The solar clipped the horizon, rays slowly spilling over the sand. They moved throughout the dunes, casting one aspect in shadow and the opposite in a rose-pink hue not like something Justine Ryan had ever seen earlier than. She had been to Namibia a couple of occasions already, however solely in fragments – sufficient to know its mud, distance, and assumed issue. So when she returned to expertise it the best way our shoppers do, it got here as a nice shock: that Namibia is much richer than she ever imagined. Under, Justine shares the retelling of her epic journey by means of this nation of contrasts.
A morning departure into Namibia’s vast landscapes, Picture Credit score: Justine Ryan
The Confession
I travelled on considered one of Rhino Africa’s instructional journeys, designed to let our Journey Specialists expertise a vacation spot the best way our friends do, correctly and in full. My route took me from Sossusvlei to Damaraland, Hoanib, Serra Cafema, and at last Ongava.
And someplace alongside the best way, I needed to admit I had been mistaken.
Sure, there are dunes, there’s mud, and there is grime. However Namibia shouldn’t be one temper, one color, or one concept. It is a nation of startling contrasts that solely make sense as soon as you progress by means of all of them. And I don’t say that flippantly. Many locations boast a various vary, however none really come near the juxtaposition of Namibia’s uncooked, rugged, wild landscapes.
Every tells its personal story, and what we see right this moment is a tapestry of time’s impact, advised layer by layer, all slowly revealing the hidden truths of wind, water, and sun-drenched wonders. I had mistaken starkness for simplicity. What I discovered as an alternative was a rustic of astonishing complexity, the place survival itself turns into a part of the wonder.
In Sossusvlei, scale performs tips on you with towering dunes, fossil-still bushes, and seemingly staged silence, Picture Credit score: Justine Ryan
Dunes Are Not Simply Dunes
Sossusvlei, in southern Namibia, was the primary cease on my journey and the best introduction to the nation. It is considered one of Namibia’s most iconic landscapes: looming pink dunes, white clay pans, and lifeless camelthorn bushes.
That is the issue with clichés: they wreck a spot earlier than you get there. Sand dune is a phrase that sounds completed, self-explanatory. However Sossusvlei shouldn’t be that straightforward in any respect. What modified it for me was not solely being there, however having a information clarify what I used to be really taking a look at.
The dunes stopped being stunning heaps of sand and have become one thing extra exact – an ecological masterpiece sculpted by wind, their color deepened by minerals like iron, and the right angles an image of magnificence. As soon as I understood the how, the panorama stopped being a postcard and have become one thing of a legible, residing narrative.
Huge Daddy Dune, the biggest sand dune within the nation
What additionally stunned me was how a lot enjoyable the place allowed itself to be. We missed the recent air ballooning due to the climate, which felt briefly tragic. However then Namibia, being Namibia, provided one other perspective. At Kulala, I headed out on a quad bike tour as an alternative. It was ridiculous and completely fantastic.
“At one level, the information let me transfer forward, and with no buildings, no communities and nothing round me, I felt like the one particular person left in that huge area.” – Justine.
And simply once I thought the desert had proven me sufficient, we visited Sesriem Canyon, a ravine hidden nearly like a fissure between the dune-scapes. It provided one other aspect of the area completely: layered rock you’ll be able to wander by means of, offering an intimate expertise and tangible instance of deep time.
Silence and scale outlined this area for me. And little did I do know that the wonders had solely simply begun.
A uncommon sort of freedom: using into the stillness with nothing forward however mud and open land, Picture Credit score: Little Kulala
The Land Grows Bones
From Sossusvlei, we headed north into Damaraland – particularly the Huab River Valley within the Torra Conservancy. If Sossusvlei had launched Namibia by means of line and curve, Damaraland introduced weight. Rock. Texture. A more durable sort of magnificence.
That is the place the land appeared to develop bones. The softness of sand gave technique to one thing extra mineral. The desert didn’t disappear, however modified type. It turned mountainous quite than dune-led – all rust-coloured rock, dry riverbeds, and damaged floor. Even the drive felt completely different: bumpier and fewer forgiving.
And but it didn’t really feel empty. It felt inhabited by options.
“That is the place Namibia’s desert-adapted wildlife turned actual to me. It isn’t spectacular as a result of it is plentiful. It is spectacular as a result of it survives.” – Justine.
