Namib-Naukluft Park, Namibia

The 49,768 km Namib-Naukluft Park is not only the largest nature conservation area in Namibia, it is also rated the fourth largest nature conservation area in the world, as well as the most unusual. It has an essence of timelessness, and, depending on the time of day there is a shift of moods, a play of light and shadow, giving desert landscapes entirely new tints and textures.

For the connoisseur of scenery, atmosphere and the unusual, there is nothing quite like the Namib. The landscapes range from the impressive mountain massif to desert plains with high dunes, from deep gorges to an estuarine lagoon; from vast plains where herds of oryx, springbok and zebra roam, to the eerie landscape of the badlands in the Swakop River valley known as the 'valley of the moon'. The small oasis of Goanikontes is also in the valley, its vivid green vegetation a startling contrast to the harsh desert landscape.

Examples of that hardy survivor of the desert, the Welwitschia Mirabilis, can be seen along this route. One very large specimen, which is specially protected, is estimated to be 1 500 years old.