30 | http://www.nomadafricamag.com | ...Celebrating the world’s richest continent | Issue 11
low as 60 m. / 197 ft., I saw nothing but
dunes and rock desert as far as the eye
could see. It was overwhelming to see
this endless desert. Namib Desert, home
of the highest dunes in the world, the
highest being Dune 7, reaching an in-
credible altitude of 383 m. / almost 1,257
ft. Some dunes were soft and rounded,
others with sharp edges reaching into
the sky; the blowing wind creating end-
less patterns of peaks, winding lines,
dents, and even some craters. Their
colour ranged from light golden near the
coast to a fiery orange/red further inland.
The more intense the colour, the higher
the concentration of iron oxide coating
the fine sand grains.
A symphony of contrasts and a visual
feast, suddenly this arid landscape of
dunes and occasional rock formations
was interrupted by serpentine lines of
dark green vegetation, even some trees
- most likely the ubiquitous acacias - an
indication of underground rivers.
These rivers are usually dry most of the
year, and even when they carry water,
they don't make it to the sea, but drain
into closed basins called endorheic
basins. The water in these bowls de-
creases through evaporation and seep-
age.
Later we came across salt and clay pans,
dry flat surfaces covered by salt and
other minerals - ancient lakes dried out
in the course of time; their white colour
a stark contrast to the surrounding
colourful dunes and rocks.
One of the world's oldest and largest, the
Namib Desert has existed for some 43
million years, unchanged for the past 2
million. 1,243 miles long (2,000 km) and
124 wide (200 km), it extends from the
Western Cape Province in South Africa,
continues north along the South Atlantic
Ocean coast in Namibia until it reaches
into Angola. The word Namib comesfrom the Nama language and means
"open space". I have also heard Namib
translated as "immense". Certainly, both
terms fittingly describe this region.
Namibia is firmly committed to nature
conservation. It was the first country in
Africa to incorporate the protection of
the environment into the constitution.
Communal conservancies have been de-
veloped throughout Namibia, where local
communities are actively involved in the
ownership and management of their nat-
ural resources and wildlife. This system
has been very successful since people
tend to be more committed when they
have a personal stake in a cause. The
Namib-Naukluft National Park (49,768
km2 / 19,216 sq. mi.), is the largest con-
servation area in southern Africa, running
from Swakopmund south to Luderitz.
Next, our pilot flew us over Conception
Bay on the Skeleton Coast; a long stretch
of coast that acquired its name because