the short-legged, striped member of the horse family. Common throughout the deserts and grasslands of eastern and southern Africa, many zebra herds live close to Etosha’s watering holes.

Antelope number in the tens of thousands: springboks, gemsboks, red hartebeests, blue wildebeests, elands and kudus. Even the elusive black-faced impala. The cats slinking through the grass are difficult to spot, but be assured prides of lions and a few cheetahs and leopards are stalking their prey. 340 species of birds have been recorded in the Park and about 114 mammal and 110 reptile species live in the Park. The most remarkable feature of Etosha is the Pan itself – a vast shallow depression which becomes a lake when good rains fall. This Pan is so huge it can be seen from space and has a sodium content of more than 3% which attracts wildlife requiring salt in their diet.

Swakopmund is one of the most surreal places in this surreal country. It is Namibia’s premier beach resort and is one of the best preserved examples of German colonial architecture in the world. Attractions in Swakopmund include a transport museum, the National Marine Aquarium, a crystal gallery and spectacular sand dunes near Langstrand south of the Swakop River. The city is known for extreme sports, while nearby lie a camel farm and the Martin Luther steam locomotive, dating from 1896 and abandoned in the desert. Swakopmund also offers a host of other attractions, including excursions by boat to see dolphins and seals, shorebased angling, skin diving, surfing or just simply lazing on the beach. And, of course, the town is surrounded by the Namib Naukluft Park, one of the most bewitching desert wilderness areas in Africa, for one day trips or longer safaris for the ultimate desert camping experience.

Swakopmund is a popular seaside resort with many tourist attractions and a pleasant climate in summer. Visitors can go on town tours, fishing trips, snake park, sand boarding and skiing, parasailing, quad biking, off road driving, camel rides and hot air ballooning. Driving along the stunning dune-lined coastline is particularly attractive, whether you go south to Walvis Bay (30 km) or to the National West Coast Recreation Area in the north. Heading south of Swakopmund to Walvis (Whale) Bay, the desert announces its presence with several huge orange sand dunes. Dune boarding and quad biking are favorite activities here. The Welwitschia drive is an interesting way to spend a few hours and introduces you to some of the fauna and flora of the Namib Desert. Bird lovers can pay a visit to the Swakopmund Salt Works or the Walvis Bay Lagoon, which in season is frequented by thousands of flamingos.

There are excursions for quad biking or sand boarding on the the road to Walvis Bay and to the north of town to Spitzkoppe for abseiling and hiking. The smell at Cape Cross Seal Colony can get a bit much at times but the cavorting, fighting, sleeping and snoring of so many seals is fascinating to watch. Only 4×4 vehicles tend to venture further north as the road leads to the desolate Skeleton Coast, where a skull and crossbones sign warns visitors not to stray into this hostile land. A fly-in safari to this area will attract those with a real sense of adventure.
The source of Swakopmund’s continental atmosphere is the graceful art nouveau building. Eleven of these charming old buildings are national monuments. The graceful lighthouse in Swakopmund, just one of the many characteristic old structures gives this town its particular charm. The architecture and general feeling of Swakopmund is one which may be associated with a small German village, and the town seems to be stuck in time. Although in recent times a new generation have woken up to the tourist potential of the area Swakopmund still manages to create a feeling of timelessness.

Night time entertainment ranges from sophisticated spins on the casino’s roulette wheels, through raucous parties at the many pubs and restaurants, to an assortment of drama, music and cultural events.