Skeleton Coast Camp
Skeleton Coast Park, Namibia
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SKELETON COAST CAMP - SKELETON
COAST NATIONAL PARK, NAMIBIA
Namibia's Skeleton Coast is one
of our planet's most beautiful places and is now host to one of its finest
safari locations. Over much of the past 15 years, access to this private
area within the Skeleton Coast National Park has been restricted. However,
in April 2000
Wilderness Safaris opened
a 12-bedded, luxury tented camp and we now offer superb 4 or 5
day fly-in safaris to this incredible area, with guaranteed departures
every Wednesday and Saturday.
 For
full departure info, click Skeleton
Coast Safaris
Almost 300,000 hectares (660,000 acres) of the National Park has been
set aside as an exclusive safari experience for those who want to really
get away! It is wild, desolate, uninhabited and stunningly beautiful.
The Benguela Current brings cool, plankton and fish-rich waters all
the way from Antarctica and moderates the temperatures in the region.
Mean
temperatures year round vary from a high of 28° C (82°F) to a
low of 10°C (50°F). Summers are incredibly mild, especially considering
it is in the desert! The cool ocean air meets the warm desert air and
nearly every
morning
mists cover the coastline, bringing life-sustaining
moisture to the desert's fauna and flora. This is a safari that will
rival anything in Africa for those who enjoy the excitement of wild and
remote places. Skeleton Coast Camp is owned and operated by Wilderness
Safaris.
Safari Schedule for Skeleton Coast For
full departure info, click Skeleton
Coast Safaris
Safaris to Skeleton
Coast camp are based on either 3 nights of 4 nights as follows:
• Scheduled departures every Wednesday and Saturday for the following durations:
• 4 Day / 3 Night Safari departs every Wednesday, return to Windhoek every Saturday;
• 5 Day / 4 Night Safari departs every Saturday, return to Windhoek every Wednesday;
• 8 Day / 7 Night Safari departs every Wednesday to Wednesday or every Saturday to Saturday;
• Optional pick up/drop off at Damaraland, Palwag, Okonjima or Swakopmund
is included. Pick up/drop off at Ongava is extra charge and minimum 2 persons.
• Luggage limitation of 20 kgs per person in a soft bag.
• Departures from Windhoek (international or Eros Airport) leave at approximately
10h00 hours. All guests must arrive on either the Air Namibia flight from
London or Frankfort, or on the earliest Air Namibia flight from Johannesburg
to Windhoek (arriving 09h50). Otherwise, it will be necessary to arrive
in Windhoek the day before and overnight.
Accommodation
For images of Skeleton Coast Camp, click Skeleton
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The camp is built on an island in the dry Khumib riverbed, about 20km inland from the coastline and comprises six Meru-style tented rooms on raised wooden decks with en-suite bathrooms, providing flush toilet, hand basin and shower. The rooms are attractively furnished incorporating locally found natural materials and all rooms have overhead fans and 12v lighting. A central area is made up of an open-plan lounge, bar and dining area with sweeping views of the desert. Weather permitting, evening meals may be served in the open-air 'dining room' under an old, gnarled leadwood tree.
Tent details:
• 6 guest tents.
This camp can accommodate 12 guests only.
• Tents are large luxury “Meru” style.
• Tents have doors and wooden floors.
• En-suite bathrooms with shower, wash basin and toilet inside the tent. Guests are requested to keep water usage to a minimum.
• Soaps, shampoos and insect repellents are supplied in each tent.
• Safe in each tent.
Camp Details:
• This is a tented camp built up on wooden decks on an island in the Khumib River.
• Central lounge, bar and dining area with views of the desert.
• Library.
• Outside eating area for fair-weather dining under an old Leadwood tree.
No laundry service is possible due to water shortage in this area.
Activities
The typical routine at Skeleton
Coast is quite different from that of most other safari camps. There
is an incredible amount to see and do. Breakfast is enjoyed in camp and
guests then head out all day into the Park. A picnic lunch is packed
and the safari only returns at sunset. The days are full, rewarding and
enriching. This area has everything…from soaring sand dunes that
roar, wonderful, vast, pastel-coloured plains, towering canyons and mountains,
salt-pans and seal colonies and shipwrecks. Add to that the game viewing!
Guests will also visit authentic Himba (the nomadic local people) settlements,
just outside the park, for an incredible cultural experience.
• Full day nature drives with walks.
• Excursions to fur seal colony and natural springs.
• Coastal ecology.
• Visit to a working Himba village and tracking Desert Elephants.
• Visit to the clay castles/roaring dunes/lichen fields as well as other areas of amazing geographical diversity.
Because of the uniqueness and vastness of this area, most activities are done in 4x4 vehicles that are closed to the elements, although all vehicles have pop-top roofs and sliding windows to enjoy the fine weather. There is however plenty of opportunity to walk and stretch the legs too. Activities include full-day nature drives or walks with a picnic lunch, returning to camp in the evening. Due to the pristine nature of this area many parts are accessible only on foot, as vehicle tracks can damage the environment. Many specially-adapted plant species such as Lithops and Welwitschia can be visited in this way.
Other excursions comprise visits to the clay castles of the Hoarusib River, Rocky Point, the roaring dunes, lichen fields, Cape fur seal colonies, Himba villages, and birding. Shipwrecks, now fast being devoured by the salty and vigorous coastline, can be viewed on request. Secret water seeps attract wildlife, so guests can see desert-adapted elephant, gemsbok, springbok, giraffe, ostrich, brown hyaena, Hartmann's mountain zebra and occasionally lion and cheetah.
Wildlife and Flora
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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