The Ugab is a river that rarely runs, and its dry bed is the reason there is a gate here at all. On the C34, the gravel and salt road that runs along the Namibian coast, the Ugab River Gate marks a southern entrance to the Skeleton Coast National Park, a long, narrow strip of desert, fog and shipwreck that stretches north toward Angola. The name comes from the whale and seal bones that once littered the beach, and from the ships that ran onto the rocks in the thick fog caused by the cold Benguela current meeting hot desert air. The Portuguese sailors called it the Sands of Hell, and local people called it the land God made in anger.
The landscape is stark and strange. Gravel plains stretch to the horizon, broken by dark rocky ridges and the dry courses of rivers whose hidden water supports a surprising amount of life. Desert-adapted elephants and lions have been recorded along some of the dry riverbeds, and the coast is home to Cape fur seals, jackals and hyenas. In the mornings, fog rolls in from the ocean and condenses on the plants, which many desert species rely on for water. The smell of the sea, rotten kelp and salty air, hangs over everything.
Riding here needs preparation. The C34 is generally a graded salt road, hard and smooth in good conditions but slippery and sometimes corrugated, and it can be soft with sand in places. Fog can reduce visibility to a few metres, and the wind often blows hard from the south-west. Entry to the park requires a permit, obtained from the tourism authority, and the gates have set hours, so check the rules in advance. The nearest fuel to the south is at Henties Bay, a fishing and holiday town on the coast, and farther north are small rest camps, so carry spare fuel and plenty of water.
The best seasons are the cooler months, from about May to September, though it is rarely warm on the coast. Take warm layers, spare tyres and a satellite messenger if you can, and travel in company. The silence at dusk, with the surf booming in the distance, is unforgettable.