Namibia National Parks

Namibia ghoist walkers - photo courtesy of Mozambique Tourist BoardSkeleton Coast - Extending from the Kunene River, that divides Namibia from Angola, down to the Ugab river on the southern border, the Skeleton Coast Park takes in a strip of land of about five hundred kilometers in length. Mysterious, untamed, bleak and remote, yet with a harsh beauty all its own, the Skeleton Coast makes the traveler an explorer.

The coast here is littered with the skeletons of ships that have come to grief due to the uncertain coastal weather and the thick fogs that form because of the Benguela Current. These fogs drift inland and have affected a very particular ecosystem. The lichen here is amazingly varied and changes color and texture as it absorbs moisture from the swirling mists. Those with a painterly eye will find many such visual treats - this is not the place for the ‘big five’, but a far more subtly rewarding experience. The clay castles of the Hoarusib; the lava and sandstone of the Huab river formations; the light and shade on the wind-sculpted dunes; the rocks rich of hue, displaying a wonderful range of earth colors from deepest red to palest sand; the mountains with their outline smudged by mists; it is the landscape that steals the show.

The harsh landscape has meant that only the well adapted may live here. You may see the desert elephant, smaller and somehow wirier than its cousins. There are giraffe, black rhino, lion and antelope in certain areas. The oryx, or gemsbok, lives on the plains, as do jackal, hyena, springbok and ostrich. At Cape Frio there is a seal colony. Right in the most northerly part of the park you may take a boat ride on the Kunene River to see the crocodiles - however, this part of the park is restricted to fly-in safaris only. The Skeleton Coast is constantly changing yet basically immutable. Its beauty has a timeless quality that is hard to find in the modern world.

Etosha Park - Etosha offers a game viewing experience unlike any other. A great salt pan, shimmering silver in the heat, dominates the central portion of the park, the ’saline desert’ known as the ‘Etosha Pan’. Grass plains, shrub and mopane woodland are the other main animal habitats in Etosha, where 114 species of animal may be found. In the dry season the wildlife is almost entirely dependent on a small number of waterholes and springs. These, obviously, become outstanding sites for game viewing.

Etosha’s main claim to fame is probably that it has one of the few growing black rhino populations in Africa. Re-sited from Kaokoland in the seventies, they are now safe and well-managed and have grown to around three hundred in number. Three big cat species are to be found: lion, cheetah and leopard. All the Namibian plains game is here too. Burchell’s zebra and the mountain zebra, blue wildebeest, the large but gentle eland and the greater kudu are just a few of the animals you will encounter on the plains and elsewhere. The oryx, or gemsbok, is also a native of Etosha. These handsome antelope, with their long horns and their black and white faces, have evolved to live in particularly arid zones and are able to go for long periods without water. They may be seen in groups of about nine or ten in desert areas. Etosha also has some very fine elephant, said to be some of the largest in Africa a big male may measure four meters at the shoulder.

Birding within the Etosha National Park is excellent. There are well over three hundred species including migrants. Thirty-five birds of prey species include a large proportion of vultures. Both lesser and greater flamingos may be found and during a good wet season they mass on the Etosha Pan to breed. Etosha is not just about the big game. Lion, elephant and rhino are here to be sure, but there are also smaller animals such as the very pretty bat-eared fox and the ratel, or honey badger. The honey badger gets its name from its skill in finding honey with the help of a small bird that leads it, by moving forward and encouraging the badger with frequent chirping, to the hive. The finder’s fee for the bird is the bee larvae that are left by the badger!

Namib-Naukluft Park - This vast conservation zone of about fifty thousand square kilometers is an amalgamation of the Namib Desert Park, old mining areas and the Naukluft Mountain Zebra Park. Bounded by Namibia’s coast on the west, but also taking in desert plains, rivers, mountain massif, wooded areas and fabulous dunes, the park provides an enormous variety of habitat for both fauna and flora.

The lagoon at Sandwich Harbour, south of Walvis Bay, is supplied with fresh water by seepage from inland. This is where fish and both freshwater and sea birds breed and is an important ecological site. There is a local legend that a ship with a cargo of treasure is buried deep somewhere in the sand dunes here. However, in order to protect the sensitive environment you are not permitted to dig for it!

The Namib area, itself, has its own particular fauna. Springbok frequent the desert plains, as do ostrich, the ‘dancing lizards’ in the sand dunes lift alternate pairs of legs in order to help them dissipate heat faster, and the strange ‘fog-basking beetle’ lies with its back legs at full height and its mouth lower so that the fog condenses on its shiny carapace and slides down into its mouth. East of Swakopmund the extraordinarily well adapted Welwitschia mirabilis may be seen. This plant has an almost unbelievable possible lifespan of two thousand years and conserves its energy by producing only two leaves which tear and tatter in the desert winds to produce curled strips. One of the specimen’s along the trail is believed to be about fifteen hundred years old and is called the Great Welwitschia - it was old before the Battle of Hastings.

The Naukluft Mountain Zebra Park was originally for the protection of Hartmann’s zebra, which were being troublesome to farmers and thus less than welcome in agricultural areas. A fascinating geology in this area is illustrated by the many visible layers in the rock formations. Here you may also see the stocky klipspringer, kudu and oryx, baboon and the leopard for which they are a favorite food, wild cat, caracal and the very shy aardwolf. The scenery is absolutely stunning, eagles wheel overhead and walking is recommended.

No visit to this park would be complete without viewing the breathtaking dunes at Sossusvlei. Fabulously photogenic, from above they are shaped like stars and they display a wonderful range of ever-changing earth colors. African landscape doesn’t come any more dramatic than this.

Also tagged with: Namibia, Helpful Information


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