The Skeleton Coast Park is one of our planet’s most inhospitable, but hauntingly beautiful places – it is wild, desolate and uninhabited. It has everything from roaring sand dunes and windswept plains, to towering canyons and saltpans, and even one of the most productive fishing grounds anywhere.

Fresh water springs permeate through barren sands to create rare oases in the desert that sustain pockets of wildlife. Springbok, Gemsbok (Oryx), the rare desert Elephant, Ostrich, Cape fur seals, jackal and Brown Hyena – and even cheetah on rare occasions, eke out an existence in this rugged terrain, along with the vegetation like the ancient welwitschia which has adapted to the harsh conditions.

The arid desert environment in the Skeleton Coast is within the northern reaches of the Namib Desert.  The Benguela current brings cold waters all the way from Antarctica and helps to moderate temperatures.  The cool air off the ocean meets the hotter desert air and nearly every morning, a cool mist envelops the coastline, bringing life sustaining moisture to the desert. By about 9 or 10 in the morning the sun’s rays have burnt this mist off.

There are many regions in the Skeleton Coast.  On these safaris, we visit the most isolated, beautiful, remote (and private) northern sector of the park, from just north of Mowe Bay to just south of the Kunene River.  The Parks have set aside this area for low volume, exclusive safaris.

This 4-day safari is a “flying” safari, starting at Windhoek’s Eros Airport on a Wednesday at about 0945 and finishes back in Windhoek on a Saturday in the mid-afternoon.  However once we arrive at the Skeleton Coast we spend all our time on the ground in vehicles and on walks. Everyone on this safari starts and ends together.

We stay all three nights at Skeleton Coast Camp. This is a six-roomed luxury tented camp in the heart of the reserve.  Skeleton Coast Camp is built onto an island in a dry riverbed about 20km inland from the coastline. Each tent is large and roomy and has a bathroom en suite. As a result of water shortages, it is unfortunately not possible to offer a laundry service. We have a wonderful old gnarled leadwood tree – which offers shelter from the elements and this is our dining room for our outdoor meals.

This safari is unlike any of our other safaris.  The area is so vast and there is so much to see and experience that we abandon our traditional early morning and afternoon activities.  We leave camp after breakfast and spend the full day exploring the park.  A picnic lunch is enjoyed out in the wild and we return to base camp in the late afternoon.  We travel in 4x4 Land Rovers with pop-top roofs, and cover an extraordinary variety of terrain.  Nature drives may include visits to the clay castles of the Hoarasub, Rocky Point, the roaring dunes, lichen fields, seal colonies, and remnants of shipwrecks.  Walking may also play a part in the activities.  Due to the pristine nature of this area, many parts are accessible only on foot.  Many specially adapted species of plants like lithops and welwitschia can be visited in this way.

Even though this is a quality safari, the terrain is harsh, rough and rugged.  We will try and make this as comfortable as possible, but we have no way of hiding from the elements.  Sometimes we can experience cold temperatures – and then 400m up the valley, we encounter hot desert winds.

What Is Included

• Return Windhoek / Skeleton Coast / Windhoek charter flights

• Accommodation on a shared basis

• All meals and local wines, beers and spirits at dinner and on activities.

• All Activities

• Services of the lodge guides and staff

• Park fees

What Is Not Included

• All international scheduled flights and their departure taxes

• All items of a personal nature

• All insurance

• Visas and their respective fees

• All other drinks

• Any new Government tax

• Gratuities to staff

• This camp does not do laundry due to the water shortage on the Skeleton Coast.

Note: Baggage in charter aircraft is restricted to 12kg per person in a soft bag (including camera equipment and carry on baggage).