Meob Bay Dune and Fishing Expedition

Almost nobody gets past Sandwich Harbour. This convoy goes well beyond it, south along the Namib coast into the Meob concession, which is permit-only and closed to anyone travelling independently. Four to five days in your own 4×4, in a guided group.

The drive down sets the tone. Past the Sandwich Harbour lagoons the route picks up the Golden Highway through the dunes, then passes the wrecks of the Shawnee and the Eduard Bohlen, the latter now stranded some distance inland as the coast has shifted around it. Meob Lodge, with a tented campsite alongside, is the base.

What follows is deliberately unstructured. There is fishing inside the restricted concession at Meob Bay, dune driving at Yoyo and Arre se Gat, and sundowners at the Afklimbaai viewpoint. The quieter days take in the Fischersbrunn freshwater spring and the abandoned mining settlements scattered along this stretch of coast, which are slowly disappearing into the sand. The return to Walvis Bay has to be timed to the tides.

The convoy is led by Armand Basson of I Dream Africa Adventure, who holds the concession permits, with Sandura Tours handling the booking. Included are the concession and park fees, radio communications between vehicles, two to three guide vehicles, recovery support, three meals a day and the accommodation at Meob Lodge or its campsite. You bring the 4×4 and its fuel, spare parts, at least sixty litres of drinking water, firewood, bedding and warm clothing. For anyone who already owns the vehicle, this is access you cannot buy any other way.