schoeman safaris namibia

About the Schoeman Family

The Schoeman Legacy

Louw Schoeman, an attorney by profession, initially came to know the Skeleton Coast through his clients who were involved in prospecting, and researching the feasibility of a new harbour in the area. Plans for the latter thankfully fell through, by which time Louw knew, and loved, the area very well. His thoughts turned to conservation, and he was instrumental in the proclamation of the Skeleton Coast Park in 1971. The Schoeman offspring spent their childhood days (early sixties) exploring and playing among the remains of old wooden ship wrecks and natural wonders of the Skeleton Coast.

The Schoeman children, who in the intervening years acquired and expanded on their father’s expertise and vast background knowledge of the Skeleton Coast and adjacent regions, took over management of the enterprise in 1994. The late Louw Schoeman’s enthusiasm and passion for the desert rubbed off on the youngsters.

Today, middle-aged and wiser for it, the Schoemans are rated as experts on the Skeleton Coast and semi-desert areas of Namibia. They have followed in the footsteps of their father who, at the time, was considered the pioneer of ecotourism in Namibia. They all fully believe that the future of country not only rests with tourism and the preservation of wildlife, but also in protecting the natural resources and wilderness areas of Namibia. They take great delight in sharing their intimate understanding and knowledge of the Skeleton Coast with their visitors.

Today's Team

Bertus Schoeman

The oldest of the Schoeman brothers, involved in Skeleton Coast Safaris together with his father since the company’s inception in 1977

He assisted Louw as a guide for a year before joining the South African Air Force for military service in 1978. After completing his service in 1981, he went to the University of Stellenbosch where he took a degree in Geology.

The knowledge gained at varsity is used extensively in this geologist and archeologist’s paradise when entertaining guests, and educating other guides. Bertus has been flying since the age of 17 and completed his commercial pilot’s license a few years later. His other company responsibilities include handling accounting matters, assisting with all computer related issues and managing the staff.

Hobbies and interests: photography, mountain biking, diving, computers, electronics, astronomy and Science Fiction.

Bertus is married to Helga, an IT specialist and keen pilot in her own right, joining tours occasionally.

André Schoeman

The second eldest brother, André joined the company just after finishing his BCom degree at the University of Stellenbosch in 1987.

He spent a number of years serving in the SA Air Force. His flying hours and experience are extensive and versatile. Similar to Bertus, he obtained his private pilot’s license before obtaining his driver’s license at the age of 18, completing his commercial license a few years later.

André’s love for the desert is evident in his extensive knowledge of the Flora and Fauna of the area. As a combat pilot during the bush war in the late 70’s, he had the opportunity to intensively explore the Northern areas of Namibia, as well as bordering Angola.

This experience proved very useful at a later stage of his life when he joined Louw in the business. Together they could discover areas that had most likely never been explored by modern man. His experience together with knowledge he gained at University is put to good use as he plays a major part in the operations and strategic planning of the business.

His wife Jeanita manages our Uisib camp close to the Etosha National Park.

Hobbies and interests : Caving and farming.

André and Jeanita have two sons, Kyle and Garlomel and two daughters, Cindel and Jurieanke.

Leon Schoeman

The third of the Schoeman siblings, a Fitter and Turner by trade. He obtained his flying license at an early age, and joined the company in 1994.

Prior to joining the company, he operated a successful workshop part-time, whilst working full-time for a big distillery in the Cape.

Léon is brilliant with people, and often helps out as a guide, testing our fleet in “operation”. Although much of his time is occupied by his other company commitments, he has a keen passion for the desert, being the one who discovered the rock paintings at Kuidas camp.

His main responsibility is our very large, efficiently run workshop in Windhoek.

This fully equipped workshop maintains a fleet of more than 30 vehicles, mainly Land Rovers, and builds specialized structures for the different needs of the camps.

Land Rovers are stripped to the ground, and rebuilt to Leon’s stringent specifications to suit our unique needs in the desert. Due to the nature of his responsibility, he spends a great deal of time driving to the various camps, checking the fleet and helping with the rigging of structures. He’s the practical designer of the family, and has a solution for every problem.

Léon is a married to Ute and his hobbies include: reading and sketching.

Henk Schoeman

The youngest of the Schoeman clan, joined Skeleton Coast Safaris in the early 90’s. Although the youngest, he benefitted tremendously from all the mistakes his brothers have made over the years. 

