lt’s hard to imagine how the German colonizers of Namibia coped with the unlimited elbow room, vast deserts and annual quota of 300 days of sunshine, but that’s exactly what draws travelers nowadays. Wedged between the Kalahari and the chilly South Atlantic Ocean, it’s land of deserts, seascapes, wildlife reserves, ancient rock art, gentle bushwalking terrain and an exhilarating sense of sheer boundlessness.

May to October (the dry season)

Wandering around Windhoek, Namibia’s attractive capital city Camping at Etosha National Park, one of the world’s best wildlife-viewing venues Heading to the ‘dune sea’ of the Namib Desert, home to the country’s enigmatic emblem, the dunes of Sossusvlei Driving through Khaudom Game Reserve, a wild and hard-to-reach park packed with wildlife Luxuriating in the hot springs at Ai-Ais in the Fish River Canyon Soaking up the European vibe of Swakopmund, Namibia’s most German town

Read Born of the Sun, the largely autobiographical first novel by local author Joseph Diescho

Listen to Namibia’s renowned ensemble the Cantare Audire Choir

Watch Sophis’s Homecoming, which tells the story of an Owambo woman who goes to work as a domestic in Windhoek

Eat a cooked breakfast with bacon and boerewors (farmer’s sausage)

Drink the light and refreshing Windhoek Lager, or try a traditional brew such as mataku (watermelon wine)

Sand dunes; diamond mining; German beergardens and coffee houses; vast deserts; limitless sunshine; rock art; wonderful wildlife

The word of elders should not be questioned and they should be accorded utmost courtesy; in areas where individual sand are exposed to winds from all directions, a formation known as a star dune appears

The most poignant thing about rock art is that it remains in the spot where it was created. Unlike in a museum, sensitive viewers may catch a glimpse of the inspiration that went into the paintings. ln Namibia, you’ll find examples of the genre in rock overhangs all over the country, but the most renowned sites are at Twyfelfontein, Spitzkoppe and the Brandberg, all in North-Western Namibia.