When talking about Namibia, images of the gigantic reddish dunes of Sossusvlei in the Namib Desert immediately come to mind. Namib- Naukluft National Park, located in what is considered a the oldest desert in the world. And this is certainly one of the country’s biggest attractions, but Namibia has much more to offer.
The ascent to your Duna 45 which, without being the largest, is the most accessible and famous, gives us spectacular views of the desert, which can be even more spectacular if we dare to take a panoramic balloon flight, an experience difficult to forget.
Deadvlei
It is also essential to visit Deadvlei, where the petrified trunks of the acacias emerging from its white saline surface, in contrast with the blue sky and the reddish sands that surround it, make us instinctively look at our watch to check that it is not melted and that we are inside the picture. The Persistence of Memory from Salvador Dalí.
Three ways to tour Namibia
With an area larger than Spain and Italy combined and a population of just over 2 million, Namibia is not very difficult to drive for hours without encountering another vehicle. As Namibia is a a safe country and with a good road network, this is one of the ways we have to go through it and enjoy a road in which we will cross with slender Himba women and smiling Herero women dressed in their colorful Victorian-style dresses and distinctive hats.
Another way to discover this country would be in If we want to make the most of our time or if we want to go to remote places such as the spectacular canyon of the Fish River, the largest river in Africa, in the south of the country, or the famous Epupa Falls, in the extreme north.
In addition, from the plane, we will have the opportunity to glimpse the numerous wrecks of the ships that were wrecked in the chilling Skeleton Coast, where the cold Benguela current gives rise to dense ocean fogs that, combined with the strong swell, turned the area into a death trap for navigation. It was not in vain that the first Portuguese discoverers in the 15th century named this place with the name of “The gates of hell”.
Pelican Point
But this same current is, on the other hand, very rich in plankton, which makes the Namibian coast one of the best fishing grounds in the world and a sanctuary for marine fauna.
To admire it, from the picturesque village of Walvis Bay embarks on a catamaran that will take us to Pelican Point, where we found a giant colony of seals surrounded by pelicans, dolphins and, if we are lucky, some whales. And to end the day, we can taste its fantastic oysters in a restaurant in the beautiful town of Swakpomund, with its unmistakable German colonial-style architecture and its bars where you can taste ice-cold mugs of authentic Bavarian beer.
Etosha National Park
And for safari lovers, Namibia has one of the largest wildlife sanctuaries on the continent: Etosha National Park. Its name means “the great white place”, due to the immense dry salt lake it houses, and it is home to hundreds of species such as zebras, jackals, ostriches, gazelles, wildebeests, giraffes, cheetahs, lions, elephants, leopards, rhinos and the national animal: the Cape oryx or oryx, for friends.