Although he is a full-time guide, he is also indispensable to Leon with helping to maintain the fleet on site. He completed his private pilot’s license at a young age, followed by his commercial license.

Henk is the artistic one in the family. He helps with color schemes, and creating interesting menus when needed.

Hobbies and interests : photography (special interest in the flora and fauna of the desert), computers, model aircraft, entertaining people and cooking.

Henk is married to Anita, who occasionally accompanies her husband on trips to the Skeleton Coast.

Helga Schoeman

Wife of Bertus Schoeman, Financial Director and Administrations Manager. Now retired from guiding, Helga used to fly on safaris with the Schoeman brothers, especially with her husband.

Helga is an excellent guide in her own right, Bertus and Helga often guided safaris together, especially when two aircraft were needed. Helga’s background is in IT, more specifically programming and analysis. Intrigued by aeroplanes since early childhood, Helga did her private pilots’ license and completed her commercial license shortly afterwards. This gave her the ideal opportunity to get away from her desk-bound job, and to accommodate her adventurous spirit. Helga came to Nambia, where she worked for a Charter Company as a charter pilot. They soon recognized her keen interest in adventure and nature (being a health and naturalist fanatic). Helga completed a guiding diploma at the Windhoek Technicon, and soon was appointed as a freelance tour guide / pilot for the company. It was on one of these trips that we got to know her. She started flying for Skeleton Coast Safaris in 1995. Over and above her function as a guide, she’s the one keeping tabs on the company aircraft and certain ops related aspects. Hobbies and interests: Skydiving, large sewing projects (tents, etc.) and pre-historic literature.

Michael Schoeman

Son of Leon Schoeman, is the oldest of the next generation. He joined the family business in 2021 as the Operations manager. 

He, as all the other Schoemans, have been familiarized with the Skeleton Coast desert from a young age. Though he lived with his mother most of his life, he would often visit the Skeleton Coast area with the Schoemans and share the same passion for the Namib Desert. He graduated from school in 2002. He then continued and studied for Aircraft Maintenance Engineering and graduated in 2011. He started working for Aviation Centre soon afterwards and specialized in servicing the Cessna 210, which is the favoured safari plane for Skeleton Coast Safaris. He worked there until he joined the family business in 2021 as the Operations manager until current. He has since been managing all aviation and plane operations and Pilot licences for the company and Directors.

Cindel Schoeman

Daughter and second eldest child of Andre Schoeman. She is a qualified graphic designer and has recently become the marketing manager for SCS.

Kyle Schoeman

Kyle Schoeman is the eldest son of Andre Schoeman, and is currently training to become the newest pilot/guide of the Schoeman family.

Skeleton Coast Safaris (with the Schoeman Family)

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SKELETON COAST SAFARIS (WITH THE SCHOEMAN FAMILY) (Windhoek) - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go

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SKELETON COAST SAFARIS (WITH THE SCHOEMAN FAMILY) (Windhoek) - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go

Skeleton Coast Flying Safari

Flying up Namibia’s skeleton coast to land in impossibly remote and beautiful spots is a safari you’ll never forget

• Best Time To Go
• Parks & Areas

About Flying Safaris

The Skeleton Coast flying safari is one of those once-in-a-lifetime experiences you wish you could bottle and keep by your bed in case you feel like escaping reality for a few minutes.

Far beyond the paradigms of everyday life, the multi-stop safari takes you to places you could only have imagined. Operated by the Schoeman family, the trip is a journey through Namibia’s phenomenal desert scenery; playground to the four brothers who guide you since childhood.

From the rocky Khomas Hochland west of Windhoek, over the red sands of the Namib and up the thrashing Atlantic Coast, the journey is one of continual change. Flying low in a Cessna 210, you can really appreciate the beauty of nature’s design, and every now and then, you set down to get a closer look. Your journey over a number of days will fly you over dramatic skeleton coast and up to the border with Angola in the Kunene region.

+ Read More

• Unique and unforgettable view of Namibia
• Track desert elephant
• Drive dunes of Skeleton Coast
• On safari with the Schoemans

A print anthology of safari and wilderness travel with over 220 pages of travel inspiration.

WHY WE LOVE FLYING SAFARIS

Much of the pleasure of the trip is in the many surprises each day and these shouldn’t be spoiled here, suffice to say that every moment is unique and special.

