Hoanib’s eight pale olive, luxury tented suites peak like whitecaps on an ocean of sand. Totally solar-powered, Hoanib has a fresh, contemporary design, with a colour palette reflecting the surrounding desert. The camp (suites, common areas, pool) looks out on a wide, rugged valley that slopes down to the usually dry Hoanib River. One of many highlights: dining under impossibly starry skies, perhaps perhaps at the firepit as a jackal cries, or a lion roars, punctuating the stillness of the inky night.

Remote Hoanib rests in Namibia’s ancient Namib Desert’s famed Kaokoveld, an otherworldly landscape hewn over the ages into immense dunes and rocky mountains.

Explore the Namib Desert’s rust-coloured crags and arid plains in search of desert-adapted wildlife – elephants, lions, hyaenas, giraffes, oryxes among the regular sightings. Take a rollicking drive over the floodplain and dunes to the Skeleton Coast, a wild stretch of the Atlantic where the desert meets the sea, where white sand beaches are littered with whale bones and shipwreck remains. Fly back to camp for an aerial view of what seems uninhabitable, but is full of life. Walk with a guide to witness that life, including the smaller creatures, a fascinating variety of birds and unusual flora. Discover the remnants of Strandloper – Beachcomber – lifestyle from centuries past. Linger in the camp’s wildlife research centre to learn about the latest local conservation initiatives.