Hoanib Skeleton Coast Camp is located in the remote Kaokoland region, an area of stark beauty that provides one of Africa's great wilderness experiences for the intrepid traveler.

The camp is situated on the eastern edge of Namibia's Skeleton Coast National Park, which protects over 6 500 square miles of spectacular scenery, including massive sand dunes, rugged mountains, and 315 miles of Atlantic Ocean Coast. The experience of discovering this far-flung ecosystem is accurately described as being on another planet.

Guests to Hoanib Camp will explore the area by vehicle, on foot, and in the air, taking in a place with almost no other humans, but home to a variety of desert-adapted wildlife. The climate is harsh, with little vegetation and with no apparent fresh water to speak of; nonetheless, desert-adapted wildlife survive here, albeit not in large numbers.

Two iconic Africa species seen regularly around the camp include the desert-adapted elephant and lion. The desert is certainly not the place one imagines when conjuring images of either species and to see them against the dramatic backgrounds here is truly something else. Other species found in the region include giraffe, oryx, springbok, black-backed jackal, and brown hyena.

Hoanib Camp offers 8 stylish and spacious tented guest units, one of which is a double unit that works well for a family or a couple wanting extra space and luxury. The tented rooms are constructed atop low-level decking and connected to the camp's main area by sandy pathways on the ground. Each guest unit has an outdoor deck with seating and giving views onto the camp's waterhole, which is visited by wildlife.

The camp's main area includes a chic dining, lounge, and bar area under canvas and atop slightly raised decks. There is also a campfire area and a pool deck with loungers, all with excellent views of the surroundings.

Wilderness Safaris are one of Africa's leading safari operators and they strive to minimize energy consumption at all their camps. Hoanib Skeleton Coast Camp is 100% powered by a large bank of solar panels with a generator used as a backup. Water is supplied from boreholes and is safe for consumption; however, purified drinking water is provided. Strict eco-friendly environmental standards are maintained so that no harmful chemicals or waste is allowed to enter the ecosystem of this untouched wilderness.

About the Skeleton Coast & Kaokoland

Namibia's Skeleton Coast refers to the northern one-third of the country's lengthy Atlantic Ocean coastline. The region extends from the Ugab River in the south to the country's northern border with Angola at the Kunene River, a distance of 315 miles (510 kms).

The Portuguese were the first Europeans to explore this coast during the 1600s and they dubbed it the "Coast of Death", in testament to its dangerous offshore waters, which were often covered in thick fog, causing many a ship to run aground. Thousands of sailors lost their lives in hundreds of shipwrecks and those that survived were usually doomed to starvation and exposure on the unforgiving beaches or further inland.

The entire coastline and a narrow strip inland is protected as the Skeleton Coast National Park (established in 1971), which covers 6 504 square miles (16 845 sq kms). Self-drivers are not permitted into the park, which is strictly regulated and controlled by the park authorities, so fly-in safaris are the only option. For this reason and owing to the remoteness of the region, few travelers are fortunate enough to visit this incredible destination; however, we cannot recommend it highly enough.

The Skeleton Coast / Kaokoland is one of the most pristine wilderness areas that is available to tourists in all of Africa. The landscapes can surely be described as 'other-worldly', with towering golden dunes that form crescent-shaped ridges of sand, ethereal rivers that only flow after rare rains, bitterly cold ocean waters that create thick fog most mornings when the sea air meets the hot sand inland, and barren hills, rocky outcrops, and rugged mountains inland.

Besides the jaw-dropping landscapes, visitors will be amazed by the fact that wildlife does exist in this extreme region. The lack of permanent fresh water means that the numbers and variety of animals here is low and is restricted to species that are adapted to the desert. In terms of wildlife seen in the Skeleton Coast, perhaps most surprising are the desert-adapted elephants and lions that manage to survive here.

The elephants in the Skeleton Coast have learned where to dig in the river beds and the lions can literally go months without drinking water, surviving by licking up morning dew from vegetation or 'elephant wells'. Other species commonly seen here include giraffe, springbok, oryx, brown hyena, and black-backed jackal.

Inland from the sand dunes, Kaokoland is also home to black rhinos, which are perfectly adapted to the land, even consuming plants that are poisonous to humans and other animals. There are also two popular Cape fur seal colonies that can be visited, one at Möwe Bay and the other further north at Cape Fria.

The region directly east of the northern half of the Skeleton Coast is informally called Kaokoland, while the area east of the southern half of the Skeleton Coast is called Damaraland. Kaokoland is Namibia's most sparsely populated region due to the very dry and harsh landscape, which is dominated by gravel-strewn plains, rugged mountains, precious little water, and sparse vegetation.

Visitors may be fortunate to encounter members of the indigenous Himba people that live throughout Kaokoland. The Himba are semi-nomadic pastoralists that live in transient communities with their cattle and goats. They are distinctive in appearance, covering their entire bodies and hair with an ochre-colored paste to provide them protection from the harsh sun. Due to the low number of tourists to the area, The Himba have managed to maintain their traditional way of living.