The family own a series of small rustic camps where you stay overnight. As the only visitors in an otherwise empty area, it is peace and quiet at its most extreme.

BEST TIME TO GO ON A SKELETON COAST FLYING SAFARI

The flying safari operates throughout the year but with a fog belt, which is often present on the coast, temperatures on your trip could vary considerably.

Temperatures tend to be warm in the mornings and usually start cooling off in the afternoons. The lack of moisture, a clear night sky often brings in rather chilly nights.

Talk to our Experts

They’ll be happy to let you in on their travel secrets, and help you plan a tailor-made trip that’s truly unforgettable.

Parks & Areas for this FLYING SAFARI

• Wandering desert elephants
• Tracking desert rhino with expert guides
• Stunning desert scenery
• Home to the dramatic Skeleton Coast

• Wild and raw experience
• Huge seal colonies
• History of a coast littered with shipwrecks
• Unique and isolated Shipwreck Lodge

“Over the years the Schoemans have perfected what they do, not only the complicated logistics of supplying and maintaining such remote camps, and the planes and Land Rovers, but the pacing and presentation of the safari. It unfolds like a three-act play, with thrills, laughs and intermissions in all the right places, and a steadily building a sense of drama.

THE SCHOEMAN BROTHERS

Set up in 1977 Skeleton Coast Safaris is operated by four brothers who had the Skeleton Coast as their playground growing up.

Their father’s passion and enthusiasm for the desert rubbed off and today the Schoeman brothers are regarded as the experts on the semi-desert of Namibia.

EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED

By day you’ll land on beaches in the middle of nowhere, touch down in remote desert canyons that feel like they’ve never seen a human.

Fly in intense evening light over magical landscapes populated with magnificently marked oryx, run down monstrous dunes and crawl into caves to discover bushman rock art.

AN EXPERIENCE LIKE NOTHING ELSE

The danger these days, with too much information too readily available, is that you might – if you’re unlucky – discover too much about this trip before you get there.

All we can say is that this would be a real shame. Resist the urge to over research this, trust to more than 40 years of Schoeman know-how and you’ll most likely be letting yourself in for a treat that you’ll never forget.

At the end of the safari, you truly feel as though you have trodden where very few people have been before and that is indeed a privilege.

Flying Safari (FAQs) Need to Know

What is a flying safari.

In a country as vast as Namibia, a flying safari gives you a unique birds-eye view of extraordinary sights from shipwrecks to ancient geological formations to rare desert dwelling animals. From the rocky Khomas Hochland west of Windhoek, over the red sands of the Namib and up the thrashing Atlantic Coast, the journey is one of continual change.

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Meet our travel experts.

It takes genuine local knowledge to craft trips that go beyond the ordinary. The Natural High team have unrivalled experience and will take your ideas and turn them into your trip of a lifetime.

Into The Wild Brochure

Need some more inspiration? Request a copy of Into The Wild, our comprehensive anthology of safaris and wilderness travel.

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Location Namibia

Namibia photographic safari: schoeman's skeleton coast.

Details 7 DAYS FROM 18590 PP

Best time to go Feb 2024

Named after the oldest desert in the world Namibia is a unique safari destination home to one of the most exceptional adventures on the continent of Africa, a flying safari with the Schoeman Brothers. This specialist lead photographic safari has been designed with the focus on flying up the Skeleton Coast in small aircraft specially adapted for this expedition to enable you to photograph the area in ways few others have.

Louw Schoeman’s involvement in the Skeleton Coast has become a lasting legacy in Namibia’s conservation history. The families understanding of the complexities of the desert and the surrounding environment is something only revealed on a safari of this nature as you are accompanied by one of the brothers on a flying adventure into the dunes. Your trip has been planned to coincide with the new moon to maximise the opportunities to photograph starscapes in the Narmib Rand, a Gold Tier International Dark Sky Reserve.

This adventure into Namibia’s most spectacular wilderness, will afford you breathtaking bird’s-eye views of shipwrecks, coastal landscapes and ever changing geological formations, often the last refuge of many desert adapted species. You will travel by air and overland as you explore this remote wilderness experiencing complete and utter isolation.

Specialist-Led

This unique safari will be led and mentored by Chris Michel an expert photographer and explorer alongside the Schoeman family as your pilots and guides. Read more about Chris Michel.

