Best adventure activities in Namibia

Ocean and desert collide in Namibia to provide adventure playgrounds of water, sand and rock, with each as vast (and wild) as the other.

Namibia’s landscapes are epic, both in terms of sheer scale and natural beauty. Imagine singing sands and dunes that climb to more than 300m (985ft) in height and look more like works of art by Gaudí than anything produced by blowing winds. Now picture yourself hiking across their undulating crests and looking across an ocean of mammoth waves frozen in sand. If you feel like boarding down one of those waves, that’s an option too.

But the Namib Desert, which gave the country its name, is more than just a huge sandbox. It’s also tortured mountains and rocky canyons. These captivating environments are ripe for explorations on foot or mountain bike.

Soaring inselbergs such as Spitzkoppe are great places to cling to if you have a penchant for rock climbing. Flanking the entire country’s west, running almost 1600km (994 miles) from South Africa to Angola, is a wild coastline with a history of sinking ships (it was these wrecks, plus sands littered with whale and seal bones, that gave the Skeleton Coast its name). But with a surfboard in hand, you’ll find nothing but joy along these remote shores.

Namibia: a playground for sure.

Dune boarding

The Namib is arguably the world’s oldest desert, but there’s a new way to experience its dunes: on a board. Not far from Namibia’s coastal town of Swakopmund, one of southern Africa’s capitals for adventure activities, mountains of sand provide perfect slopes to carve down.

When you first set eyes on the dunes rising high into the blue African sky, you’ll begin to buzz with anticipation, though it’s wise to conserve a little energy. Your journey of joy starts with some hard work: a hike up to your launching point. With board, gloves and goggles in hand, you’re eventually staring down over some serious off-piste action. Strap in, lean further back than you’re used to (if you’re familiar with snowboarding) and let loose!

Once you’ve had your fill, try the lie-down “schuss” option, which will see you hit speeds of 80km/h (50 mph). Alter Action runs daily dune boarding trips from Swakopmund.

Rock climbing

Rising like a mirage above…