Namibia Africa | Namib Desert – The Cradle of Mankind
- Image via Wikipedia
The Namib Desert flanks the South Atlantic Ocean along the Namibian coastline starting from the Orange river border with South Africa in the south to the Kunene river border with Angola in the north.
The Namib desert is estimated to having experienced arid or semi-arid conditions for over 55 million years and is the only desert in the world where sand dunes along the coastline terminate directly in the see. The desert sustains plant and wildlife which had adapted to the arid conditions due to regular upland fogs which provides for moisture and allow these acclimatized flora and fauna to prosper.
The chunk of the Namib desert from the South African border to Luderitz is part of the prohibited Diamond Mining area and therefore not accessible with a special licence. the part between Luderitz and Walvis Bay is only accessible with 4×4 vehicles because of the absence of a navigable coastline as the dunes terminate for long stretches directly into the see.The most accessable areas and the better known scenes of the Namib are from Sosusvlei in the Namib naukluft National park and the coastline between Walvis Bay and Luderitz. The dunes in these areas are amonst the highest in the world.
The appeal of the Namib desert and dunes come from the sense of solitude and removal from civilization. It is adviced to use Walvis Bay and Luderitz as the springboard for day excursions to the Skeleton Coast along the northern coastline of namibia as well as fly-in safaris to Sossusvlei located halfway between Walvis Bay and Windhoek.
Sosusvlei is best known for its vast, towering dunes, which change in colour during the course of the day from yellow to dark red according the luminosity provided by daylight. The favourite visitor activities depending on the season of the year include hike, dune surfing, dune skiing, game drives, sunrise and sunset hot-air balloon rides over the Namib dunes with a champagne breakfast on top of the highest dunes.
The period from June to September, which coincides with winter in Namibia, is the best time for safaris into the Namib desert when temperatures are beara There are many desert lodges of all categories located in the Sesriem area which is nearest to Sossusvlei. Most of these lodges have direct telephone and internet access and reservations can be made directly with their respective reservation offices.
Click here to return to the InlovewithNamibia.com Homepage
Click here to Follow Go2Namibia2010 on Twitter
Related Namibia Africa Stories
Related articles by Zemanta
- Mammals of Africa’s Desert Areas – Bat Eared Fox (mammals.suite101.com)
- Sites of Impact (ivanpope.com)
- A living fossil found in Namibia (sciam.com)
- 120 degrees + 150 miles – toilet = fun (cnn.com)
- Rossing South Zone 1 initial resource – 108 million pounds U3O8 at a grade of 430 ppm (newswire.ca)
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=84913e65-aed2-408a-8ccc-5279952179f7)
Related Websites -
Top Travel Places to Go in 2010 reprinted from New York Times 2. Patagonia Wine Country Ten years ago, a group of adventurous winemakers set their sights on an Argentine valley called San Patricio del Chañar, an unusually fertile and eerily beautiful corner of Patagonia. They plowed, planted and waited. The outcome? A blossoming wine country with...... -
This Must Be Love : Lanseria, South Africa Ranger in Lanseria, South Africa I was born and raised in South Africa and lived there for 22 years before moving to Australia. I was taught to not just respect but to an extent fear some of the wildlife, particularly lions. I recall some years back a tourist jumping out...... -
Golfing Around the World Sport themed holidays are gaining in popularity, and now there are some pretty interesting options available for golf enthusiasts to choose from. Here are six of the most interesting golf holiday options that are available right now. Legend Golf in South Africa - This is an 18 hole golf course...... -
World Cup 2010 - Team Profile - South Africa [/caption] Background One African Cup of Nations title and two World Cup appearances show that South Africa have accomplished a great deal since being readmitted to CAF and FIFA in the early nineties. The side has a number of players plying their trade in Europe, ranging from the Premier League...... -
First Triumph Thunderbird arrives in South Africa The much anticipated and eagerly awaited Triumph Thunderbird, which is the British companies first attempt at joining the mainstream cruiser market has arrived in South Africa. The American magazine Cycle World has already awarded the Thunderbird the Cruiser of the year award and considering that the US is the......
Related posts:
- Namibia Africa Events | The Namibia Desert Marathon and 24Hour Ultra Marathon 2010 Namibia Af
- Namibia Africa News | Namibia Travelog #080709 This Is
Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.
The contrasting colours of the desert with sea along the coastline are beautiful but vast emptiness is scary especially when you have to find yourself in the midst of nowhere.