Skeleton Coast Camp
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 decade, 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 now offer superb 4 or 5
day fly-in safaris to this incredible area, with guaranteed departures
every Wednesday and Saturday.
For
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.
Accommodation 
For images of Skeleton Coast Camp, click Skeleton
Images
Skeleton Coast
Camp is a 12-bedded camp. There are six luxury 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. The main area incorporates
a dining room, lounge and bar area surrounded by glass concertina
doors to allow for uninterrupted views of the desert beyond.
In fair weather the camp offers al fresco dining under an ancient
Leadwood tree and after-dinner drinks around the camp fire
under the stars.
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 Days/3 Nights (depart Wednesday, return Saturday);
5 Days/4 Nights (depart Saturday, return Wednesday);
• 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 12 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.
Activities For
James' images of Skeleton Coast Camp, click Images
Page-2 Images
Page-3
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.
Wildlife
This is not a pure game viewing safari. 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 Elephant, Cape Fur Seals, Brown Hyaena, Jackal, Ostrich and
occasionally even Cheetah eke out an existence in this rugged terrain,
alongside desert-adapted vegetation such as Welwitschia and Lithops,
the succulent"flowering stones".
Update: Lions in
the Skeleton Coast
A huge plus to a visit to the incredible
Skeleton Coast Camp has been the increasingly regular sightings over
the past few months
of Lions
in the Skeleton Coast Park. The pride wandered into the Park over a year
ago. They were very elusive at first as they were no doubt harassed
making their way to the coast. They are just starting to become
somewhat habituated to the Land Rovers. They have now set up their territory
in the Hoarusub Canyon, not far from the camp – between the Clay
Castles and the coast. Initially they were surviving on Himba cattle
and donkeys, and the camp was continually reimbursing the Himba for
their losses. Now they have gotten to like the taste of gemsbok and have
stayed
put in the park, closer to the coast. The last time Lion were seen on
the coast was over ten years ago and their tracks are now within sight
of the sea. It is certainly a possibility that guests may once again
have the sight of a huge male Lion feeding on seals (which will be a
huge relief
to the Gemsbok)! There are currently three males, one female and
three small cubs – all of which look healthy and well settled.
Top 
Return to Map of Namibia Camps
For
further information about the National Parks of Namibia, click Nam
Parks
For
History and General information about Namibia, click More
Namibia
|
