Namib Desert Tour

Namib Desert

Namib Desert, one of the oldest and largest deserts in the world is a desert in Namibia also extending to some sections of southwestern Angola. Its name “Namib” is derived from “Nama” meaning huge. Namib is a broad stretch of hyper-arid gravel plains as well as dunes stretching to over 1,600 km (1000 miles) along the Namibian Atlantic Ocean coastline.

Arid Namib Desert occupies an area of approximately 80 900 sq km and punctuates the Namibian coastline with differing width particularly in the east-west ranging from 50 to 160 km. The desert’s aridity is brought by the dry air of the Hadley Cell, cooled by the cold Benguela water waves to the coast. It receives meager rainfall of less than 10 mm (0.4 inches) annually hence almost completely barren.

Prominent regions within Namib Desert are the Skeleton Coast and the Kaokoveld in the north and the broad Namib Sand Sea along the central coast. The sands that make up the sand sea are resultant of erosional processes that take occur in the Orange River valley continuing further to the south.

As sand-laden waters drop their suspended loads into the Atlantic, onshore currents deposit them along the shore. The prevailing south west winds then pick up and redeposit the sand in the form of massive dunes in the widespread sand sea, the largest sand dunes in the world. Namib Desert also doubles as a mining location of tungsten, salt and diamonds.

Namib Vegetation

Several unusual plant species are found in Namib Desert only. The most unusual species is the Welwitschia mirabilis – is a shrub-like plant whose taproot develops into a flat, concave disc with years; and very notable for enduring extremely arid conditions of the desert. It continuously develops strap-shaped which are usually several meters long. Its flora is quite interesting. All in all, there are many areas within the Desert with little vegetation except the lichens found in the gravel plains and in dry river beds where plants can access subterranean water.

Namib Wildlife

The Namibia wildlife of animals, insects and plants have adapted to live in this generally inhospitable region in unique and strangely ways. Namib Naukluft Park – one of the largest national parks in Africa and home to some of the rarest and weirdest animal species in the world is located in Namib Desert. The park is a combination of the Namib Desert Park and the Naukluft Mountain Zebra Park as well as sections of the Diamond Area the combined area of which is just under 50 000 square kilometres. Its main attractions are Sossusvlei, Sandwich Harbour and the Naukluft hiking and four wheel drive trails. It also includes large lichen fields and Hartmann’s Mountain Zebra.

Namib Desert Donkeys

One of the best ways to appreciate the luminosity of Namib Desert is by aircraft on a scenic flight from Walvis Bay or a balloon ride over the dunes. The complexity and regularity of dune patterns in its dune sea have attracted travelers and geologists for several years.