Sandwich Harbour
Where the Namib dunes fall straight into the Atlantic, for tens of kilometres.
Duration
5 hrs – 7 hrs
Best time
At low tide
Open
Every day
Entry price
To confirm
Sandwich Harbour is where the Namib desert meets the Atlantic with nothing in between: hundred-metre dunes drop straight into the ocean over tens of kilometres, with no beach between them.
It was a whaling station and trading post in the nineteenth century; the lagoon silted up and the site is now a bird reserve. Access is by four-wheel drive along the tideline, between the dunes and the waves, and only at low tide: at high water there is literally no way through.
Getting there
Fifty kilometres south of Walvis Bay. Four-wheel-drive access only, with a licensed operator: the route depends on the tide.
What the price covers
a guided 4x4 trip is compulsory, price depends on the operator
Rules on site
Access is impossible without a guide and a four-wheel drive: the tidal window is narrow and vehicles are regularly trapped there. The gap between dune and ocean closes completely at high tide.