Elephants moved by means of dry riverbeds and rocky nation as if this harshness had been merely a part of their design. You see their shorter legs working exhausting as they transfer up jagged slopes, a surreal sight if you happen to’ve solely identified them elsewhere. Rhinos are a part of the story too, and the area is famend for rhino trekking and guided walks.
Damaraland felt like a turning level. And there was nonetheless a lot extra to return.
Justine relishing a sundowner cease in Damaraland, Picture Credit score: Justine Ryan
Safari Animals on the Seaside?
By the point I reached Hoanib, Namibia had already shapeshifted a number of occasions for me. And now, we ventured into part of the nation that felt much more uncovered and inconceivable. Hoanib itself sits within the Kaokoveld, enrobed by a panorama of dried riverbeds, arid escarpments, undulating outcrops, and unattainable oasis pockets (as a result of why not make the surroundings extra dramatic?).
The following day, we set out on a full coastal tour in the direction of the Skeleton Coast. At first, the vistas nonetheless carried that inland harshness I had come to know. Then, step by step, it softened. Dry riverbeds started to carry extra inexperienced than appeared attainable. Oryx appeared by means of the sand-induced mirages. Giraffe stepped by means of the mud and into view simply behind them. Birds of prey circled above us. After which, simply as I assumed I had settled into this new surroundings, the indicators modified once more: lion tracks within the sand, and cub tracks, too.
And it didn’t finish there.
“The bottom gave technique to dunes. Water appeared the place I least anticipated it, nourishing life the place there ought to be none. Then, as soon as we crested the dunes, the coast arrived in full: silver-blue and completely dramatic.” – Justine.
Right here, shipwrecks lay stranded alongside the shore like relics from one other world. Seals carpeted the coast of their hundreds, noisy and unbothered, whereas jackals moved amongst them. Even elephant and giraffe appeared close to the coast – the sort of collision of life that feels unattainable till you might be standing in entrance of it.
After which, as an alternative of driving again by means of all of it, we flew over it.
The Skeleton Coast carries seals, shipwrecks, and surreal drama all its personal, Picture Credit score: Justine Ryan
The Flight
That scenic flight again to Hoanib was probably the most mesmerising experiences of the journey. In simply quarter-hour, it gathered every thing I had simply seen on the bottom into one unattainable view.
What had felt so dramatic in sequence all of a sudden turned seen as one linked panorama. That was the second I understood simply how a lot this nation can maintain.
Seeing Namibia from the air turned distance into design, Picture Credit score: Justine Ryan
On the Fringe of All the things
From Hoanib, the journey continued north into the Hartmann Valley, near the Kunene River and the Angolan border. After the drama of the Skeleton Coast, this a part of Namibia felt extra stripped again and much more distant. It was nonetheless rugged and sun-struck, however quieter – nestled on the fringe of every thing.
There are such a lot of methods to expertise that remoteness. Nature walks, sport drives, quad biking, and even the easy act of sitting nonetheless all provided a special perspective on the identical stark terrain. And regardless of how uncovered it seemed, the place by no means felt empty.
“One of the memorable elements of this cease was a go to to a neighborhood Himba neighborhood. I am typically cautious of cultural visits as a result of they will simply really feel staged, however this one didn’t. It felt respectful and real.” – Justine.
What stayed with me most was studying that this space had not had rain in 9 years, and that a few of the youngsters there, round 5 – 6 years previous, had by no means seen it. For me, that element modified the panorama from one thing visually dramatic into one thing deeply lived.
At Serra Cafema, desert and river meet in a manner that feels inconceivable till you see it for your self, Picture Credit score: Justine Ryan
The Anchors
For all of Namibia’s scale and severity, the posh safari ingredient meant I felt fully at dwelling and brought care of. The camps softened the journey with out ever dulling it. They didn’t compete with the panorama or attempt to distract from it. As an alternative, they gave every place someplace heat and comfy to settle – someplace that made the remoteness really feel not more durable, however extra fulfilling.
“And it was luxurious, to a degree you can’t fairly imagine it is attainable in locations as distant as these. However there we had been, experiencing elevated consolation and sophistication in the course of nowhere.” – Justine.
