Run of the South

Southern Namibia is the empty half, and this eight-day self-drive loop goes looking for it. About 1,960 kilometres from Windhoek, mostly on gravel, through country where you can drive for an hour without meeting anyone.

The Quiver Tree Forest near Keetmanshoop comes early, several hundred aloes standing on a hillside that look more like sculpture than vegetation, with the dolerite boulders of the Giant’s Playground beside it. Then the route reaches Fish River Canyon for two nights. It is the second largest canyon in Africa, about 160 kilometres long and half a kilometre deep, and from the rim it is genuinely difficult to take in.

Luderitz gets two nights on the south coast. It is a German colonial harbour town of art nouveau buildings dropped onto a bare rocky shore, with the diamond ghost town of Kolmanskop nearby, where the sand has reclaimed the houses. The return north runs back through the quiet guest farm country near Maltahohe.

Sandura Tours plan and book the itinerary, and they include all accommodation, route planning, park and reserve entrance fees and 24-hour support on the road. Flights, meals, insurance and gratuities are separate, and the vehicle can be added through their planner. The operator does not publish a fixed price for this one, so the figure shown is indicative and needs confirming. For drivers who would rather have gravel roads and emptiness than the main sights and the traffic that comes with them, the south is arguably the better half of the country.