[slim_seo_breadcrumbs label_home=”Matakwa Safaris”]
Skeleton Coast : The mirage
The ancient San people called the region “the land God made in anger.”
The Skeleton Coast, located along the Atlantic Ocean in the west, stretches for 500 km between the Swakop River and the Kunene River at the southern border of Angola.
An otherworldly place, steeped in dozens of legends!
Where the unexpected is daily, where civilization is practically nonexistent.
La Skeleton Coast est avant tout un désert dangereux, dont certains accès sont réglementés par le pays.
The region resembles more of a mirage than reality, where lions stalk seals along a shore of white sand scattered with shipwrecks.
It’s probably as close as you can get to the “end of the world”…
Cape Cross and its seal colony.
Cape Cross on the Skeleton Coast in Namibia offers a completely wild spectacle.
It was in the 15th century that the Portuguese explorer Diego Cao (1486) erected a stone cross, which gave its name to the cape.
Cape Cross is home to the most significant colony of fur seals in Namibia. These seals inhabit Cape Cross throughout the year, but it is in December, during the breeding season, that their numbers soar to over 100,000 individuals. An astonishing spectacle, the ocean and rocks become overwhelmed with seals lounging and nurturing a multitude of pups along the coastline. The clamor of their lively activity intertwines with the roar of the often tempestuous ocean.
A fauna and flora of astonishing diversity
Beneath its seemingly desolate facade, the Skeleton Coast boasts enchanting beauty, and the desert is very much alive, ideal for an immersive safari.
Many animals have adapted to the aridity of this hostile environment, including springbok, oryx, lion, desert elephant, black rhinoceros, cheetah, jackal, brown hyena, and over 300 species of birds.
You can also find various species of turtles, lizards, and snakes there.
Whales and dolphins, including the famous Cape dolphin, are also visible off the coast.
The Skeleton Coast is a veritable “graveyard” of ships…
A tale of sailors
Feared by all sailors, the Skeleton Coast is a place full of mysteries and dangers. Portuguese sailors called this region “the gates of hell.”
The upwelling of the cold Benguela current from South Africa gives rise to dense ocean mists, combined with strong currents and powerful swells, making this coastline a hazardous area for ships. Today, fishing boats no longer venture there.