Africa
The Peerless Red Desert
Extraordinary Wilderness Photography of Namibia
Namibia holds the oldest desert on earth. Eleven days run south from Windhoek into the quiver tree forests, the ghost town of Kolmanskop and the red dunes of Sossusvlei.
Then north along the coast: flamingos on the Walvis Bay lagoon, four-wheel-drive into Sandwich Harbour where the dunes pour into the Atlantic, and shipwrecks in the fog of the Skeleton Coast.
Eleven shooting days in all, with unhurried time for each of the four themes — red desert, ruins, coast and night sky — and accommodation kept as close to the locations as possible to cut the driving.
Highlights
- Four dark-sky locations: quiver tree forest, Kolmanskop, Sossusvlei and Spitzkoppe
- Two nights inside Sossusvlei — Dune 45 at dawn, Deadvlei at first light
- A special photography permit for Kolmanskop, morning and evening
- Sandwich Harbour by 4WD, where the dunes meet the Atlantic
- Wild horses at Garub and flamingos at Walvis Bay
- Accommodation chosen around shooting hours, ten nights in total
Itinerary
Day 01
Arrive in Windhoek
Airport pick-up and hotel check-in to rest. In the evening we shoot the sunset from the city heights, or the architectural lines of the Christuskirche in the twilight — and get our gear in order.
Day 02
Windhoek → Quiver Tree Forest
We drive south to Keetmanshoop. At dusk, the alien quiver trees stand silhouetted in the setting sun; late at night, a long exposure of the Milky Way arching over the quiver tree forest and Giant's Playground under some of the darkest skies on earth.
Day 03
Keetmanshoop → Aus
Across the southern Gobi landscapes, reaching the Garub waterhole near Aus before evening: long-lens vigils for the wild horses of the Namib, gaunt and beautiful in the desert sunset. At night, wilderness dead trees against an ink-dark sky in the Aus valley.
Day 04
Aus ⇄ Kolmanskop Ghost Town
Early entry to the Kolmanskop ghost town on our special morning/evening photography permit, shooting the geometric light and shadow of desert sand pouring through the doors and windows of century-old German buildings. Evening back in the Aus highlands: old farm ruins, dead trees and the Milky Way.
Day 05
Aus → Sossusvlei Red Desert
The C13/C14 scenic roads across the Namib desert, arriving at the gateway of the red desert by evening — golden dune arcs in the first light.
Day 06
Full day in the red dunes
Before dawn we climb Dune 45 for the shadow arcs cut by the rising side-light. Then into Deadvlei: white clay pan, thousand-year blackened trees and towering red dunes. In the afternoon, the fractured light of Sesriem canyon; at night, dead trees and the Milky Way.
Day 07
Sossusvlei → Walvis Bay
Desert horizons and wild valleys en route, past the Tropic of Capricorn marker and the rusted vintage cars of Solitaire. Evening on the Walvis Bay lagoon wetlands: long-lens silhouettes of pink flamingo flocks in the last light.
Day 08
Walvis Bay · Sandwich Harbour
Deep into Sandwich Harbour by professional 4WD in the golden hours, shooting the wonder of golden dunes pouring straight into the Atlantic. An optional charter flight offers an aerial view of the coastal dunes and wilderness textures.
Day 09
Walvis Bay → Skeleton Coast → Spitzkoppe
North up the Skeleton Coast, shooting shipwrecks in the Atlantic fog. In the afternoon, deep to Spitzkoppe — Namibia's Matterhorn — framing sunset and the arching Milky Way through its giant natural granite arch.
Day 10
Spitzkoppe → Windhoek
Morning light and texture on the Spitzkoppe granite boulders, then the drive across the central plateau back to Windhoek, ending with sunset and afterglow from the capital's heights.
Day 11
Windhoek city · Departure
A final morning for street or architectural shots in Windhoek, then transfer to the airport — the end of this landscape-and-ruins photography journey.
Photographs
Included
- Ten nights' accommodation (2 Windhoek, 1 Quiver Tree Forest, 2 Aus, 2 inside Sossusvlei, 2 Walvis Bay, 1 Spitzkoppe; twin-share)
- All meals daily (drinking water included; alcohol and other beverages excluded)
- All ground transport by 4WD, including the 4WD entry to Sandwich Harbour
- All park entry fees plus special early/late photography permits for Kolmanskop
- On-location photography tuition and post-processing sessions
Not included
- International flights
- Optional scenic charter flight over Sandwich Harbour
- Single-room supplement USD 1,150
- Travel insurance
- Driver and guide gratuities
- Personal expenses
Price
USD 6,800 per person
A single room incurs a supplement of USD 1,150 per person.