Namibia is Africa's most photogenic country. The Namib Desert — the oldest in the world at 55 million years — creates dunes of extraordinary scale and colour, while the Skeleton Coast and Etosha pan add a completely different drama.
Sossusvlei at first light is one of Africa's great experiences: apricot and copper dunes rising 300 m above a bone-white salt pan, with the dead camelthorn trees of Dead Vlei silhouetted against them. The images are clichéd because they are genuinely that good. Get there before sunrise; climb before the heat builds.
Etosha National Park is one of Africa's best self-drive safari parks — a vast white pan that acts as a magnet for wildlife during the dry season. Waterhole drives at dusk with lion, elephant, and black rhino in the same frame happen regularly here in a way they do not in busier parks.
In-depth guide
The Masai Mara & East Africa Adventure Guide
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