Namibia: Kunene

Nothing gives you more of a sense of its vastness and space than being in the semi-desert regions of the Kunene. Kunene is one of Namibia’s most pristine and untouched regions nestled in the North-West corner of the country. Sparsely populated, serene and largely empty, you will find scattered settlements of semi-nomadic Himba tribes and a variety of ecosystems from desert terrains to the West and Mopane savannah to the East, with mountain ranges to the North near the Kunene River.

Kunene has a surprising wealth of desert-adapted wildlife, including the largest population of free-ranging black rhino, elephant, lion, cheetah, leopard, hyena, Hartmann’s zebra, springbok and gemsbok (oryx). The only permanent water source in the area, the Kunene river creates an oasis in the landscape of the Namib Desert.