Fish River Canyon & the South: Canyons, Ghost Towns & Dunes

This morning you set off south on the long, spectacular drive towards the Fish River Canyon, crossing the vast, empty landscapes of southern Namibia beneath enormous skies. The road runs through desert plains, rugged mountains and tiny settlements, and you may break the journey near Keetmanshoop to visit the remarkable quiver-tree forest, where hundreds of these strange, ancient aloes stand against the sky, and the tumbled dolerite boulders of the Giant's Playground nearby. The sense of scale, emptiness and raw beauty grows as you travel deeper south, seeing barely another soul. You arrive in the afternoon at your lodge near the Fish River Canyon and settle in, perhaps heading out for your first look at the canyon at sunset as the rock walls begin to glow. As night falls, the silence is profound and the stars blaze overhead. This evening, dine amid the desert quiet. Rest well near the mighty Fish River Canyon.

Today you explore the immense Fish River Canyon, the second-largest canyon on Earth, at your own pace. You visit a series of dramatic viewpoints along the rim, gazing into the vast, rugged chasm, around 160 kilometres long and some 550 metres deep, with the river snaking far below in great looping bends, and taking in the extraordinary scale, ancient geology and profound silence of this timeless landscape. The main viewpoint and Hell's Bend offer breathtaking panoramas, and the light is most magical in the early morning and at sunset, when the layered rock walls glow in golds, ochres and purples. You might take a rim walk, learn about the multi-day hiking trail that descends into the canyon (a legendary trek in the cooler months), and in the afternoon relax and soak in the nearby hot springs at Ai-Ais. This evening, watch the sun set over the canyon before dinner. Rest well amid the grandeur of the south.

Today you drive west and north across the great southern desert to the wild Atlantic coast at Luderitz, a long and atmospheric journey through some of the emptiest country in Namibia. The road crosses vast desert plains and rugged ranges, running through the diamond restricted-area edge as you approach the coast, and a cool sea fog often rolls in as the desert meets the ocean. You arrive in Luderitz, a surreal fragment of Wilhelmine Germany marooned on a windswept African coast, with its Art Nouveau buildings, hilltop church and colourful colonial houses. You settle into your hotel and explore the quirky streets and dramatic coastal setting, taking in the bracing sea air, and perhaps visiting Diaz Point where an early Portuguese explorer left his cross. This evening, enjoy fresh Atlantic seafood in this strange and charming outpost. Rest well in windswept Luderitz, on the wild edge of the southern desert coast.

This morning you visit the extraordinary ghost town of Kolmanskop, just outside Luderitz, once a wealthy German diamond-mining town, now abandoned and being slowly swallowed by the desert. With a guide you walk through its silent, sand-filled halls, grand houses, ballroom and hospital, where dunes pour through doorways and fill elegant rooms, and the light streams through broken windows, one of the most atmospheric and photogenic places on Earth. Then you set off north on the long, spectacular drive across the ever-changing desert towards Sossusvlei, crossing vast plains, rugged mountains and empty gravel roads beneath enormous skies. You arrive in the late afternoon at your lodge near Sesriem, the gateway to Sossusvlei, where the first towering dunes rise on the horizon. Settle in as the desert turns to gold, and enjoy dinner under a dazzling canopy of stars. Rest well, for tomorrow you rise before dawn for the great dunes of Sossusvlei.

You rise in the dark to reach the park gate at first light, driving into the heart of the Namib as the rising sun sets the towering dunes ablaze in burning orange and crimson, one of the most beautiful sights on Earth. You can climb a great dune such as Dune 45 or Big Daddy for sweeping views over the sand sea, then walk out across the cracked white clay of Deadvlei, where blackened, ancient camelthorn trees stand petrified against burning dunes and a deep blue sky, a scene of surreal, otherworldly beauty. After exploring Sossusvlei, you escape the midday heat, then in the afternoon visit the shaded gorge of Sesriem Canyon, carved by the Tsauchab River. Return to your lodge for a sundowner as the light turns golden and the dunes glow. This is the sublime climax of your journey through the south. Rest well amid the profound silence of the desert, beneath a blaze of stars.

This morning you set off on the long, scenic drive back to Windhoek, leaving the great dunes behind and travelling northeast across the desert and up onto the central plateau. The journey passes through dramatic mountain passes and vast plains, perhaps with a stop at the lonely outpost of Solitaire for its famous apple pie, offering a final chance to take in the empty, beautiful landscapes of Namibia and reflect on the dramatic south you have explored. You arrive in the capital in the afternoon and settle into your hotel, with time to relax after the journey and perhaps shop for Namibian crafts, gemstones and souvenirs. This evening, celebrate your adventure over a fine dinner in Windhoek, savouring the flavours of Namibia and the memories of canyon, ghost town, wild coast and towering dunes. Rest well ahead of your departure tomorrow, carrying vivid images of the dramatic and empty south of Namibia.

After a final leisurely breakfast, and perhaps some last-minute shopping, you are transferred to Hosea Kutako International Airport for your onward international departure. You leave having explored the dramatic, lesser-visited south of Namibia, the immense Fish River Canyon glowing at sunset, the haunting sand-filled ghost town of Kolmanskop, the wild and quirky colonial coast at Luderitz, and the sublime dunes of Sossusvlei and petrified trees of Deadvlei, all linked by vast, empty desert drives beneath enormous skies. The images stay vivid long after you land, the river snaking through the great canyon, dunes pouring through the doorways of Kolmanskop, neat German buildings against a wild coast, and the burning dunes of the Namib at sunrise. Few travellers venture this far south, and you depart having experienced Namibia at its emptiest, most dramatic and most atmospheric, already dreaming of a return to the vast silences of this extraordinary land.