Richtersveld

The Richtersveld is a mountain desert in the far north-west corner of the country, where the Orange River makes the Namibian border and rainfall is measured in a few tens of millimetres a year, much of it arriving as coastal fog rather than rain. That fog is what allows an astonishing succulent flora - the wider succulent Karoo holds around a third of the world's succulent species, and the halfmens, a strange single-stemmed plant that leans north, is the emblem of the area. The UNESCO listing here is cultural as well as natural: it recognises the Nama pastoral system, seasonal movement of livestock with portable mat-roofed houses, still practised. The park side, run jointly with the community, is severe terrain - 4x4 only, no fuel, no shops, extreme heat - and most people drive it in convoy carrying everything.

What you actually see

• The succulent flora - a desert holding an outsized share of the world's succulent species.
• The halfmens - a single-stemmed plant that leans north, emblem of the region.
• The Nama herding - a living pastoral system carrying the UNESCO cultural listing.
• The Orange River border - the river cutting through desert mountains into Namibia.

When to go

May to September. Four days minimum. Summer temperatures exceed forty-five degrees and are dangerous.

Honest expectations

This is genuinely serious country: 4x4 essential, no fuel or supplies inside, no reliable signal, and vehicle recovery is expensive and slow. Travelling with a second vehicle is standard advice. Extreme heat outside winter. Camps are basic sites with almost no facilities.

Nearby

Alexander Bay and the river mouth are west; Namibia is across the Orange.