Ultimate Photography Opportunities

Two aircraft will be flying together offering you the rare opportunity of plane to plane photography over Namibia’s dramatic coastline and Mars-like landscape.

Talk to an Africa Specialist today

What to expect.

Day 1 - Arrive Windhoek

Upon arrival into Windhoek airport, you will be met and transferred to Galton House for your first dinner and night.

Day 2 - Windhoek to Wolwedans

This morning, enjoy a scenic flight over the Gamsberg escarpment and Sossusvlei dunes. In the afternoon after settling in at Wolwedans Camp and having lunch, you will experience a golden hour sunset exploration on top of the dunes.

Day 3 - Wolwedans to Kuidas (New Moon)

At first light, take a scenic flight over the Sossusvlei dunes and ocean (weather permitting) landing on Keerweder desert plains for breakfast. Afterwards, fly up the coast and enjoy a picnic lunch on the beach, then continue over the stunning Ugab formations to Kuidas Camp. Later in the afternoon, you will be driven to a scenic location to watch the sunset, before returning to the camp for dinner.

Day 4 - Kuidas to Leylands

At first light head to Rooiberg (Red Mountain) with an enroute scenic breakfast. Return to the camp for lunch before your afternoon flight to Terrace Bay and over Rhino area, Red Landscapes and dunes and then later an afternoon drive into the dunes. You will arrive into Leylands Camp as the sun is setting.

Day 5 - Leylands to Kunene

At sunrise, take a scenic flight over the blushing red dunes of Sossusvlei and stop for a bush breakfast before moving over the Clay Castles and Huarusib Canyon. After lunch, embark on an afternoon flight down to the sea and the mouth of the Kunene estuary and back up the river canyon. From the airstrip, drive to the high ridge for sunset before arriving at Kunene Camp that overlooks the river.

Day 6 - Kunene

At dawn, drive to visit the Himba tribe living in their traditional village. After breakfast, depart on a scenic route through the Rocky Mountains on the way to the valley of 1,000 dunes, stopping for a picnic lunch along the way. In the afternoon, drive the beautiful scenic route over the dunes back to Kunene River camp.

Day 7 - Kunene to Windhoek

On your final morning, enjoy a river cruise. Then take your final flight back to Windhoek in our beloved Aircraft and then onwards for your international flight home.

Orientation: Where you'll be exploring

Your accommodation

Wolwedans Dunes Lodge

This luxury camp has been chosen as soft introduction to the desert environment to prepare you for the adventure that lies ahead. With 360 degree panoramas, Wolwedans Dunes Lodge is perched on top of a dune plateau, absorbing the breathtaking surroundings of the NamibRand Nature Reserve. This is a peaceful spot to stay, with the flame red desert dunes stretching out before you under the vast open blue skies.

Kunene Camp

The final stop on your adventure located north of the Harmann Valley. Upon landing at the airstrip you will transfer to 4x4 vehicles and drive through an area of mountains, sand dunes, and gravel plains. Kunene camp is located on top of large boulders above the riverbank. The views down into the green river valley are a stark contrast to the landscape you have just passed through. Another basically designed but well equipped camp constructed from local material nestled into the natural environment.

Dates & Prices namibia

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Skeleton Coast Safaris

Skeleton Coast Safaris is a truly unique experience in one of the most hauntingly beautiful and unspoilt places in the world.

Skeleton Coast Safaris is a truly unique experience in one of the most hauntingly beautiful and unspoilt places in the world. Spend three or four nights flying and overnighting along Namibia’s dramatic Skeleton Coast in the company of the world-famous Schoeman family.

The Schoemans have been running air safaris for over 25 years, taking guests on epic adventures across the hauntingly beautiful landscape of the Skeleton Coast. Travelling by private plane and Land Rover, guests are introduced to dramatic desert and coastal scenery, as well as diverse flora and fauna, including the endangered black rhino and desert-adapted elephant.

Accommodation consists of three fully equipped tented desert camps. The first camp sits in the lower reaches of the Huab River in the Erongo Region, the second in the Hoarusib Valley and the third along the Namibian border overlooking the Kunene River – each inviting guests to appreciate the beauty and solitude of the desert.

