The Skeleton Coast is where the massive dunes of the Namib Desert meet the cold, rough waters of the South Atlantic along the west coast of Namibia. It is so named for the skeletons of ships, whales, seals and men that litter its desolate shores. The meeting of cold water and dry desert creates a persistent, dense fog: perfect conditions for a shipwreck. In fact, one trawler was caught in a storm and ran aground while I was there. Shipwrecked sailors of years past often made it safely to the beach only to realize that hundreds of miles of towering dunes lay between themselves and the nearest sip of fresh water. The southern part of this coast, near the South African border, is a restricted diamond mining zone that abuts abandoned towns which are being swallowed by the sand. I explored part of this spectacular, otherworldly landscape from the only two ports on the coast- Luderitz and Walvis Bay, and more of it on a 4WD trek deep into the desert.

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