Skeleton Coast Camping Safari
PRICE | Coming Soon
We are incredibly excited to be the first tour operator to offer dedicated photographic trips into Namibia's secretive southern skeleton coast. After several years of effort, we finally have the right operator, the concession and the experience to lead photographers into Namibia's ultimate no-man's land.
The Namib desert coastline stretches from the town of Luderitz in the far south to Walvis Bay in the central west, for roughly 400km. This coastline is the stuff of legend; shipwrecks, diamond mining and mysterious disappearances. Due to its extreme inhospitality, access is still tightly regulated - tourists are only allowed in under the strict supervision of a few select concession holders. The terrain is extreme even to experienced off-road adventurers. Visitors have to be 100% self-sufficient and you have be in convoy as single cars will have no method of recovery if they get stuck in the dunes.
For photographers, it is a wild frontier. A paradise of colourful mineral-rich dunes, abnormal wind-eroded geology, shipwrecks and incredible wildlife. It is home to sandwich harbour - a natural tidal lagoon where birdlife congregates en masse and jackal and hyena predate upon that birdlife. Antelope like Oryx and Springbok live in the dunes and the seals dot the coastline by the hundreds of thousands. Over the last few decades, the odd photographer or two has visited the area, but it seems that it has been overlooked by the vast majority. It's unspoilt nature is virgin to photographers. Our recce trip that we did felt like a surreal journey into a parallel universe and we cannot wait to go back.
SKELETON COAST
Venture into the unknown
Photographic Focus
Landscape
Astro
Wildlife
TOUR HIGHLIGHTS
Experience Desert Wilderness
Reset your mind and spirit by spending five nights in the absolute middle of nowhere with nothing more than your camera gear and the essentials.
Capture a Virgin Destination
The combination of virtually impossible access and concession bureaucracy has kept the world's photo tour industry out of this amazing area. All of it's incredible landscapes are new and uncaptured.
Enjoy Nomadic Freedom
We can camp right next to our photographic subjects and this is exactly what we intend to do. Once our camp for the night is set up, our photos are just a short walk away.
Adrenaline Pumping Dune Driving
This tour has more than just exciting photography - driving across the dunes of the Namib is an exhilarating experience that will have you nervous, laughing and perhaps screaming a little bit for most of the 5 days.
Optimal Moonphase for Astro
This trip has been planned around the winter solstice waning moonphase, which is the darkest time of the year and offers the best positioning of the milky way.
Small Group Size - Max 8
Don't like sharing the landscape? No one does. That is why we like to keep our group sizes small. This tour is limited to a maximum of 6 participants.
Camping in the Desert - What to Expect
Your Own Large Canvas Dome Tent
Each single person will have their own 8x8ft canvas dome tent (typical safari tent) with a stretcher, bedroll, duvet and pillow.
Private Shower Tent with Hot Water
A dedicated shower tent allows you to take a daily hot shower in privacy. As we have to transport all the water, each person will be limited to 5x showers using 10 liters of water per shower. There will be a permanent hand washing station at the camp and during lunch stops.
Private Toilet Tent or A Stroll in the Dunes
Please note that the toilet tent will only be set up in the mornings and evenings when the main camp is set up. If we are travelling between destinations during the day, you will have to do your business behind a dune. It is thus absolutely critical that you are comfortable with a "bush toilet".
Only 3 Passengers per Vehicle
Participants will be transported in latest model Toyota SUV's. These cars only have to carry 3 passengers, their luggage and the water for each person. All of the camping and food is transported in support vehicles, keeping things light and nimble.
Comfortable Campsite Protected from Wind
If there is so much as a breeze blowing, the entire campsite is shielded from the wind using heavy duty wind-blocking sails that are spanned from vehicle to vehicle as shown in the image above (multiple sails used with larger groups). These sails eliminate 99% of the wind, allowing us the luxury of relaxing around a fire with a drink on all nights. It also means you can eat, wash-up and get to bed without having to worry about the sand-blasting desert winds that blow on most afternoons and evenings.
