Dunes the colour of embers rise hundreds of metres. At sunrise the sand blazes red, and the dead trees of Deadvlei stand like a painting.

A rugged, rocky landscape where desert-adapted elephants roam dry riverbeds and ancient rock art tells of lives lived long ago.

A great white salt pan ringed by waterholes where rhino, lion and elephant arrive one after another. Etosha is one of Africa's most reliable places for big game.

A river that never reaches the sea instead spills across the Kalahari, braiding into a maze of channels, lily lagoons and palm islands thick with wildlife.

Elephants by the hundreds come to drink where the river meets the Kalahari sands. Cruise at sunset and the herd will stroll straight past your boat.

One of Africa's most powerful waterfalls, thundering over a wide cliff in the Angolan interior. Mist, rainbows and the roar of the river fill the air.

Angola's seaside capital blends colonial buildings, a lively waterfront and a fast-changing skyline. Music, seafood and sunsets on the Atlantic.

Dune 45 sunrise

Climb the ridge as the first light ignites the sand.

Deadvlei walk

Wander a white clay pan with ancient blackened trees against crimson dunes.

Hot-air balloon

Drift over the Namib at dawn for a view of the whole sea of sand.