Roughly 50km south of Walvis Bay and within the Namib-Naukluft National Park, Sandwich Harbour is a starkly beautiful spot that makes for an unmissable excursion from Swakopmund. This is classic Skeleton Coast scenery, in many ways more definitive than you will find in the more northerly national park itself, with vast orange sand dunes colliding vividly with the crashing waves of the Atlantic. Day trips pass barren salt pans and vegetated dunes to arrive at Sandwich Harbour, where a doomed German colonial settlement of whalers and traders was eventually beaten by the elements. There is now one isolated building remaining, eerily clinging onto a spot between a towering dune and a freshwater lagoon that attracts a range of birdlife including snake eagles and pelicans.

Over the day there will be regular stops for you to get out and enjoy a walk in the remote desert and coastal landscapes, where you might see jackal, springbok, ostrich and, if you are very lucky, brown hyena. Driving back towards Swakopmund there will be some dune bashing, as your driver weaves a thrilling path through the desert. At some point they will turn the engine off and slowly glide down the dunes so that you can hear the haunting sounds of the roaring sands as you slide down into a valley. Arriving back at your hotel in the evening, you'll know you've experienced something unique!