Skeleton Coast Camp
Skeleton Coast Park, Namibia
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| UPDATE: |
SKELETON COAST CAMP IS CLOSED.
Wilderness Safaris is building a new camp (Hoanib Camp) a short distance away which is due to open in 2014.
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SKELETON
COAST NATIONAL PARK, NAMIBIA
The arid Skeleton Coast environment is within the northern reaches of the Namib Desert. The cold sea breeze caused by the Benguela Current helps to moderate temperatures here and also brings life-sustaining moisture to the desert from the coast. Most mornings, the cool ocean mist collides with the hotter desert air producing a moist coastal fog that envelops the coastline, creating a sense of mystery and impenetrability as well as providing precious moisture for the inhabitants of this area.
This area is not teeming with big game species, but rather offers a cultural journey exploring the smaller desert wonders. Freshwater springs permeate through the barren sands to create rare oases in the desert that sustain pockets of wildlife. Springbok, gemsbok (oryx), the rare desert-adapted elephant, brown hyaena, black-backed jackal, and occasionally even lion and cheetah enter this rugged domain. The famous Cape fur seals are present in their thousands on the beaches, attracting predators as well.
The area has fascinating desert-adapted vegetation such as welwitschia and lithops, the succulent "flowering stones", and the bizarre elephant's foot found in rocky crevices. More than a hundred species of lichen are found on the gravel plains and hot west-facing mountain slopes, which change colour as they absorb moisture when the coastal fog presses inland.
Birding in the area is also very good with over 200 species recorded including several of Namibia's desert endemic species such as Tractrac Chat, Rüppell's Korhaan and Gray's Lark. The seal colonies often have Jeagers and Skuas in attendance with Parasitic Jaeger, Pomarine Jaeger and Subantarctic Skua all possible in summer.
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