A haunting holiday inside Namibia's Skeleton Coast National Park

When it comes to evocative place names, it’s hard to beat the “Skeleton Coast”. Once a catch-all for the whole Namibian coastline, now it denotes the national park in the far north between the Kunene and Ugab rivers. A 40km-wide strip stretching for roughly 500km along the Atlantic, the park is marked by an eerie inhospitality, where a tempestuous sea, made icy by the Benguela current from Antarctica, churns onto the wind-whipped, burning sands of the Namib desert. 

In the past half century, its disorienting fog, vicious winds and spiteful seas have caused myriad ships to founder. The “Skeleton” in the name, therefore, conjures the rusting wrecks that dot the coast — estimates number from 500 to 1,000 — along with whale and seal carcasses, the detritus of years-ago whaling operations and seal hunts. There is a whisper too in the word of human suffering, captured in similarly chilling monikers. “The Land God Made in Anger” is how the San described it. Portuguese sailors in the 1500s picked “The Gates of Hell”, clearly understanding that those who survived a sinking were not necessarily the lucky ones. With no food, water or shelter under a punishing sun, their demise could be agonisingly slow. As Swedish explorer Charles John Andersson wrote in 1859, “Death would be preferable to banishment to such a country.”

On paper, then, it’s a curious place in which to locate a lodge but the perilous setting is also part of the appeal. The only luxury property in the Skeleton Coast National Park, Shipwreck Lodge takes the region’s stories of wrecks, ruins and rescues and turns them into holiday treasure. 

It’s another 240km across brown, barren flatlands to Möwe Bay, where you must at least abandon your car.  From here on out, there are no roads and no private vehicles allowed. A Shipwreck 4x4, and a driver familiar with the softening sands, will surf the final 40-odd kilometres to the lodge.

There is a stop to see a seal colony — a honking, stinking cadenza of lumbering lard and shimmering whiskers — and then a slow sidewinding deeper into nothingness. When we alight at last, squinting in sunlight at the final destination, it truly does feel like the ends of the Earth — the ends of the Earth, but with a settlement of wrecks. 

Shipwreck Lodge comprises 10 cabins, strewn across the sand like lost marbles or perhaps snatched pearls. And yes, they do look like shipwrecks. The timber exteriors with lopsided walls and windows placed at weird angles hint at some long-ago calamity, a storm — or maybe a series of storms —  that saw them all dumped sideways in the sand. Jagged beams arching into the sky suggest broken bits of ships, and are also reminiscent of whale bones.

ELEPHANTS AND CASTLES

Harsh as the landscape is, there is also proof of life. One morning, a skittish jackal skulks outside my cabin window but flees when I move closer, leaving a trail of tiny paw prints that will soon be gone with the wind. 

On a morning excursion to the (dry) Hoarusib River bed, the scenery changes dramatically from the flat sands surrounding the lodge. Now there are high dunes to run up and slide down; there are rugged outcrops of black rocks. We take turns to sit in twos on the roof of the vehicle to take in the wondrous views, the wind and, for those who simply can’t keep their mouths shut (basically everyone), the odd miggie in the mouth. 

As for the animals, there is the occasional oryx, mooching in the distance on a stage of pale, beckoning grasses; a troop of baboons deftly skidding down the steep slopes of a dune. Suddenly, round a river bend, there is a delightful surprise met with hushed wonderment: a lone elephant lumbering along in the sand. It is a privilege already simply to be in this remote part of the world, and to find a creature as elusive as this is a special kind of magic. 

There is magic in the geology too.  The Hoarusib River valley is home to some of the oldest geological formations in Namibia. There are “sand waterfalls”, infinitely trickling thin rivers of sand that run like hourglasses down the black rocks then swirl away in the air.

And there is a rare phenomenon here they call “clay castles”,  towering edifices of white rock formed as sand and water were blown into gorges and held back by dune walls. Some are hundreds of metres high, and the oldest are estimated at up to 2,600 million years old. 

Wrapped in blankets in the dark we return to the main lodge for fine food and wine and laughter by candlelight while the black night presses in all around. Finally, tucked up in bed with a book, perhaps, the bedside lamp gives off a sepia light as if you’re inside an old photograph. Snuggle down, let the wind howl. Enjoy the crackling fire and the shining stars above. Pray the rescuers never find you. 

GETAWAY AT A GLANCE

Getting there: Fly Namibia is an independent airline that flies between Cape Town and Windhoek three days per week. 

Getting around: Namibia Car Rental offers sedans, SUVs, mini-buses and 4X4s, with or without camping gear. 

Where it is: Shipwreck is in the 146,600ha Skeleton Coast Central Concession, 45km north of Möwe Bay. Both fly-in guests (there is an airstrip) and those coming by car will be picked up in one of the lodge’s safari vehicles. 

Accommodation: Eight doubles and two family cabins, all solar-powered with wood-burning fireplaces. 

Activities: Guided walks, sundowners by the sea, drives to the seal colony at Möwe Bay, shipwrecks, the “roaring dunes” and the Hoarusib River bed. Sandboarding and quad biking.

Rates: From N$13,950 per person sharing per night. Includes accommodation, all meals and beverages (excluding premium brands), laundry, transfers between Möwe Bay and the lodge, park entry and daily activities. Children 0 — 5 years stay free; children 6 — 16 years pay 50% of the adult rate. There is also a conservation fee of N$450 per person per night, which supports conservation and community projects.

SPECIAL SADC RATES: 50% off the normal rate, available under certain conditions. See journeysnamibia.com.

• Sleith was a guest of Journeys Namibia, which manages the lodge in partnership with the local community, and travel specialist Outlook Africa.