Known as the Skeleton Coast Wilderness, the northern section of Namibia's Skeleton Coast Park is one of the most remote and unspoiled wilderness areas in Africa, and access to the area is tightly controlled to avoid any damage to the fragile environment.
This area is home to towering sand dunes, mountains and canyons, vast plains, salt pans, seal colonies and shipwrecks.
Freshwater springs create oases in the otherwise barren desert that sustain a surprising variety of wildlife including springbok, gemsbok, desert elephant, zebra, ostrich, and even lion and cheetah.
It is also possible to visit an authentic Himba settlement for an unforgettable cultural experience.
The Himba are one of the last semi-nomadic tribes in Africa that are still able to live as their ancestors did - moving between their settlements with their cattle, and pursuing their traditional customs and beliefs.
Visiting the Himba is like stepping back in time to the nomadic past all our ancestors once knew, and this is one of the outstanding memories for many visitors to this remote region.
Only one operator, Wilderness Safaris, has a concession to run a camp in this area of the Skeleton Coast Park, and the tours are regulated in terms of visitor numbers and frequency in order to minimise impact on the environment.
As a result, very few people visit this remote corner of Africa, and that is a large part of its appeal.
The small exclusive fly-in tours from Windhoek are offered twice weekly on Wednesdays and Fridays, for either a 4 day or 5 day all-inclusive safari. Pick-up of guests from can be arranged from a number of other camps by prior arrangement.
These tours are not cheap, starting from around US$2,500 per person, but they are the only way of staying overnight in the Wilderness area, and offer an excellent opportunity to explore otherwise inaccessible areas of the Park.
Skeleton Coast Safaris arrange 4 days tours that fly along the northern coastline of the Park, but overnight in desert camps outside the Park.
