It's been nicknamed "the land God made in anger" and it's easy to see why when you step out into the burning sun onto an endless sea of sand that stretches beyond the horizon in all directions. Welcome to Namibia - a desert nation and a jewel in Africa's safari crown.

There's something special about the desert. Something primal and overwhelmingly humbling. It's an environment that as a human you know you'd not last more than a few short hours in. With no water, food or shelter, this harsh and arid environment would literally consume you. And yet it's breathtakingly beautiful and filled with all sorts of life if you know where to look.

It's this magical quality - the fact that life can survive in such a challenging climate combined with otherwordly landscapes and unique forms of life - that makes Namibia truly spectacular and an absolute "must visit" part of Africa. 

Located in the south-west of the continent, it's home to the world's oldest desert - the Namib - whose sands have been sweeping this desolate corner of Africa since time began, driven by the same winds and weather that have created some of the most impressive scenery to be found on the continent. 

It's vast. From the apparently endless dunes of the Namib Naukluft around legendary Sossusvlei, where the red sand towers hundreds of metres above the parched valley floor, forming serpentine patterns in the shifting wind to the desolate beaches of the Skeleton Coast where the bones of both whales and ships litter the sand, biological and mechanical mixing effortlessly together in their slow decomposition. 

It's jaw-droppingly stunning, with unique geological formations and dramatic, craggy mountain peaks juxtaposed with broad plains of coarse, dry grass and rocky outcrops that beg to be explored, along with ghost towns once filled with life but now filled with sand. 

In the far north the desert is sliced open by a glittering sliver of life as the perennial Kunene Riversnakes its way towards the Atlantic, forming a natural border with neighbouring Angola. This is the realm of the ancient Himba people, whose women daub themselves with a mixture of animal fat and ground red ochre, unwittingly creating an almost eyewateringly beautiful human aesthetic as they go about their nomadic lives, eking out a living from the desert.

Namibia's wildlife is equally adept at survival, evolving to adapt to the desert and the daily challenges of finding enough to eat and drink. From elephant and black rhino to lion and giraffe, the dry wildneress delivers just enough to ensure their continuance, creating spectacular encounters with these iconic animals in equally spectacular surroundings. 

The vast salt pans of Etosha are uninhabitable for mere men, and yet thousands of springbok, gemsbok, zebra, elephant and rhino manage to live here. Lion, leopard and cheetah also thrive, as do the "strandlopers" (it means "beach walkers") - the brown hyena, whose shaggy coats protect them from the icy cold winds that blow in from the Atlantic as they prowl the beaches for prey, feasting on Cape fur seals and whatever gets washed ashore. 

Whether you believe that the wrath of the almighty created this spectacular land or that it was made to humble all who lay eyes on its incredible, soul-stirring beauty, Namibia simply has to be seen to be believed. And explored in depth. So talk to us about putting together a safari to this incredible place.