When a photographer hears “Africa,” they naturally think wildlife. That’s true for parts of the continent, but it’s a big continent! Northern Africa, like Egypt and Morocco, are much more about culture, people and landscape. But as you move south, out of the desert areas, wildlife becomes a bigger part of what you can find. That’s why most of my Africa trips have been to those areas: countries like Botswana, South Africa and Tanzania. But there’s another country on the southwest coast that has wildlife, but also much more – Namibia.
About ten years ago a friend posted photos from a trip she’d taken there. I was blown away. Not by the wildlife photos, but by the landscapes. I didn’t know Namibia had some of the tallest, most colorful sand dunes in the world. Nor that there was a ghost town in the desert. Or that one of the extremely rare quiver tree forests in the world was there. Plus, there’s the Namib people. Oh, and wildlife too.
So I started planning, and led my first trip to Namibia in 2019. And I’ve returned twice since then (I’ll return once more in 2027). The most recent trip, in April of 2025, I helped lead with Mark Comon of Paul’s Photo and the Creative Photo Academy. Here’s how we did that, and how we plan to run the trip in 2027.
Our adventure begins and ends in the capital city of Windhoek. Because of German colonial rule, there’s a heavy German influence in both place names and food (kudu schnitzel, anyone?). It’s a modern African city, though relatively small, with an international airport.
From there we head south, our first stop being the quiver tree forest. It’s an interesting place to visit, and not just because of the unique trees. Located on a farm, the owner realized he could create a nice business hosting people who wanted to see the forest. Accommodations are basic, but they feed you and the trees are just a short walk away. Since we spend the night there, we take advantage of the dark sky to do some night photography.
Next up is Kolmanskop, a small town in the desert built to support a diamond mining operation over a hundred years ago. Abandoned in the 50s, it’s slowly being reclaimed by the desert, and is a great place to explore as a photographer. As the sun starts to set, we return to our trucks and head to the nearby seaside city of Luderitz for the night.
The following morning, we start back north, now on our way toward the red sand dunes of Sossusvlei. On the way, though, we make a stop at We Kebi Safari Lodge. This was a place we drove past on the 2024 trip, and Matthew, our guide, mentioned that in addition to other wildlife, they had rhinos. Safari lodges and game reserves are fenced, more like large zoos, with predators and prey kept separate and carefully guarded from poachers. While we’d end up seeing a rhino in the wild later in the trip, this was a great way to make some nice photos of these rare animals in a more controlled environment.
Staying at a lodge nearby, we left well before sunrise the next day to drive to Sossusvlei and get in line for when they open the gates to the national park. That’s really important, because the most unique part of the dunes is Deadvlei. Hundreds of years ago this was a small lake with a few trees growing in and around it. When the sand shifted, blocking water from the lake, it dried up and became a salt pan (white). The trees, however, remain, blackened and dried out from the many, many years in this very hot, very dry place. If you arrive soon after sunrise, you can silhouette those trees against the sky, with shadows on the dunes behind them. The other advantage to an early arrival is that despite the long hike in soft sand to get to it, the area will be crowded by mid-morning. Oh, and there’s the heat, too. By late morning we’re on our way out of the dunes, for lunch and to check into our lodge. A few of us will return later in the day to photograph the dunes, then we’ll return once more the following morning for additional photos. A few hours later we head to the nearby airstrip.
As you can tell by my map of our trip, below (here’s how I create that), we cover a lot of ground. Our transportation is safari trucks, on gravel roads most of the time. To avoid one day of that, we opt to charter small planes from Sossusvlei (the town there is Sesriem) to Swakopmund. An added benefit is that it’s a “flightseeing” trip, so we have the opportunity to photograph the dunes as we fly over the desert west to the coast, then follow the coast north to the city.
From Swakopmund we parallel the Skeleton Coast for a while, stopping to photograph a shipwreck. That coast got its name because it’s often foggy, causing many ships to run aground over past centuries. We also break up the drive north by stopping in a small village to do some souvenir shopping and meet the local people. After arriving at Swakopmund and getting settled in our hotel, Matthew took us on a tour of the township there, then out into the hills for a “sundowner” of oysters and champagne. Roughing it we weren’t!
The next morning we’re headed to Etosha National Park, but before getting there we stop to visit the Otjikandero Orphan Himba Village, to learn about the Himba and Herero cultures.
From there it’s on into Etosha National Park. One of the crown jewels of African parks, it’s best known for the many water holes that dot the edge of a vast salt pan (easily visible from space). For that afternoon, and the following two-and-a-half days, we spend our time driving from one watering hole to the next, photographing the wide variety of wildlife that calls the area their home.
On ou rlast day in Etosha, we spend the morning on a game drive, then instead of taking the rest of the day to make the long drive back to Windhoek, we stop halfway at another safari lodge. The big surprise there were a pair of Nyala that wandered the grounds. Since they’re used to seeing people, I was able to crawl through the grass to photograph one resting there.
As you can see, a trip to Namibia is about much more than wildlife. It’s an opportunity to not just visit a different part of Africa for its wildlife, but to photograph some incredible landscapes. That’s why I’m already looking forward to the trip planned for 2027.
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As mentioned above, I plan on returning to Namibia in the spring of 2027, and then Tanzania (Serengeti) in the summer. If you’re interested in joining me on either of those trips, let me know!
NOTE: I’m also teaching an online Wildlife Photography class this January for the Creative Photo Academy (and a Night Photography class after that). Message me if you’d like more information about either of them.
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