I recently returned from an exciting trip to Namibia for the Adventure Travel World Summit (ATWS), an event that I’ve been attending annually since 2009 and which has become a highlight of my year. This year was the first time the ATWS was held in Africa, and our Namibian hosts did themselves proud. As a media delegate, I was fortunate to be able to participate in a pre-Summit adventure to Etosha National Park and the beautiful Damaraland region, hosted by Wilderness Safaris, as well as a two-day adventure to the AfriCat Foundation, whose impressive conservation and environmental educational programs are based on the private, 20,000-hectare Okonjima Reserve. Following the Summit, which was held primarily in Swakopmund on the Atlantic coast, I headed to Sossusvlei to see the red dunes of the Namib Desert, a landscape numerous people had told me not to miss.
I’ve shared my favorite photos from these adventures in my new Namibia photo gallery.
Lovely photos Namibia seems like a beautiful place with truly wonderful wildlife. I went to Zimbabwe in 2012 and was a little disappointed with the country itself and some of the things I saw there so I have pretty much decided that namibia would be the best and probably safest place to travel to in Africa. It seems like there conservation efforts keep getting better as well which is a very good thing if you happen to love the wildlife there.
Belated thanks for your comment, Hamish. Namibia did indeed feel very safe; I was warned to be a bit careful in Windhoek on weekends when there were a lot of people about, but I never felt the least bit threatened there or anywhere else in the country. Namibia felt quite different from other places I’ve been to in Africa (Kenya, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Benin), in part because of the German flavor in many areas and in part because of the strong emphasis on community conservancies, which give local people an important role in conservation efforts.
I’ve just started a regular photo blog here on this site and will be sharing the stories behind many of my Namibia photos as I go along. I’m also preparing to launch an external blog focused on ecotourism, conservation, and sustainable adventure travel where there will also be room for stories about Namibia. I’ll announce that blog on this site very soon. I hope you’ll check it out if interested.