Namibia has the world's highest sand dunes and breathtaking desert scenery that is sure to blow one’s mind off. In some places such as Sandwich Harbour, which forms part of the Namib Naukluft Park, giant sand dunes run straight into the ocean, creating breathtaking sceneries and unique landscapes, just waiting to be discovered!
The country which coincidentally is the second-least densely populated country in the world is home to some of the largest dunes, the darkest skies, the oldest cultures, the biggest conservation areas in Africa, the world's last rhinos and the most complex languages on the planet - to name but a few!’
Sossusvlei (sometimes written Sossus Vlei) is Namibia's most iconic landscape. The dunes here are some of the highest in the world, and the tallest in this area.
While here one is met with endless dust-red dune, bleached white pans and deep blue sky is instantly recognisable, and symbolise the country's vast, dry, uninhabited expanses.
At a whopping 325m (1,066ft), Big Daddy is the world's highest sand dune. people still like to climb this monster Big Daddy for two main reasons: firstly, because it overlooks the surreal landscape of Dead Vlei, a white pan filled with the dark fossils of camelthorn trees, and secondly because climbing Big Daddy gives you ultimate bragging rights.
At just 80m high, Dune 45 is another popular and widely photographed sand dune in Namibia.
And that is not even all you can do here, one can have the time of their lives sandboarding down the sand dunes of the Namib Desert in an exhilarating and absolute adrenalin pumping activity.
Sandboarding is an adrenalin filled, fantastic, fun-filled activity and comes highly recommended as a way to spend a morning while visiting Namibia.
Sandboarding is one of the top adventure activities for visitors to Swakopmund, a quaint seaside resort town located on the north-western coast of Namibia, just 280 kilometres (170 miles) for the country's capital; Windhoek.
Visitors can choose from 1 of 2 different ways to sandboard. Those that are a little nervous can decide to lie down on their board and zoom down head first reaching speeds of up to 80km/h (50 miles/hour).
This form of sandboarding is safe and easy to do, and no prior experience is needed, making it ideal for families with children of all ages.
For the brave-hearted, however, they can opt to stand on the board as if they are very snowboarding and race down the slope.
Depending on the incline of the slope, your ride can be really, really fast as sand gives a lot less resistance than snow does. There are a number of different slopes to try and stand on or slide on your stomachs on and as you grow more confident and your skill levels increase you will be able to ride down steeper and faster slopes.
The boards used for sand boarding were originally just simple pieces of board that one could hold onto as you whizzed down the slope. But slowly over the years, these have been developed and today visitors are handed a specially crafted and oiled board that has been specially adapted for speeding down the soft, sandy slopes.
