Namibia Skeleton Coast National Park

Rod Braby says the Skeleton Coast is not without threats, including the possible development of an industrial harbor at Angra Fria, commercial overfishing, wildlife poaching, mineral extraction, and “little respect for protected areas by greedy developers. Its level coastline characterises the park, only occasionally broken by scattered rocky outcrops. Many smaller species of fauna shelter below the pebbles and are destroyed by vehicles, as are the eggs and chicks of the Damara Tern.

Skeleton Coast

The park covers an area of 6, square miles 16, sq km. The remoteness, inaccessibility, and collection of ruins from wrecked ships make the name apropos for the park. There are over 1, remains of wrecked shipping vessels scattered along the coast. The national park is separated into two distinct regions. The southern region is where the majority of activity occurs where four-wheel-drive vehicles are permitted to travel about the park and explore the region.

Any vehicle that approaches the north will be greeted by a skull-and-crossbones sign deterring any further advancement. Vehicles are prohibited from accessing the northern region of the park. The shoreline features a consistent heavy surf. Ships often became stranded because they could reach the shore, but the conditions would not allow a ship to launch back out to sea. The majority of the coastline is soft sand with periodic rocky outcrops. Gravel plains are found in areas of the southern part of Namibia Skeleton Coast National Park park.

The higher dunes are located in the northern part of the park. The northern area is also well-known for its large population of seals. Glacier National Park To Great Falls Mt northern region of the Namibia Skeleton Coast National Park features the ephemeral Hoarusib River, the salt pans of the Agate Mountains, and Cape Fria. The population of seals noted above may be found in the Cape Fria area.

The area is designated as a wilderness area and this is where wildlife may be found. Some of the popular species include lion, giraffe, elephant, hyena, black rhinoceros, springbok, and baboon.

Skeleton Coast Pictures Back to Top Highlights It is an intriguing national park when some of the highlights are identified as shipwrecks and a collapsed oil drilling rig.

Skeleton Coast Pictures

These little beetles and the fish moths, found throughout the Namib, shelter under and feed on the wind-blown detritus that collects on these mounds, which are characteristic and can be seen around all low vegetation along the windy Skeleton Coast. Here too, you will have the chance of glimpsing the little black or white tenebrionid beetles of the Namib as they scurry between the small mounds of sand that have collected around dwarf shrubs. At Cape Cross one of the largest colonies can be visited, an unforgettable experience. The latter has been demarcated as wilderness area and tourists can only enter the area by means of exclusive fly-in safaris conducted by a concessionaire.