The Huab, Aba-Huab and Ugab riverbeds are where the desert-adapted elephants are found. These are ordinary African elephants that have learned to survive on very little water, walking long distances between feeding areas and digging in the sand for water. Herds move constantly and finding them takes a guide who has been tracking that week.

The Palmwag concession holds the largest free-ranging black rhino population left on Earth — animals living outside any fence. Rhino tracking here is done on foot with trackers from the local conservancy and the trust that has protected them for decades, and it is one of the most serious wildlife experiences in southern Africa.

The gravel plains and koppies hold Hartmann's mountain zebra, springbok, gemsbok, and the desert-adapted lions that occasionally move through from the north — a small, closely monitored population.

Twyfelfontein, in the same area, holds thousands of rock engravings made by people who hunted these same species over millennia — worth a morning for the perspective it gives.

The dry season from May to October concentrates animals along the rivers. Summer heat is severe and the rare rains can make riverbeds impassable.

Practicalities

Most of Damaraland is communal conservancy land rather than national park, and that model — communities earning income from wildlife and employing their own rangers — is why the elephants and rhinos are still there. Choosing a camp that is a genuine conservancy joint venture matters here more than in most places.

Self-drive is possible on the main gravel routes with a high-clearance vehicle, but finding elephants without a local tracker is unlikely. Rhino tracking must be arranged through the authorised operators.