Namibia: cosa fare e vedere

The Namib Desert runs along the Atlantic coast, and at Sossusvlei enormous red dunes rise above white clay pans. Windhoek, the capital, sits in the central highlands with the German-built Christuskirche on a hill, and Swakopmund, on the cold coast, is a seaside town of half-timbered buildings, palm-lined streets and sandboarding. Walvis Bay, just south, has a lagoon with flamingos and pelicans.

Etosha National Park, to the north, is built around a huge salt pan, with waterholes where elephants, lions, giraffes and rhinos gather in the dry season. In the north-east, Rundu lies on the Kavango River on the Angolan border, among villages and wetlands. Fish River Canyon in the south is one of the largest canyons in the world, and the Skeleton Coast has shipwrecks and seal colonies.

Braai, the barbecue, is the social meal, with kudu and oryx steaks, biltong and kapana, meat grilled at roadside stalls, and German bakeries and beer in the coastal towns. The dry winter, May to October, is best for game viewing, and the coast is often shrouded in fog.