Skeleton Coast: The northern part of the Atlantic coast of Namibia.
How to get there: You could drive from the town of Swakopmund or from Windhoek, in Namibia. The closest airport is Hosea Kutako International Airport, located just 40 km from Windhoek.
What’s common to Gates of Hell and The Land God Made In Anger? Both refer to the Skeleton Coast of Namibia. It is home to over 1, 000 shipwrecks, whale and seal skeletons, remnants of the former whaling industry. This beach gets its name from John Henry Marsh’s book Skeleton Coast , chronicling the journey and ultimate wrecking of the Dunedin Star. It is named for the whale and seal skeletons that once littered the shoreline.
So, why were there so many ship wrecks? Was it natural or supernatural? Let’s find out. The Benguela Current (northward flowing ocean current that forms the eastern portion of the South Atlantic Ocean gyre) keeps the ocean icy. When it meets the hot desert it causes the coastline to disappear beneath clouds of dense fog called cassimbo . The offshore rocks hidden from view by yhe fog are the main cause of shipwrecks, although a few smaller ships have made it to the shore. The coast is littered with wrecks — while some are barely recognisable, some are in good condition.
Natural beauty
The coast is mostly soft sand with rocky outcrops. Sand dunes tower 100m away from the shore and except for the shipwrecks, there is nothing man-made for miles together in any direction. Namibia’s 1,570 km coastline stands stark in its natural beauty and there is nothing like this anywhere else. Lions, hyenas and other predators wander the shore in search of maritime meals.
The coast is home to large mammals that include Namibia’s desert-adapted elephant, black rhino, lion, cheetah, giraffe, gemsbok, zebra, springbok and the spotted and brown hyena which are found in the dry river beds. This unique ecosystem has given life to the some unusual plants like the elephant’s foot which grows in rock crevices while desert succulents like lithops, look like pebbles until a tiny yellow flower emerges.
At a glance
The famous fog, a vital part of this ecosystem also makes for some excellent spine-tingling photographs.
Around 247 species of birds have been recorded in this area.
The Skeleton Coast National Park is worth a visit.
