Skeleton Coast Overview

The Skeleton Coast is one of our planet’s most beautiful places. Over much of the past decade, access to this private area within the National Park has been restricted. However, nearly 660,000 acres of the National Park have been set aside as an exclusive safari experience for those who want to really get away! It is wild, desolate and uninhabited…and stunningly beautiful. The area has everything, from soaring sand dunes that roar, wonderful vast, pastel colored plains, towering canyons and mountains, salt pans to seal colonies to ship wrecks. This coastline is so named for the many skeletons of shipwrecks and whales that dot the treacherous coast of this park.

The freezing Benguela Current of the Atlantic sweeps up from Antarctica and meets the hot dry air of the Namib, resulting in thick morning fog, which blankets the region. This unusual weather condition brings life-giving moisture to an otherwise arid land and sustains a host of desert animals. Fresh water springs permeate the barren sands to create rare oases in the desert that sustain pockets of wildlife. Springbok, gemsbok (oryx), the rare desert elephant, Cape fur seals, brown hyena, jackal, ostrich and occasionally even cheetah eke out an existence in this rugged terrain, alongside the desert-adapted vegetation such as the ancient Welwitschia plant and Lithops, the succulent “flowering stones”. You are also able to visit authentic Himba settlements, just outside the park, for an incredible cultural experience.

Climate

The Skeleton Coast is subject to a dry winter (May to October), with minimal rainfall. The winter months are also characterized by cool winds blowing in from the west, and heavy fog, particularly in the morning. Summer (November to April) sees a continuation of the fog, though it diminishes slightly. There’s also increasing rainfall and warmer temperatures.