Fresh Cooked Meals
We have a dedicated camp manager as well as a cook travelling with us. Breakfasts are classic english, lunches are make your own sandwich and dinners are a classic Southern African barbecue consisting of meat with a starch and a salad. We can accommodate most dietary requests and we will take guests to a large grocer in Walvis Bay to purchase their own snacks.
Electricity
Participants will be allowed to charge camera batteries and cellphones. Please note that there is no cellphone reception in the desert, but as most people still use their phones for music, notes and to take snaps we will allow you to charge it. Laptops will not be allowed.
Itinerary Breakdown
We could list our destination names here, but as we are going into no-mans land, the names of the places don't carry much meaning to someone who doesn't know the desert intimately. Furthermore, we are playing our cards close to our chests otherwise there will be 50 photo tours into this desert in the following year as all the operators are desperate for a new destination in Namibia. What we can tell you is the following -
Day 1 - All participants will be received at Walvis Bay airport and taken to our guesthouse on the lagoon. Once checked in, we'll do a briefing on the days to come as there is a lot of important information to share. Once the briefing is done we'll go for dinner and make sure we get to bed early.
Day 2 - Starting before sunrise, we will travel inland and enter the desert from the East in order to give you a feeling for how the dunes change from East to West and show you many of the desert's incredible and unique attractions along the way. We will either camp at a beautiful high viewpoint of the coastal dunes or next to a shipwreck on the beach.
Day 3 - The mornings will start very early as our astro shoots will happen primarily in the mornings, when the milky way is on the western horizon. After sunrise and breakfast, we will move south, passing several abandoned diamond mining towns, but our aim is a special area of the desert with colourful dunes, amazing wind-eroded boulders and lots of quartz-rich sand that makes amazing macro-ripples.
Day 4 - After another early start for astro and sunrise, we will head West, passing the Eduard Bohlen, to a stunning section of the coast with very high dunes that overlook the sea with great panoramic vistas. This is a short driving day, which will give us a relaxing afternoon to nap, shoot or enjoy some G&T's.
Day 5 - Following another early morning, we'll drive north towards an area with incredible wildlife, including flamingoes and pelicans as far as the eye can see, other birdlife including dune larks and jackal, oryx and hopefully brown hyena. This is another short day of driving and once camp is setup, we can go in search of wildlife either on foot or by car.
Day 6 - Our fifth day is a contingency day that will be allocated by popular demand. We can either use it as a 2nd day at the wildlife destination or to return to the shipwreck in case the mist spoiled our astro photos on the first attempt.
Day 7 - On the final day we'll shoot sunrise, have breakfast and we should be back in Walvis Bay around noon. After washing the sand out of our everythings, we'll go for a big lunch, followed by a download and editing session.
Day 8 - On the 8th day we'll get everyone back to the Walvis Bay airport in time for their flights out.
Camera Equipment
With the focus being on landscape, astro and wildlife, you will ideally need to cover a focal length of 16-400mm.
Landscape
The landscapes on this trip mostly require mid- and telephoto focal lengths as a lot of it is vast, rolling dune landscapes, which look best when compressed with a longer lens. Expect to use your mid-range lens and a polariser a lot.
Astro
This trip has been planned to fall perfectly around the winter solstice new moon - as most of the scenes face West, there aren't many compositions that allow an astro shot with the evening milky way. For only this brief period of the year, one can shoot a bright galactic core setting on the western horizon in the early morning hours. Having a dedicated astro lens like the Sigma 20mm f/1.4, Nikon 20mm f/1.8 will make a huge difference to your astro shots.
Wildlife
For at least one day of this trip and possibly a second, we will be camping at a birdlife paradise - expect flamingoes as far as the eye can see, surrounded by pelicans, dune lark and countless other species of birds. There are also Jackal, Oryx, Springbok and we hope to see the resident Brown Hyenas that predate on the flamingoes. To capitalise on this, it is critical that you have a 400mm lens - if you have anything longer, we highly recommend that you bring it along.
Shipwreck Seascapes
The shipwrecks will be a subject in what is a typical seascape shoot. Bring along your full filter kit including polariser, ND's and grads. You will not only use it for this, but for most of the sunset/sunrise shoots.
