Namibia
Sossusvlei, a large ephemeral pan, is set amid red sand dunes that tower up to 325m above the valley floor. It rarely contains any water, but when the…
Must-see attractions in Botswana & Namibia
Windhoek
Windhoek’s best-recognised landmark, and something of an unofficial symbol of the city, this German Lutheran church stands on a traffic island and lords…
Namibia
Although it's much less famous than its neighbour Sossusvlei, Deadvlei is actually the most alluring pan in the Namib-Naukluft National Park – it's…
Swakopmund
In 1905 the need for a good cargo- and passenger-landing site led Swakopmund’s founders to construct the original wooden pier. In the years that followed,…
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Botswana
About 11km south of Green's Baobab is the turn-off to the far more impressive Chapman’s Baobab, which, until it crashed to the ground suddenly on 7…
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Botswana
This fabulous art project provides opportunities for local artists (14 at last count) to create and sell paintings and other artwork; it’s worth spending…
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Namibia
The 3km-long, 30m-deep Sesriem Canyon, 4km south of the Sesriem headquarters, was carved by the Tsauchab River through the 15-million-year-old deposits of…
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Swakopmund
This recently overhauled waterfront aquarium provides an excellent introduction to the cold offshore world in the South Atlantic Ocean. Most impressive is…
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Namibia
This unearthly dry vlei (low, open landscape) amid lonely dunes makes a rewarding excursion. It's a 4km return hike from the 2WD car park. The route is…
Botswana
In 2000 the former Mabuasehube-Gemsbok National Park was combined with South Africa’s former Kalahari Gemsbok National Park to create the new Kgalagadi…
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Botswana
The dry heart of the dry south of a dry continent, the CKGR is an awesome place. If remoteness, desert silences and the sound of lions roaring in the…
Namibia
Etosha National Park, covering more than 20,000 sq km, is one of the world’s great wildlife-viewing venues. Unlike other parks in Africa, where you can…
Botswana
This 2500-sq-km reserve, which is an extension of the southern boundary of the CKGR, is a popular weekend excursion for Gaborone residents, but it’s still…
Okavango Delta
Moremi Game Reserve, which covers one-third of the Okavango Delta, is home to some of the densest concentrations of wildlife in Africa. Best of all, it’s…
Namibia
Nowhere else in Africa will you find anything quite like Fish River Canyon. Whether you're getting a taste of the sheer scale and beauty of the place from…
Damaraland
Twyfelfontein (Doubtful Spring), at the head of the grassy Aba Huab Valley, is one of the most extensive rock-art galleries on the continent. In the…
Damaraland
One of Namibia’s most recognisable landmarks, the 1728m-high Spitzkoppe rises mirage-like above the dusty plains of southern Damaraland. Its dramatic…
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Namibia
Exploring the largely undeveloped 384,000-hectare Khaudum National Park is an intense wilderness challenge. Meandering sand tracks lure you through…
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Namibia
Only recently recognised as a national park, Bwabwata was established to rehabilitate local wildlife populations. Prior to the 2002 Angolan ceasefire,…
Damaraland
Tsisab Ravine is the epicentre of the Brandberg's rock-art magic. The most famous figure in the ravine is the White Lady of the Brandberg, in Maack’s…
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Namibia
In May 1851, explorers Charles John Andersson and Francis Galton stumbled across the unusual Lake Otjikoto. The name of the lake is Herero for 'deep hole'…
Botswana
This 230-sq-km community-run wildlife sanctuary was formed when local people voluntarily relocated 3500 cattle and established a network of tracks…
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Namibia
A curious neo-baroque structure located about 70km south of Maltahöhe smack dab in the middle of the barren desert, this European castle is smaller than…
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Namibia
Named after early Afrikaner trekker Jani Kolman, whose ox wagon became bogged in the sand here, Kolmanskop was originally constructed as the Consolidated…
Gaborone
This reserve was established in 1988 by the Kalahari Conservation Society to give the Gaborone public an opportunity to view Botswana’s wildlife in a…
Okavango Delta
The largest island in the Okavango Delta, Chief’s Island (70km long and 15km wide) is so named because it was once the sole hunting preserve of the local…
Namibia
This small but diverse 25 sq km reserve occupies a broad flood plain north of the Botswana border and west of the Okavango River. It attracts large…
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Botswana
This 2578-sq-km park is one of the most accessible places to experience the salt pans that are a Kalahari speciality, although it's more about smaller…
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Botswana
Chobe National Park is one of Africa's great wildlife destinations. Famed for its massive elephants and enormous elephant population, Chobe, which…
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Namibia
Watch this space – this is one of Namibia's, perhaps southern Africa's most exciting national parks. In years of good rains, this wild and seldom-visited…
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Botswana
In 1932 a group of San showed Gcwihaba (meaning ‘Hyena’s Hole’) to a farmer named Martinus Drotsky, who humbly decided to name the cave after himself…
Botswana
With the rhinos all but disappeared from Botswana, Serowe's residents banded together in the early 1990s to establish the 43-sq-km Khama Rhino Sanctuary…
Chobe National Park
For decades since the early 1980s, this vast open area in southern Savuti consisted less of marshes than sweeping open plains, save for occasional…
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Namibia
The 200-sq-km Okonjima Nature Reserve is the epicentre of one of Namibia's most impressive conservation programs. Home of the AfriCat Foundation (www…
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Makgadikgadi Pans National Park
Botswana
This 3900-sq-km park, the southern section of the Makgadikgadi and Nxai Pans National Park, extends from the Boteti River in the west to the Ntwetwe Pan…
Swakopmund
This ornate railway station, built in 1901 as the terminal for the Kaiserliche Eisenbahn Verwaltung (Imperial Railway Authority), connected Swakopmund to…
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Namibia
At one time, Ruacana Falls was a guaranteed wonder, though all that changed thanks to Angola’s Calueque Dam, 20km upstream, and NamPower’s Ruacana power…
Botswana
One of the most fascinating paintings is the zebra painting on a small outcrop north of Female Hill. This stylised equine figure is now used as the logo…
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Botswana
This 30-sq-km private reserve was established in 1994 and is home to giraffes, elephants, zebras, baboons, warthogs, rhinos, hippos, kudus, impalas,…
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Windhoek
This beautiful wildlife park sits in the Khomas Hochland about 18km west of Windhoek. You can walk to your heart’s content through lovely wildlife-rich…
