Namibia June 2018 trip report

Namibia June 2018 trip report

It was such an utter pleasure to travel with Alpha, Ginnie, Robert, Lee, Derek, Jo and Russell during our recent Namibia wander. The general consensus amongst our group of well travelled souls was that this was the best trip of everyone’s entire lives. One of the many things I love about Namibia is the true sense of wilderness which is increasingly hard to find on our busy planet. Under two and a half million people live in a country about the size of Britain and France combined. Nowhere else offers a combination of wildlife opportunities and beautiful landscapes like Namibia does. Here’s a few of our highlights …

Quiver tree forest Namibia pictures

Quiver tree and star trails – our first overnight stop after leaving Windhoek was at the Quiver tree forest where the lack of light pollution was a heaven for long exposure photography.

From here we travelled to Luderitz on the coast which afforded us the opportunity to explore the ghost town at Kolmanskop. After becoming one of the richest towns in Africa during a diamond boom in 1910 this place was abandoned once the precious stones were all mined. The desert is slowly reclaiming the buildings which makes for a fantastic place for photography.

ghost town Kolmanskop

ghost town Kolmanskop Namibia

A few photos from the coast including this Black Backed Jackal which we found wandering along the shore.

Black-Backed Jackal Namibia

Namibia coasline

Flamingo namibia

Onwards and upwards our journey took us into the heart of the desert …

Namibia desert road

… before arriving at Sossusvlei which is home to the largest sand dunes on earth. There’s only one lodge inside this National Park – the utterly delightful Sossus dune lodge . 

Sossus dune lodge Namibia

Along with the appeal of beautiful rooms and a swimming pool, staying here meant we could access Sossusvlei way before the National Park gates open at 7 am. Our group were the only people at the famous salt pan as the sun rose above the dunes and I think this was the most spiritual sunrise I’ve ever seen.

Sossusvlei Namibia sand dunes

Sossusvlei Namibia sand dunes

Sossusvlei Namibia sand dunes

From here we ventured into the heart of the Damaraland region of Namibia with the hope of seeing desert elephants.

Damaraland Namibia

After driving across the track above we had the most magical encounter with desert elephants which was such a special wildlife experience that it deserves it’s own blog which is here.

Desert elephants Namibia

Himba tribe Namibia

The Himba tribe – semi nomadic people who live in Damaraland.

And finally a few wildlife photos from Etosha.