Panoramas
This section of the desert is panorama paradise with its sweeping views. Make sure you have a solid tripod with a spirit level or leveling base.
Tall Tripod
A lot of the shooting is done on sloping dunes, so it is critical that you have a tripod with some extra length - please do not bring compact/travel tripods as you will spend most of the time bent over your tripod.
Keeping Your Gear Clean
Expect a lot of sand and wind - keeping your gear clean in this environment can be challenging. We advise that you keep your bodies and lenses in individual dust bags within your camera bag to protect it from sand blowing into the camera bag. Bring a paint brush and be ready for a daily gear clean session.
So, what do you get?
Included
• Single Occupation is standard - this workshop does not have a single supplement fee.
• Ground Transport for the entire duration of the tour in latest model Toyota SUV's (Hilux or Fortuner)
• Concession fees to spend 5 nights in the Namib wilderness (this concession is extremely expensive for small groups and near impossible to get).
• All meals commencing with dinner on 17 June 2020 and finishing with breakfast on 24 June 2020.
• Maximum Guide to client ratio of 1:3
• All accommodation/lodging costs.
• Continuous assistance with your photography and image processing by the guide.
• The services of a highly experienced local guide and driver.
• A highly experienced tour leader with great knowledge and experience of landscape photography.
• Use of a satellite phone for emergencies
Not Included
• Airfare to and from Walvis Bay.
• Non-mealtime snacks and drinks
• Beverages - due to weight limitations, each person has to purchase their own drinks. This prevents us from guessing what and how much you want to drink and thus driving unnecessary cargo over the dunes.
• Credit Card surcharges
• Any purchases of a personal nature
• Travel Insurance - as this trip involves extreme off-road driving into extremely rural areas, you will have to take out comprehensive travel insurance with medevac cover. You will have to provide proof of your policy to us to be allowed on the tour.
• Use of a satellite phone for personal/non-emergency reasons.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Namibia Safe?
Namibia has minor petty crime, but you will be under the supervision of our guides from the moment you land until we drop you off again at the airport. There is no reason for any concern.
Do I need a VISA to enter Namibia?
Most of the major countries in the world do not require a visa to enter Namibia, please get in touch with us to double check.
Will I have cellphone reception?
There will be good cellphone reception in Walvis Bay, where we spend nights 1 and 7. In the desert, where we spend nights 2,3,4,5 and 6, there is no cellphone reception. We have a satellite phone for emergency use.
Will I have Internet access?
Same as above.
What about medicines, diseases and vaccinations?
You do not require any prophylactics for the south of Namibia, but we advise that you consult your doctor for a professional opinion.
Will there be fresh water available?
There will be bottled water available everywhere.
Will I be able to purchase snacks?
We will stop at a large grocer before we enter the desert so you can purchase snacks.
What food can I expect?
Breakfasts are classic english, lunches are make your own sandwich and dinners are a classic Southern African barbecue consisting of meat with a starch and a salad.
What about allergies or dietary preferences?
We can accommodate most dietary requests and we will take guests to a large grocer in Walvis Bay to purchase their own snacks as a contingency plan.
Are there any luggage restrictions?
Yes - we will not weigh your bags, but we ask that you pack considerately as we are travelling hundreds of kilometers on sand with heavily loaded vehicles. Each person will be allowed one soft bag for clothing, one camera bag and one tripod. We advise that you fly to Namibia with a large/hard case and then pack a smaller soft bag for the 5 nights in the desert - we have arranged a safe storage place for your large suitcase and spare clothing/items while we are in the desert. Please try to keep your total luggage weight for the 5 nights in the desert under 25kg. The average full frame camera kit weighs 15kg, giving you 10kg for 5 nights of clothing and toiletries, which is more than sufficient.
Do I need to bring spending money along?
No - you will be fine with just a credit card.
Do I need a laptop?
It will be useful to bring a laptop for some downloading and editing on our last day in Walvis Bay, but we will not allow laptops to be taken with into the desert.
