Place of dense fog, stormy seas, a treacherous coastline, flotsam and jetsam and the bleached bones of whales and seals - the Skeleton Coast has been aptly named. Flanked by the icy Atlantic, the desert sands stretch into the hinterland, part of one of the oldest deserts on the planet. Shipwrecked sailors found themselves in an inhospitable, waterless desert, hundreds of kilometres from civilisation.
In spite of its notorious reputation, there is still a mystical romance that hovers whenever the Skeleton Coast is mentioned. Over the years, it has lured prospectors in search of legendary riches and hidden wealth, and has attracted explorers and adventurers (see also: The Skeleton Coast, Namibia’s wild northwest)
© Gondwana Collection, 2022
It has been found that the desert environment has a delicate fragility and balance that is easily disturbed. Fortunately, the Skeleton Coast Park was proclaimed in 1971 to protect this last great wilderness. Due to its ecological sensitivity, the park is managed as a wilderness area.
Besides endless gravel plains and fishing sites, the mysteries of the Skeleton Coast are only accessible to those visiting the northern tourism concession area, restricted to fly-in safaris. For other travellers, it is accessible only as far north as Terrace Bay. An angling campsite and rest camp at Torra Bay and Terrace Bay, respectively, enable anglers, with prior booking, to spend long hours appreciating the bounty of the Benguela Current.
© Gondwana Collection
The Skeleton Coast stretches from the Ugab River to the Kunene River bordering Angola, a thin belt 30-40km wide and 500km long, and encompassing a massive area of 1.6 million hectares or 16 845km². It incorporates a medley of desert landscapes: gravel plains, ephemeral river-courses, canyons, clay castles and sand dunes.
© Gondwana Collection
The land has a fragile and transient natural beauty. It is visible in the shifting sand dunes, the chilly coastal fog hovering over the sea and in the fleeting golden light at the end of the day that transforms the harsh land into a gentle feast of colour and texture.
It was first called the Kaokoveld Coast until the name Skeleton Coast was coined in 1933 by veteran Namibian journalist, Sam Davis.
© Ron Swilling
The loneliest stretch of coast is a graveyard of shipwrecks that quickly disintegrate into the sand and sea, providing temporary roosting sites for cormorants. One of the better known stories is that of the Dunedin Star, a British cargo liner that struck a shoal in November 1942. The rescue operation involving two convoys, several ships and a Ventura bomber proved as dramatic as the shipwreck itself, having a domino effect of disaster when the tug boat Sir Charles Elliott ran aground and the Ventura bomber became bogged down in the sand (also see The stewardship of the Skeleton Coast)
Tenacity and ingenuity are prerequisites for desert living. Desert-adapted flora and fauna depend on the life-giving mist that wafts in from the Atlantic Ocean. Lichens, welwitschia and lithops grow in the ancient landscape, while springbok, ostrich, gemsbok, black-backed jackal and brown hyena roam the sandy expanses. Further inland, desert elephant, lion and giraffe travel along the ephemeral river highways.
© Gondwana Collection
In 1992, at the Rio Earth Summit, Namibia’s founding president, Sam Nujoma, recognised that ‘... the Namib Desert is Namibia’s unique stewardship...’ and that the future of this fragile desert ecosystem lies in our hands.
Ephemeral rivers are watercourses that carry water only for short periods after heavy rainfall in their catchment areas. They usually come down in a flash-flood, bringing nutrients to the soil and recharging the aquifers.
Desert elephants, often seen in the Hoarusib riverbed, were once thought to be a sub-species of the African elephant Loxodonta Africana. They are rather a separate population of the same species living in harsher surroundings, appearing taller and thinner than their siblings. They also have larger feet, an adaptation to walking on the desert sand.
To visit Torra Bay (open 1 Dec-31 Jan) and Terrace Bay, accommodation must be pre-booked with Namibia Wildlife Resorts and proof shown at the Springbokwasser gate.
Ensure that you have sufficient fuel, water and supplies.
Stay on demarcated roads.
Tread lightly on this awe-inspiring desert.
Ron Swilling
Do you feel like exploring Skeleton Coast National Park?
Contact the Gondwana Travel Centre to plan your trip.