Skeleton Coast to Kunene Expedition

The Skeleton Coast is one of the most restricted coastlines in Africa, and this eight-day convoy drives its full length in your own 4×4, roughly 1,500 kilometres north from Swakopmund to the Kunene river mouth on the Angolan border.

The wrecks come first. The South West Seal, the Toscanini rig and a crashed Ventura bomber all sit on the early stretch, then the route turns into the Hoarusib riverbed. Beyond that are the lichen plains, the Cape Fria seal colony, and the site where the survivors of the Dunedin Star sheltered in 1942 after she ran aground, which turned into one of the great rescue sagas of the war.

The Kunene mouth is the turning point, where the river meets the Atlantic on the border itself. Coming back the route goes inland through caves and rapids and into the Hartmann Valley, where oryx stand on the dunes, then down through the clay castles of the Hoarusib, eroded pinnacles in the riverbed, finishing at Puros or Sesfontein with a chance of desert elephants on the last day.

The convoy is led by Armand Basson of I Dream Africa Adventure, who holds the Skeleton Coast and Kaokoveld permits, with Sandura Tours handling the booking. Permits, concession and park fees, radios, two guide vehicles and three meals a day are included. You bring the 4×4, camping equipment, fuel for around a thousand kilometres without a station, water beyond the two litres a day provided, and your own kit. Overnight spots shift with the weather and the pace of the group, which is the nature of the place.