ETOSHA NATIONAL PARK

Even in a continent as amazing as Africa, Etosha is something special. Its heart is the Etosha Pan, a shimmering gray white expanse of salt and dusty clay that is roughly 80 miles long and covers 1,700 square miles. Etosha is Namibia's premier wildlife park. It has great concentrations of game and there are wonderful views out onto the salt pans which dominate the center of the park. Etosha has good concentrations of elephant, lion, leopard, black rhino and all of Namibia's plains game including springbok, gemsbok and hartebeest.

DAMARALAND

Damaraland is located on the north face of the Huab River Valley, 90 kilometers from Torra Bay on Namib's Skeleton Coast. Early morning mists, generated by the icy Atlantic and the warm land mass along the Skeleton Coast drift inland along the river line, providing sustenance to varied life forms. Wildlife is not concentrated, and the natural laws of food and water availability dictate the movement and cycles of the desert elephant, black rhinoceros, oryx, kudu springbok and other species that have come to terms with life in a desert environment. The cool desert nights are magnificent for star gazing.

OKONJIMA

Okonjima is located on a private game reserve near Waterberg Plateau Park. Besides the game viewing, nature walks, bird watching, and educational talks about the San people are just some of the activities. Okonjima offers close-up encounters with cheetah and leopard as well as with other orphaned wild animals. With a very relaxed and serene atmosphere, the secluded Okonjima Guest Lodge is a welcome from the harshness of daily safari life.

SOSSUSVLEI

Sossusvlei is one of the most remarkable sites in the Namib-Naukluft Park and the Namib Desert. Huge towering dunes, perhaps the highest in the world, rise dramatically over 1000 feet above the surrounding plains. Only after a heavy rainfall, which is very seldom in this area, does the vlei fill with water. However, as the clay layers are hardly impervious to water, a turquoise lake remains for quite some time.

The dunes of the Namib desert developed over a period of many millions of years. It is thought that the vast quantities of sand were carried into the Atlantic Ocean by the Orange River. This material was subsequently moved northwards by the Benguela current. The surf pushed the sand back onto land and coastal dunes developed as a result, which were shifted inland more and more by the wind. Wind continuously stacks the sand of the huge shifting dunes of the Namib desert. It tirelessly forces the grains of sand on the flat windward slope upwards to the crest of the dine. Here they fall down in the wind shade. The leeward slope, therefore, is always considerably steeper than the windward side.

The sand-dunes are best seen immediately after sunset. The dunes are tinted in shades varying from pale apricot to vivid reds and oranges, stretch as far as the eye can see. One of the most fascinating aspects of the Namib is the way in which life forms have adapted to the hostile environment.