Namibia: where nature's artistry reshapes the earth

If Mother Nature’s sheer power and resilience could be exemplified in one place on Earth, it would be the dramatic, unimaginably vast landscapes of Namibia. The entire country is twice the size of California yet one of the most sparsely populated in Africa. And within this immaculate isolation one finds a rare stillness, the quiet, slow-moving landscapes allowing time for reflection. 

Standing enveloped in the heart of the world’s oldest living desert, the Namib in Sossusvlei, sand dunes ripple to the horizon like scoops of sandy ice cream. Here, in the midst of a land that has remained unchanged for millennia, one is reminded of the deep-rooted wisdom that Africa holds. The infinite silence and space are primordial, perhaps even overwhelming at times. But somehow the endlessness is also comforting, the unadorned beauty offering a deeper connection with the natural world and instilling a sense of belonging, peace, stillness…

Without a doubt, the best way to appreciate the vastness of Namibia’s terrain is to see it as the birds do. To soar above the dunes of Sossusvlei in a hot air balloon or by helicopter is breath taking and grants a perspective of the vastness.

Desert-adapted ostriches and springbok dot the ochre landscape, often surrounded by ‘fairy circles.’ These grass-ringed, perfectly spaced patches of barren earth are believed by scientists to result from adaptable desert grasses maximizing their absorption of water by growing into reservoir-like circles. To the guest viewing them from above, however, they seem to be a message from the past, embodying the mystery of the wilderness.

Then, when you think there simply cannot be any more splendour, the desert dunes turn from red to caramel and merge with the white-capped waves of the Atlantic Ocean at the coast. The sheer amazement of the sand transitioning from red to caramel to gold before finally being shrouded in mist and spray from the waves breaking is mesmerising, as is the sight of the African penguins that find solace at the shoreline. One of the only penguin colonies in Africa other than Cape Town, they live against a backdrop of limestone cliffs and rocky shores, a life of just sea, sand and sky.

In a land that is so seemingly desolate, life endures, thrives even, against all odds. Namibia’s wildlife has developed extraordinary adaptations allowing creatures to flourish in one of the harshest climates on earth. At the spectacular Skeleton Coast, game drives reveal desert-adapted elephants wandering gracefully amid the dry riverbeds armed with an almost mystical knowledge of where to find water. Shaggy brown hyena skulk over the sand, their coats the ultimate protection from the climate. In the Kunene River, boat-sized crocodiles bask in the river, and Etosha National Park, Namibia’s wildlife hotspot, rhino gather on the cracked clay pans, Oryx wander, their horns jutting into the turquoise sky and mountain zebra dazzle in the distance across the rocky hills.

Walking amongst gnarled camel thorn trees and vast sand, one cannot help but think in reverence of the first human inhabitants of southern Africa, the San people. One of the world’s last remaining hunter-gatherer societies, they have learnt to turn the desert’s resources into food, jewellery, hunting tools and musical instruments. These traditions are passed down over countless generations of ancestral knowledge. ROAR AFRICA guests can meet the San and learn about their culture and resilience in an intimate, respectful excursion, an immeasurably profound experience.

There is a reason why Sossusvlei is our first destination on Sand, Sea, City & Safari, a beyond first class journey aboard the Emirates Executive Private Jet that showcases Africa’s most astoundingly diverse corners across the sands of Namibia, South Africa (https://www.roarafrica.com/l/luxury-travel-destinations-south-africa) and the Seychelles. To land in Sossusvlei – an extreme and otherworldly terrain - is akin to landing on a different planet, billions of grains of sand stretching as far as the eye can see. In fact, it is sand, something so simple, that entwines this trip together. These miniscule, ancient grains that are present in each destination yet with subtle changes in color and consistency, weave the journey together beautifully, each speck holding stories of past, present and future.

As one guest commented to me after landing in Nambia:

I want to leave you with the image of standing atop the ochre dunes of Sossusvlei, watching over a five-million-year-old landscape where nature's artistry has endlessly reshaped the earth. It is only in spaces like this, in the wild, vastness of Africa, that your consciousness can shift, leaving you open to a renewed sense of what is truly worth living for– a sense of beauty and awe. It is, after all, why we travel and more often than not, you’ll rediscover something that you perhaps didn’t know you were looking for… yourself.

To book a life-changing safari to Namibia or to reserve a spot on Sand, Sea, City & Safari, which takes place May 13-30, 2025, and costs $175,000 per person sharing, kindly contact welcome@roarafrica.com.