Namibia

Uncovering Namibia’s best kept secret: The South
Wanderlust Magazine October 2023

Namibia’s northern wonders often hog the limelight, but the country’s lesser-known southern reaches have plenty of natural drama. Here are five of its secret gems that are well worth exploring.

1: Sossusvlei
The cloud-baiting dunes of Sossusvlei reach 325m high and are perhaps the Namib Desert at its most dramatic. These dunes have had plenty of time to grow – around 55 million years – and to truly appreciate their colossal nature you need to clamber up one.

2: Lüderitz and the Kolmanskop ghost town
Pinned between the Namib Desert and the Atlantic Ocean, the isolation that the formerly German colonial town of Lüderitz enjoys means its Art Nouveau architecture has been left alone by the 21st century. Its village-like atmosphere and historic buildings are a joy to wander. Nearby is Kolmanskop. This ghost town was built on the area’s diamond mining fortunes since the early 1900’s but was completely abandoned by the 1950s. To see this once-thriving village, which had its own theatre and bowling alley, now totally engulfed by sand is starkly surreal.

3: Tsau / Khaeb (Sperrgebiet) National Park
For over 100 years, since the first gemstone was unearthed here, the area of Tsau //Khaeb (Sperrgebiet) National Park was a hive of diamond-mining activity in specific areas. It was also off-limits to visitors – sperrgebiet means ‘prohibited area’ in German – and through tight security restrictions the area was left as wilderness for the most part. But that’s slowly changing. Tourism concessions are now granting long-awaited access to this pristine wilderness’ swirling rock formations and meteor craters. 

4: Oranjemund
For nearly 80 years the old mining town of Oranjemund was closed off to outsiders and managed by Namdeb, a diamond mining company. It was something of an enigma until 2017, when its secrets were spilled and its doors opened to the world. What lies within has been worth the wait. 

5: Fish River Canyon
Namibia’s south still has one more surprise up its sleeve: Fish River Canyon. This gargantuan landscape is the world’s second-largest canyon and often feels like it might be more at home on Mars. At 160km long, 27km wide and up to 550m deep, you can get a sense of its rugged expanse just by peering over its edge, but this is a phenomenon that deserves the whole hog. For that, embark on a five-day hike where you descend into the canyon’s belly and trek the riverbed to its conclusion (there’s no other way out). It’s the ultimate finale for any adventure through southern Namibia.

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