Southern Namibia

Travelling through southern Namibia you will discover some of the most spectacular landscapes in the entire of Namibia. Eroded over many millennia, the Fishriver Canyon is the second largest natural gorge in Africa. Set in a harsh, stony plain, with drought-resistant succulents such as the quiver tree, this spectacular canyon has a length of 160km a width of 27 km and a depth of 550m.As the river flows intermittently, there is always water in certain of the pools below, giving life to fish, baboon, rock dassie, ground squirrel and klipspringer which are often seen in the canyon, while the presence of leopard and mountain zebra is indicated by tracks left at waterholes. The 90km Fishriver Canyon hiking trail is regarded as one of the major challenges of Southern Africa and takes about 4-5 days to complete. Luderitz is a small Germanic fishing town bordering the Namib Desert that was established following the discovery of diamonds in 1908. One of its main attractions is the abandoned mining town of Kolmanskop which within a span of 40 years lived, flourished and died. The ghost town's crumbling ruins bear little resemblance to its former glory, its stately homes, now demolished by the wind, gradually becoming enveloped by sand dunes. Between the Fish River Canyon and Luderitz, situated amongst rolling red hills, is Duwiseb Castle, built by a legendary German baron for his American wife. Today the interior of the castle with its original 18th and 19th century furniture and art can be viewed. Travelling back on the road north towards Windhoek is the spectacular Quiver Tree Forest and of course the enigmatic red duned Kalahari desert.