NAMIBIA
DEADVLEI
Surrounded by dunes, Deadvlei is a clay pan formed when the area flooded thousands of years ago when the Tsauchab river flooded allowing camel thorn trees to grow. Then, the dunes encroached cutting the pan off and drying it out, but instead of rotting, the incredible dryness of the air petrified the trees, and now around 700 years later they still stand in the white clay pan surrounded by the read and orange dunes.
SOSSUSVLEI
Deep in the dunes of southern Namibia is a river valley, carved out hundreds of thousands of years ago, the river now is long gone, returning only briefly in the rare rains that come here once or twice a decade. Running alongside the valley are some of the oldest and tallest dunes in the world, coloured beautiful deep oranges and red due to all the iron oxide, they are an abstract dream to photograph.
THE SKELETON COAST
The Skeleton Coast is where the Namib Sand sea meets the Atlantic Ocean. It’s utterly empty wilderness, endless sand for hundreds of kilometres in every direction, and some of the largest dunes in the world. I’ve been lucky enough to camp here multiple times, driving into the area in a modified 4x4 with a trained and experienced team, allowing us access to this absolutely incredible part of the world. It’s an incredibly special and unique experience, completely cut off from civilisation spending time beneath the stars and amongst the endless rolling dunes.
THE NAMIB RAND
The Namib Rand, or “edge of the Namib” is a landscape of mountains and vast plains that seems to go on for ever. The scale of the landscape is mind-boggling and when the light gets low in the mornings and evenings the scenes are magical.
QUIVER TREE FOREST
The Quiver Trees aren’t actually trees at all. They are in fact succulents that usually grow amongst rocks on some of the hard to reach ridge lines and hills scattered throughout Namibia. However, not far from Keetmanshoop is Giant’s Playground, an area where some of the trees are relatively easy to access which is great for astro photography
KOLMANSKOPP
The town of Kolmanskopp was built to house diamond mine workers in the early 20th Century. When the diamonds dried up the town was abandoned and since the 1950s has been being slowly reclaimed by the desert sands. Exploring the empty buildings is incredibly atmospheric.
AERIALS
Namibia is a beautiful country, but from the air it’s even more spectacular as a land of abstract shapes and texture is revealed. Helicopter trips with the doors off are an incredible experience and give an entirely different perspective on these stunning landscapes.