The deserts of southern Namibia are an enigmatic place; a corner of Africa where your eyes lose focus staring at the distant horizon, and about the only crowds you’re likely to find are herds of hardy oryx wandering the sands through shimmering heat haze. If you’re looking for a little peace and quiet in the great outdoors, look no further.
And now the vast NamibRand Nature Reserve has been proclaimed as Africa’s first-ever ‘Wilderness Quiet Park’, and with a little planning you can have your breakfast in Cape Town and be soaking up the exquisite silence before lunchtime.
Quiet Parks International is a US-based non-profit organisation committed to saving quiet for the benefit of all life. Alongside their Urban Quiet Parks and Quiet Trails, the awarding of ‘Wilderness Quiet Park’ status celebrates pristine areas offering ‘exceptional sonic beauty and opportunities for extended periods of pure natural quiet’.
And you’ll find no shortage of that in the NamibRand, a 200 000-hectare reserve that is bordered by the Namib-Naukluft National Park and the NamibSand Sea World Heritage Site… themselves not exactly places with a hustle and bustle!
In the NamibRand, when you’re not rumbling across the desert on a game drive or hearing the roar of the burners from a hot air balloon, your ears will ring with the clamouring silence of it all.
What’s more, beyond the quiet the NamibRand is also famous for its inky black skies. In May 2012, the International Dark Sky Association designated the NamibRand as an International Dark Sky Reserve, a testament to its remarkably dark skies, incredible stargazing opportunities, and commitment to preserving natural nocturnal environments.
The NamibRand offers a range of luxury lodges that will take you on a tour of the southern skies by night, and reveal the wonders of the desert ecosystem by day. Kwessi Dunes is one of the latest additions, with glorious under-canvas suites and outdoor sleep-outs, while Wolwedans is an icon of the region that has recently reopened after a major refurbishment.
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