Namibia Photos

Photograph by Frans Lanting

Namibia's Kulala Desert Lodge has rooftop decks for stargazing—and wraparound views of the Namib Desert and the rugged Naukluft Mountains. It is set in a 150-square-mile private wilderness reserve adjacent to Namibia's Namib-Naukluft National Park.

Read more about Namibia in “Your Own Private Africa” in the March 2011 issue of National Geographic Traveler.

Photograph by Frans Lanting

In 2003, giraffes were reintroduced to NamibRand, a private nature reserve in Namibia that together with conservation-minded regions to the north and south comprises 800 square miles. "Good rains had come to the desert for three years in a row when we were there," says writer Chris Eckstrom, "and the normally bare plains were lush with tall grasses."

Read more about Namibia in “Your Own Private Africa” in the March 2011 issue of National Geographic Traveler.

Photograph by Frans Lanting

The scale of the dunes that ring Sossusvlei, an area of parched white pans of salt and cracked clay, is hard to imagine until you see hikers along the crests, looking like ants. Powerful southwesterly and east winds can erase every footprint and are constantly resculpting the dunes.

Read more about Namibia in “Your Own Private Africa” in the March 2011 issue of National Geographic Traveler.

Photograph by Frans Lanting

In the desert, water is a magnet for wildlife, such as these zebras in the NamibRand reserve in Namibia.

Read more about Namibia in “Your Own Private Africa” in the March 2011 issue of National Geographic Traveler.

Photograph by Frans Lanting

Monumental vistas surround the Wolwedans Dunes Lodge in NamibRand, a private nature reserve. "In less than a generation," says writer Chris Eckstrom ("Your Own Private Africa," March 2011 issue of Traveler), "NamibRand has been transformed from a group of poor, overgrazed sheep farms to one of the most stunningly beautiful landscapes in southern Africa."

Photograph by Frans Lanting

Quiver trees, emblematic of Namibia's desert, are often found on slopes where the desert washes up against rocky hills.

Read more about Namibia in “Your Own Private Africa” in the March 2011 issue of National Geographic Traveler.

Photograph by Frans Lanting

The oryx has adapted to desert conditions. When it’s hot, the oryx can raise its body temperature to 113℉, so that it won't sweat and lose moisture. “Then its blood goes through special nasal veins that cool it down before it overheats the brain,” says desert outfitter Volker Jahnke. “Oryx are perfectly set up for this life."

Read more about Namibia in “Your Own Private Africa” in the March 2011 issue of National Geographic Traveler.

Photograph by Frans Lanting

Raised walkways give Wolwedans Dunes Lodge in the NamibRand reserve a light footprint on the desert. Even the swimming pool is suspended above the sand. In the guest chalets, guests can roll up the canvas sides and drift off to sleep under the stars.

Read more about Namibia in “Your Own Private Africa” in the March 2011 issue of National Geographic Traveler.

Photograph by Frans Lanting

Rows of vegetated dunes snake through the wild lands of NamibRand private nature reserve, which serves as a model for combining ecotourism with conservation work and landscape restoration. Iron oxides give the sand its distinctive color.

Read more about Namibia in “Your Own Private Africa” in the March 2011 issue of National Geographic Traveler.

Photograph by Frans Lanting

Windblown sand fills a derelict building in the ghost town of Kolmanskop, a diamond-mining boom town—now deserted—where Namibia's first diamonds were discovered in 1908. The diamond rush led to restricted access to vast tracts of land along the coast, leaving those areas, which are now a national park, virtually untouched for more than a century.

Read more about Namibia in “Your Own Private Africa” in the March 2011 issue of National Geographic Traveler.

Photograph by Frans Lanting

"This charming Namaqua chameleon was clambering around a grass clump right next to our camp in Sperrgebiet National Park," says writer Chris Eckstrom ("Your Own Private Africa," March 2011 issue of Traveler). "You can be lulled into thinking there's not much life in the desert until you wake up in the morning and see all the scribblings of critter tracks around your tent and all over the dunes."