Skeleton Coast

For thrill-seekers craving a serious dose of goosebumps: let yourself be swept away to the ominous northwest of the country, where the sea and desert embrace to create something truly unique: the Skeleton Coast. Here, where the warm desert air collides with the cold Antarctic Benguela Current, a thick, eerie mist often forms, shrouding the entire coast in its grasp. Many ships have met their end in this fog, leaving behind countless remnants of this lost glory both on the beach and in the sea. But it’s not just shipwrecks the Skeleton Coast reveals; there’s another kind of skeleton to be found here—those of whales. Portuguese explorers once called this place ‘The Sands of Hell’, and rightly so. Not only ships but also countless seals and whales have found their final resting place here. A walk along the beach might see you stumbling over the bones of a whale or a seal. It can be quite terrifying yet incredibly mysterious and surreal.

What wildlife can I spot at the Skeleton Coast?

Thankfully, there’s also life in this desolate landscape: colonies of thousands of seal families populate the coast, and if you’re really lucky, you might even spot the rare brown hyena, a predator that enjoys a stroll along the beach. Plus, along the Skeleton Coast, you’ll find the Cape Cross Seal Reserve: home to the largest seal colony in the world. Around 150,000 to 210,000 seals live here. As much as you’d love to watch them endlessly, they make an ear-splitting noise and smell like rotten fish. Delightful, right?