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 Gondwana
4 Deserts Tour Self-Drive
Tour |
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On Gondwana Desert Route
through Namibia's South
The four nature reserves of the Gondwana Desert Collection
are ideally suited as stopovers on your tour through the south:
they are located in four different desert systems, just an
easy day trip apart from one another, along the horseshoe-shaped
Gondwana Desert Route. Click on the stopovers for more information.
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Hardap
(about 40 minutes by car from Gondwana Kalahari Park)
The upper Fish River is dammed up by Hardap Dam north
of Mariental. The dam affords magnificent views across
the fields and the little town of Mariental right up
to the 'Weißrand' escarpment in the east. Visitors
who arrive in their own car can watch game and many
types of birds in the nature reserve south of the dam.
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Gondwana
Kalahari Park
(100 km², 30 km north-east of Mariental)
The Kalahari – green acacias and yellow
grass on the red sand of the Kalahari dunes which
extend over hundreds of kilometres. Gondwana Kalahari
Park, an area of 100 km², will leave you
with unforgettable impressions of the largest
continuous stretch of sand on earth. Animals like
Springbok, Gemsbok and Ostrich as well as Jackal,
Hare and Porcupine inhabit the dunes and dune
valleys. Take pictures of the Kori bustard, the
largest flying bird of all, and of huge colonies
of weaver birds’ nests taking up whole trees.
Or just relax in the shade of palm trees at the
swimming pool.
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Stampriet
(about 40 minutes by car from Gondwana Kalahari Park)
The nearby village of Stampriet on the seasonal Auob
River has artesian springs at its disposal. At the sight
of the large irrigated fields you might feel transported
to South Africa’s Cape region. Visit the old church
and have coffee at the 'Stampriet Historical Guest House'.
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 Map |
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Gondwana
Cañon Park
(1,120 km², at Fish River Canyon)
Explore the fascinating flora and fauna of the Nama
Karoo. Several accumulations of quiver trees, the typical
stem succulents of the Nama Karoo, are found on the
sweeping plains of Gondwana Cañon Park. Watch
Springbok, Gemsbok, Hartebeest, Ostrich and Mountain
Zebra and discover the Sundowner Bar in a wall of rock.
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Fish
River Canyon
(about 20 km from Gondwana Cañon Park)
Where just a minute ago the plain seemed to continue
without disruption, all of a sudden the ground is breaking
off and plummeting down a sheer 500 metres. Gorge follows
upon gorge, precipice upon precipice... Experience the
Fish River Canyon, the second largest of its kind world-wide,
on an excursion to its rim or on a scenic flight.
Ai-Ais
(about 45 minutes by car from Gondwana Cañon
Park)
The thermal baths of Ai-Ais are situated in the Fish
River Canyon. There you can enjoy a therapeutic bath
or go for a short hike into the canyon (remember to
take enough drinking water).
Warmbad
(about 2 hours by car from Gondwana Cañon Park)
The village of Warmbad (about 2 hours by car) also boasts
a bath which is fed by a warm spring. An old church
is reminiscent of missionary times and several buildings
in the colonial style are the remains of German rule.
You can visit a small museum where the focus is on the
Bondelswart Nama, the population group which once inhabited
the entire area between the Fish River Canyon and Namibia’s
eastern border. Warmbad was, and still is, the main
seat of the Bondelswart.
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| Map |
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Gondwana
Sperrgebiet Rand Park
(510 km², 3 km west of Aus)
Experience 'Namibia’s Namaqualand' when soft winter
rains transform the vast desert plains into a colourful
sea of flowers. The Succulent Karoo, one of the 25 biologically
most precious areas on earth, the Nama Karoo and the
Dune Namib overlap in our park. The landscape is characterised
by granite mountains of the Great Escarpment, rocky
dry riverbeds and extensive plains – a paradise
for hikers and bird-watchers.
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Garub
/ Wild Horses
(20 km from Gondwana Sperrgebiet Rand Park)
The air is shimmering on the hot barren plain. Like
a mirage, five horses appear from nowhere and approach
the drinking trough. You can watch the Wild Horses of
the Namib, and take good pictures, at the drinking trough
at Garub west of Aus. |
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Aus
(3 km from Gondwana Sperrgebiet Rand Park)
The Tourist Information Centre on the way into Aus (opens
1 March 2006) gives a gripping illustrated account of
this little village and its surroundings. Learn more
about the Wild Horses, the diversity and ingenuity of
plants, Karakul breeding, diamonds, traces of World
War One, as well as the history and everyday life of
the people of Aus. Afterwards you can take a closer
look at Aus itself, the remains of the POW camp and
the historical cemetery.
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'Ghost
Town' Kolmanskop
(45 minutes by car from Gondwana Sperrgebiet Rand
Park)
From 1908 diamonds caused a village with grand
houses to sprout from the desert. Today, sand
has taken possession of the buildings: the deserted
diamond settlement of Kolmanskop offers numerous
attractive themes for photos. On a guided tour
you will hear about life in Kolmanskop in its
heyday, and about the rise and fall of the settlement.
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Lüderitz
(1 hour by car from Gondwana Sperrgebiet Rand Park)
The harbour town of Lüderitz on the Atlantic coast
boasts a number of magnificent Jugendstil buildings.
Visit historical Goerke House and the 'Felsenkirche'
(Church on the Rock), go for a stroll at the Waterfront
or take a boat ride to Diaz Point where Portuguese seafarers
erected a massive stone cross more than 500 years ago.
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| Map |
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Sesriem
(45 minutes by car from Gondwana Namib Park)
Sesriem Canyon is a very narrow gorge, about 30 m deep,
which offers shady spots even at midday. Located near
the gate to Namib Naukluft Park on the road to Sossusvlei,
the canyon is well worth the short detour en route to
or from the vlei.
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Sossusvlei
(60 km from Sesriem, 120 km from Gondwana Namib
Park)
Cracked clods of clay, baked by the sun, testify
to the fact that this depression was a lake in
the distant past. The dry pan in the sand sea
of the Namib Desert, enclosed by the highest dunes
on earth, is famous Sossusvlei. |
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Gondwana
Namib Park
(100 km², 30 km south of Solitaire, 60 km north
of Sesriem/Sossusvlei)
In our nature park the fossilised dunes of the proto-morphic
Namib meet the active sand dunes of the young Namib.
A sea of sand spreads out in the west, while vast plains
extend to the far horizon in the east. Watch solitary
Gemsbok, Springbok and Ostrich move across the plain;
puzzle over what causes the mysterious Fairy Circles
(bald patches in the grassy plains); or have a refreshing
dip in the swimming pool. |
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Naukluft
(1 hour by car from Gondwana Namib Park)
The Naukluft Mountains dominate the scenery to the east.
Its valleys, ravines and plateaus make it a hiker’s
paradise.
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| Map |
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