"Namibia - Beautiful and Wild!" a Namibia Travel Page by MikeAtSea

If one travels to Namibia for the first time it is hard to imagine how the German colonisers who arrived here in the 19th century coped with the unlimited elbow room and endless sunshine. But travelling to Namibia that is exactly what visitors are intrigued with.
Namibia is one of the youngest countries on the African continent since it only gained independence in March 1990.
The country is home to just over 1.5 Million inhabitants who live in the cities that are scattered around the country with the capital city of Windhoek being the largest city of Namibia. Other cities of the country are the coastal towns of Swakopmund, Walfish Bay and Lüderitz, the southern towns of Grünau and Keetmanshop and the northern towns of Tsumeb and Rundu.
The main feature of the country is the Namib Desert which almost stretches the entire coastline along from South to North. The largest nature reserve of the country the Namib Naukluft Park is situated here. Some of the largest sand dunes in the world can be found at Soussusvlei.
Right in the North is Namibia’s main game reserve the Etosha National Park. Etosha is certainly one of the world’s greatest game reserves with magnificent game viewing opportunities. The park covers an area of more then 20.000 sq. km and is home to 114 mammal, 340 bird and 16 reptile species. The main feature of the park is the massive salt pan in the centre that almost gives an eerie sight seeing herds of animals emerge out of the flickering sun light.
In the south one finds one of the most spectacular canyons in Africa, the Fish River Canyon, an enormous feature being over 160 km in length and up to 27 km wide.
Yet with all its sand dunes and desserts one also finds subtropical regions in the country in the region of the Caprivi Strip in the Northeast. Here where the Okavango River flows towards the Kalahari in Botswana bio diversity comes at its best.
With all its diversity in landscapes, flora and fauna combined with cities that still carry their German heritage and are now home of the diverse spectrum of local tribes Namibia is a fascinating country to travel to.
The distances one travels within Namibia are vast and there are currently only a few main paved roads, hence it is necessary to travel a lot of times on dust or sand roads.
Lastly it is a safe destination with a solid infrastructure - afterall it is one of the main diamond producing nations on earth!