The Skeleton Coast National Park runs about 500 km from the Ugab River to the Kunene on the Angolan border. Its name comes from the whale bones left by whalers and the wrecks of ships driven ashore by fog, surf and an unforgiving current. Sailors who survived the wreck faced a desert with no water.
Shipwrecks
The most accessible is the Zeila, stranded in 2008 just north of Henties Bay and visible from the road. Further north lie the remains of the Eduard Bohlen, wrecked in 1909 and now half a kilometre inland as the dunes advanced, and the Dunedin Star, whose 1942 rescue turned into a two-month operation that cost more lives than the wreck. Most wrecks are far from the road and are seen from a scenic flight.
Cape Cross
The largest breeding colony of Cape fur seals on the planet holds up to 200,000 animals at peak. It can be smelled long before it is seen and the noise is continuous. Boardwalks keep visitors close. The site is also where Diogo Cao planted a stone cross in 1486, the first European marker on this coast; a replica stands there now.
Getting in
The southern section is entered at Ugab or Springbokwasser gate with a permit, and day visitors must pass through before mid-afternoon. Torra Bay campsite opens only in December and January; Terrace Bay operates year round and is the end of the public road. Beyond that, the northern concession is accessible only on fly-in safaris with the licensed operator, which is why that stretch remains empty.
Fishing
Henties Bay is the centre of Namibian shore angling, with kabeljou, steenbras and galjoen taken from the beach. Permits are required and quotas are enforced. The town exists almost entirely for this.
Wildlife
Beyond the seals, the coast supports jackal and brown hyena that scavenge the colonies, and the river courses inland carry desert-adapted elephant, lion and rhino. The lions of the Skeleton Coast, which have learned to hunt seals on the beach, are one of the more remarkable recoveries in African conservation.
Practicalities
Fuel is available at Henties Bay and Terrace Bay only. Fog and salt corrode vehicles; wash the underside afterwards. The road is salt-surfaced and becomes slippery in fog, so keep speed down. Nothing about this coast is designed for comfort, which is precisely why people come.