The posh did not finish on the décor or facilities. It was obvious within the individuals, the benefit, the care, and the best way every camp appeared to grasp precisely the place it was. Even the meals turned a part of that feeling: recent, different and by no means too heavy, which mattered greater than I anticipated on an extended Namibia circuit.
Wilderness lodges definitely impressed. Here is a more in-depth have a look at every camp we stayed at.
Immersion into the Namibia wilderness has by no means been this trendy, Picture Credit score: Doro Nawas
Wilderness Kulala Desert Lodge: A Softer Starting
Kulala Desert Lodge felt just like the gentlest attainable technique to arrive in Namibia. The desert was already there in full, however the camp made the touchdown easy. The canvas-and-thatch chalets that appear to spill into the vast desert views made the dimensions of the panorama really feel welcoming quite than overwhelming.
A softened first encounter with Namibia, completely positioned beneath the dunes, Picture Credit score: Wilderness Kulala Desert Lodge
Damaraland Camp: The place It Felt Like Residence
Damaraland Camp felt probably the most like dwelling. Set amongst previous camelthorn bushes within the Huab River Valley, it had an instantaneous heat. After a day trip within the rock and dirt, coming again to someplace so open, relaxed, and genuinely welcoming modified the entire temper of the day.
A lodge punctuated by historical rock artwork and cloaked in unending vistas, Picture Credit score: Damaraland Camp
Hoanib Skeleton Coast Camp: The Camp That Disappeared
Hoanib Skeleton Coast Camp was most likely my favorite aesthetically, as a result of it blended so fully into the panorama that, flying in, you may barely see it. The stretch-tent design appeared to dissolve into the desert quite than sit on prime of it. Even the pool on the important lodge felt extraordinary: a nonetheless, cool pocket in the course of nowhere. It was a type of particulars that made the remoteness really feel much more particular.
Luxurious folded into considered one of Namibia’s harshest and most stunning areas, Picture Credit score: Hoanib Skeleton Coast Camp
The Revelation
Namibia modified the best way I perceive safari. This isn’t a vacation spot outlined by fixed sightings or pace. It asks that you simply discover not solely what you are seeing, however what it has taken for all times to exist there in any respect. That is what makes it so distinctive, and why it fits friends who worth area, distinction, and a slower, extra considerate expertise of the wild.
Right here’s How I Would Plan Your Journey
If I had been planning a primary Namibia journey for a shopper, I might all the time advocate experiencing it as a circuit quite than selecting only one area.
Unplug in Namibia’s surreal serenity, the place fiery desert dunes meet the cool embrace of the Atlantic Ocean
How I Would Journey
Namibia might be achieved in a couple of other ways, relying in your time, price range, and journey type.
A self-drive works properly if you happen to take pleasure in flexibility and wish to expertise the journey at your individual tempo.A lodge-to-lodge journey by street affords a extra comfy, guided model of the identical expertise.
When you can, although, I might strongly take into account including a fly-in ingredient to the journey.
The distances are lengthy, and flying makes them far simpler to cowl.The scenic flights aren’t simply sensible; they grow to be a part of the expertise.Seeing Namibia from the air helps the dimensions and distinction of the nation absolutely register.
Take to the roads and skies for a completely immersive Namibian expertise, Picture Credit score: Katja und Walter Birrer
Who Namibia is Finest For
Namibia is good for friends who:
need one thing extra spacious and weird than a standard safarivalue panorama as a lot as wildlifeare drawn to distinction and remotenesshave achieved a safari earlier than, and need one thing fully completely different
You’ll be able to select a life-altering journey, or go for full silence and dive into digital detox. Whichever manner you select to discover Namibia, the magic lies in the truth that this vacation spot doesn’t carry out in apparent methods.
The Himba Tribe of Namibia, Picture Credit score: Serra Camp
Discover Namibia in Full
I assumed Namibia was mud. What I discovered as an alternative was depth. Not as a result of the nation deserted its harshness, however as a result of that harshness turned out to carry much more life and wonder than I had ever anticipated.
If a journey like this has stirred one thing in you, I’d love that can assist you expertise Namibia in full. You’re welcome to get in contact with me straight at justine@rhinoafrica.com, or enquire right here for an obligation-free quote.
