Swakopmund

Swakopmund, Namibia's second biggest town and traditional "summer capital", is one of the most surreal places in the country.

You approach the town through the endless, windswept expanses of the Namib Desert, one of the world's largest wilderness areas. Greeted by the boom of the surf on the notorious Skeleton Coast, an ever-present reminder of the treacherous and icy Atlantic beyond the desert, you move through mist (it is almost always misty in the morning and late afternoon) and Bavarian spires and elaborate Germanic architecture rise into view.

Swakopmund exudes romance and history; a rich cultural melting pot of old and new. The town is an eclectic mixture of Bohemian and Bavarian, home to artists, hippies, strait-laced descendants of German settlers, stately Herero women in Victorian dress, and hard-bitten miners, game rangers, safari operators and fishermen.

It's often the place to get some rest and recreation after a dusty trip to the desert dunes of Sossusvlei or the Namib-Naukluft Park - there's plenty to do and great places to stay.

Attractions

Just outside Swakopmund, a section of towering dunes have been set aside for recreational purposes - sand boarding and skiing, quadbiking, camel rides and off-road driving.

Swakopmund also offers a host of other attractions, including excursions by boat to see dolphins and seals, shorebased angling (some of the best in Africa), skin diving, surfing or just simply lazing on the beach.

And, of course, the town is surrounded by the Namib-Naukluft Park, one of the most bewitching desert wilderness areas in Africa, for one day trips or longer safaris for the ultimate desert camping experience.

Night time entertainment ranges from sophisticated spins on the casino's roulette wheels, through raucous parties at the many pubs and restaurants, to an assortment of drama, music and cultural events.

Surrounding areas

Once you've got over the shock of being in a little corner of old Bavaria wedged between one of the world's harshest deserts and even harsher coastlines, the enticing desert beckons.

Just outside town is the extraordinary Moon Landscape, a seemingly never-ending series of bizarre, barren hills that look like pictures taken of the lunar Sea of Tranquillity. It is best visited at sunrise or sunset.

A bit further afield, in the bed of the Khan River, is the oasis of Goanikontes, a lush splash of water and vegetation in the barren Namib. For botanists, there is the lure of what have been called "living fossils", the giant Welwitschia mirabilis. These extraordinary trees never grow more than two metres above the ground, but the bigger specimens have underground stems which are up to four metres wide.

The tree has just two leaves, usually tattered and torn, which droop in opposite directions. If one of the leaves dies, the entire plant dies. The oldest living specimen has been dated at 2,000 years old, while the average age of the youngsters is between 500 and 600 years old.

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