Namibia

Namibia is one of the least densely populated countries on Earth, and its appeal is space and landscape as much as wildlife. It is also one of the easiest African countries to explore by road, with good gravel highways and very little traffic.

In the south, the dunes of Sossusvlei and the dead trees of Deadvlei sit inside the Namib, thought to be the oldest desert in the world. In the north, Etosha National Park is built around a huge white salt pan. In the dry season its waterholes draw elephant, lion, giraffe and black rhino in plain view, and several camps have floodlit waterholes for watching at night.

Between them lies Damaraland, a region of red rock with desert-adapted elephants, free-ranging black rhino and the ancient rock engravings at Twyfelfontein. The Skeleton Coast is known for fog, shipwrecks and the seal colony at Cape Cross. Swakopmund, a seaside town with German colonial buildings, is the base for activities in the dunes and on the water.

Distances are large, so allow ten days to two weeks for a circuit. May to October is dry and cool and best for wildlife in Etosha. Summer, from November to March, is very hot in the desert.