Sandboarding in Namibia

Sandboarding in the Namib Desert © Luke Price, Flickr

The old German town of Swakopmund is used to tourists, having established a name for itself as the centre for adventure travel in Namibia. It attracts swathes of adventurous visitors seeking ‘adrenalin’ trips, with numerous new and highly original options on offer, from freefall parachuting to dune-bike riding. The most popular activity in this area is sandboarding, where you lie on a board and shoot face-first down the dunes of the Namib Desert. Speeds easily reach 70km/h or more, though at first, you’ll do a few training rides on lower dunes, where you won’t go much faster than 40km/h. Typically, trips leave from Swakopmund in the morning around 09.30, collecting you from your accommodation and returning around 13.30. After some practice runs, they take you to a couple of the larger dunes, for longer, faster runs, before lunch in the desert, and the return drive to Swakopmund. As a spin-off from sandboarding, offered by all operators, stand-up boarding, also known as dune-boarding, uses a modified snowboard. Participants stand on a small surfboard which shoots down the side of dunes – rather like skiing, only on sand. It may have more finesse and certainly requires more skill.