The Southern Region

The Namib Naukluft Park
This is Namibia's most versatile conservation area and includes Sossusvlei - a dune wonderland surrounding a huge dried-up pan set amid towering red dunes. Said to be the highest in the world, the dunes are part of the 32000 sq km sand sea covering much of western Namibia and belong to one of the oldest and driest ecosystems on earth. The landscape here is constantly changing as the wind alters dune shapes. At the entrance to Sossusvlei, the Welwitschia Trail, and Naukluft Mountains is Sesriem, a narrow gorge. The massive and varied rock formations form striking patterns in the rock and the Kuiseb Canyon.

Sandunes at Sossusvlei
Experience the world’s highest sand dunes when you visit Sossusvlei. Excellent for hiking, Sossusvlei is situated in the vast Namib-Naukluft Parkand accessed via Sesriem Camp. It's accessible with a 2WD car, but the last 5 kilometres are either on foot or with a 4x4. The Park is home to the unique Hartmann’s Mountain Zebra found only in Namibia and Southern Angola.


Fascinating Fish River Canyon Park
Experience a spectacular piece of history at the Fish River Canyon, which was formed approximately 500 million years ago. The canyon is the second largest in the world after the Grand Canyon and the observation point at Hobas provides a breathtaking view. To further enrich the history and culture associated with the Fish River Canyon, archaeological evidence suggests that the Bushmen lived there 50 000 years ago.

The Fish River Canyon Park contains Ai-Ais hot-spring oasis; drought-resistant succulents such as "halfmens" or elephant's trunk and the quiver tree. Indigenous to the hot and dry southern part of Namibia, these succulent plants have adapted to the extreme environmental conditions by storing water in their trunks. The Fish River Canyon is a popular hiking destination and one of the most impressive natural beauties in the southern part of Namibia.

Quiver Tree Forest
Situated on Farm Gariganus just 14km north east of Keetmanshoop is the Quiver Tree Forest. Just across the road from the Quiver Tree Forest is "Giant's Playground", an impressive jumble of massive dolerite boulders. The quiver tree or "Kokerboom" is indigenous to the hot and dry southern part of Namibia. These succulent plants and can reach a height of up to 9 metres and have adapted to the extreme environmental conditions by storing water in their trunks. The tree blossoms for the first time after 20 to 30 years and can reach 300 years in age. The wood is very light and spongy inside, and as the trunk and branches can easily be hollowed out, they were used as quivers by the bushmen (San people) who formerly inhabited this area.

Kalahari Desert
Much of eastern and southern Namibia is covered by the Kalahari Desert. Dunes of red sand extend through this area. It spans dense bush covered plains north east of the Etosha Pan including the high rainfall areas of Kavango and Caprivi, tropical forest, perennial rivers and woodland savannah. The region is full of wildlife-rich game parks, bird-watching and sightseeing.

Duwiseb Castle
A solid structure of red sandstone, the castle was built by the legendary Baron von Wolf for his American wife, Jayta, in 1909. Today the interior of the castle and much of its original furniture and artworks can be seen.

Feral Horses at Aus
The small town of Aus,situated between Keetmanshoop and Luderitz, is a good place to see the Namib Desert Feral Horses. These horses are unique in the sense that they have been isolated for a number of generations. Their hardiness in the face of extremely harsh climatic conditions is extraordinary, as is the fact that they have been able to circumvent the vital problem of food and water availability by adapting their behaviour and their allocation of time. For these reasons, if for no other, they deserve our wonder and admiration.

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