Location:- 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.
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.

At a glance:

• Accommodation - Capacity - 12 guests
• 6 luxury tented rooms on raised wooden decks
• En-suite bathrooms, providing flush toilet, hand basin and shower
• Game drives
• 24 hour electricity
• A true african safari

Accommodation:- 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.

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.

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". 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.

Access:- Skeleton Coast Camp can only be accessed by air. There are scheduled arrivals and departures on Wednesdays and Saturdays only. The flight is approximately 2.5 hours on a Cessna Caravan.

Child Policy:- Children over the age of 8 years are welcome.

Power supply:- There is 24 hour electricity to all rooms.