Sensory overload - spectacular scenery, wonderful guiding, some of the most remote places in Africa
The Skeleton Coast Safari is one of those once in a lifetime experiences that you wish you could bottle and keep by your bed in case you feel like escaping reality for a few minutes. So outside the normal paradigms of everyday life, the safari takes you to places that you could only have imagined. Operated by the Schoeman family, the trip is a journey through Namibia’ phenomenal desert scenery, playground to the four brothers who guide you. Unlike textbook guides, the knowledge that these men have was acquired by osmosis through their upbringing alongside their wild and personable diamond-miner turned conservationist father.
From the rocky Khomas Hochland west of Windhoek, over the red sands of the Namib and up the thrashing Atlantic Coast, the journey is one of continual change. Flying low in a Cessna 210, you can really appreciate the beauty of nature’s design, and every now and then, you set down to get a closer look. Much of the pleasure of the trip is in the many surprises each day and I’m not going to spoil these, suffice to say that every moment is unique and special.
The family own a series of small rustic camps where you overnight. As the only visitors in an otherwise empty area, it is peace and quiet at its most extreme. The camps are simple but adequate – everything you need but nothing you don’t. Walk-in dome tents, bucket showers and shared flush toilets are more than adequate for a night in each place. The food is delicious, home-cooked fare prepared by a small team of dedicated staff.
Highlights of the trips include drives into the “roaringî dunes of the Skeleton Coast in ancient landrovers, held together with rust and barnacles, which reside on isolated strips, walks into insanely ancient canyons to examine the geology and get a glimpse of “living fossilî plants. At the end of the safari, you truly feel as though you have trodden where very few people have been before and that is indeed a privilege.
Simple dome tents with camp beds, private bucket shower & shared toilets
Sensory overload - spectacular scenery, wonderful guiding, some of the most remote places in Africa
Sounding like something out of a pirate movie, the Skeleton Coast is indeed littered with the carapaces of ships that didn’t make a clean passage along this treacherous length of Africa’s Altantic coastline. Half-buried under sand, gnawed by rust and wind, the sculptured hulls have somehow become an apt memorial to man’s inability to tame the elements. Indeed, it’s not only the ships that give the place its name; human skeletons of those that failed to launch their boats back into the pounding surf have also been found here to add to the bones of whales and seals from commercial whaling and the fur-trade. Read more?
If you are considering travelling to Namibia, chances are you are looking for something out of the ordinary. A journey through Namibia is all about daily surprises; the impossible number of stars, the expanse of views over desert mountains, the improbable salmon-pink of sand-dunes at sunrise, the ingenuity of small creatures adapted to the harsh environment, the ochre and leather dress of the Himba and petticoated dresses of the Herero, the first taste of ostrich biltong and the excellent seafood. Jump straight to some of our favourite Namibian experiences. Read more?
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Catherine's long experience of, and enthusiasm for Africa, makes her a mine of travel information. Add to the mix her vivacious character and inscrutable attention to detail and there are few people you'd rather have plan your holiday.
At Natural High, we've had long experience putting together trips in Africa that really work. Whether it's intimate bushcamps in out of the way places, or a private lodge in one of Africa's top-billing wildlife areas, light mobile camping or remote island escapes, we know there is a lot to choose from. We're absolutely confident that we can recommend the right places for you.