Size & Location: 50 000km² on the west coast of Namibia in the Namib Desert
When to visit the park: Sept - March (rainy season, fills the desert with an array of flowers)
Climate: Avg. daytime temp. seldom drops below 35°C. Night-time: at about 5°C (lowest)
Rainfall: Erratic, 63mm per annum varying with high evaporation
Altitude: Sea level to 2 000m above sea level

NAMIB NAUKLUFT PARK INFORMATION:

Covering much of the central Namib Desert and the Naukluft Mountains, the Namib Naukluft Park is home to some of the rarest and weirdest plant and animal species in the world. With its vast open spaces, towering sand dunes and dried-up lakebeds the Park is rated the fourth largest conservation area in the world. The sand dunes offer a sense of solitude while climbing and extend as far as the eye can see, their colors varying from light tans to vivid reds and oranges. The park's main attractions are Sossusvlei, Sandwich Harbour and the Naukluft hiking and four wheel drive trails. The Namib Naukluft is one attraction that should not be missed.

Desert mammals include three species of elephant shrew, desert golden mole, dune hairy-footed gerbil, black-backed jackal, bat-eared fox, African wild cat, spotted hyena, brown hyena and springbok. Mountain mammals include baboon, leopard, cheetah, mountain zebra, gemsbok Oryx, rock hyrax , kudu, and klipspringer. The reptile residents are fascinating and include lizards, barking geckos, crickets, spiders and snakes such as Peringuey's Adder. By night the nocturnal creatures include mongoose, squirrel and Cape hares.

Birdlife is in abundance in the park. Mountain birds include black eagle preying mainly on the rock hyrax. The coastal section includes breeding populations of jackass penguins, terns, cormorants, flamingos (13,000) and white pelicans. The gravel plains support high breeding concentrations of lappet-faced vulture, greater kestrel, Gray's lark, while in the dune sea to the south resides the endemic dune lark. On the escarpment (Naukluft region) the endemic Herero chat can be found, as well as black eagles and rosy-faced lovebirds. Sandwich harbour is the breeding ground for large numbers of fish and the birds are attracted by the large numbers of young fish trapped in the shallow waters by the outgoing tide.

MAIN ATTRACTIONS:
* Gain a true desert experience and come face to face with prehistoric Welwitschia plants
* Tracking the small desert creatures and observing their adaptation patterns
* Hiking the world's largest and brightest coloured sand dunes at Sossusvlei

LINKS:
Rosemarycalvert.com
Earthobservatory.nasa.gov
Wikipedia.org
Namib Naukluft Park
Namib Naukluft Park accommodation
Namib Naukluft Park Safaris