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The Schoeman Skeleton Coast Legacy

Jun 1, 2023 | Skeleton Coast Safaris , Sustainability

As far as sustainability goes, each member of Naturally Namibia plays a big role, each in their own way, but the Schoeman family legacy can lay claim to a leading role in the creation of the Skeleton Coast National Park, which is quite an incredible feat.

A family-run business first founded by Louw Schoeman, the Schoemans’ safari company continues to offer adventurous travellers the unique combination of air and land adventure to explore the shipwrecks, rolling sand dunes and desolate landscapes of this hauntingly beautiful stretch of coastline. There is, quite simply, nothing like it. In fact, Namibia is the only continental country in the world that has its entire coastline protected as a national park and to be afforded the opportunity to see it all by air is frankly mind-blowing.

All the members of the Schoeman family literally grew up there, so they have the very secrets of the Skeleton Coast etched on their souls and are happy and willing to share their immense knowledge and love of the coast with anyone lucky enough to visit.

Run by the renowned Schoeman family, Skeleton Coast Safaris offers an extraordinary opportunity to delve into the untamed wonders of Namibia’s northwest region

Beginning at Eros airport, Windhoek, and using low-level flying light aircraft to transport visitors from one area to the next, the Skeleton Coast Safari makes its way up through some of Africa’s oldest surviving wildernesses. At selected landing spots (some in extremely inaccessible areas for most people), travellers then continue to explore the coast and further inland by Land Rover or on foot.

Louw Schoeman, initially came to know the Skeleton Coast through his clients who were involved in prospecting, and researching the feasibility of a new harbour in the area. Plans for the latter thankfully fell through, by which time Louw knew, and loved, the area very well. His thoughts turned to conservation, and he was instrumental in the proclamation of the Skeleton Coast Park in 1971. The Schoeman offspring spent their childhood days (early sixties) exploring and playing among the remains of old wooden shipwrecks and natural wonders of the Skeleton Coast. When Louw officially started Skeleton Coast Safaris in 1977, the then-teenaged Schoeman offspring often accompanied him on his safari trips. From their father, they learnt to love and understand the complexity of the desert and all it offered. They also gleaned from him the more practical skills of driving in the roaring dunes, and how to introduce the wonders of this amazing desert to perfect strangers.

Guests are taken on excursions by Land Rover to be introduced to the scenic and ecological aspects of the environment with its wide diversity of flora and fauna

The Schoeman children, who in the intervening years acquired and expanded on their father’s expertise and vast background knowledge of the Skeleton Coast and adjacent regions, took over management of the enterprise in 1994. The late Louw Schoeman’s enthusiasm and passion for the desert had clearly rubbed off on his offspring.

Today, older and wiser for it, the Schoemans are rated as experts on the Skeleton Coast and semi-desert areas of Namibia. They have followed in the footsteps of their father who, at the time, was considered the pioneer of ecotourism in Namibia. They all fully believe that the future of country not only rests with tourism and the preservation of wildlife, but also in protecting the natural resources and wilderness areas of Namibia. Just as much part of the Skeleton Coast patrons as the Schoemans, are the people they have worked together with. The families that worked and lived alongside the Schoemans for years, and whom all have generations that have taken over from them. One example, amongst many, is Janson Kasano, who has been part of the Skeleton Coast Safari family for over 35 years.

Each trip is usually escorted by one of the Schoeman family, who acts as pilot, driver and expert guide. You spend every night in a different area, sleeping in dome tents at tiny permanent camps – Kuidas Camp, beside the dry Huab River; Leylandsdrift Camp overlooking a spring in the Hoarusib River; and Kunene River Camp, on the lush banks of the Kunene River.

Originally, under South African mandate, inland from the coast, the surrounding areas became a number of Homelands, where different tribes had autonomous governance and ownership of their areas. When Namibian Independence took place, this all changed to State-owned land and subsequently the local communities instead were all given conservancy rights, so that everyone could benefit from the land and wildlife, whilst making sure it was all protected. This resulted in the Joint Ventures that Skeleton Coast Safaris and the local conservancies have held for years and that has flourished. Everyone knows the sustainability of the Skeleton Coast Park and its Hinterland is paramount to all involved and the ecosystem that is required.

Adjoining the northern section of the Skeleton Coast Park is Kaokoland, a rugged region inhabited by the Himba people, who still dress and live according to ancient customs and traditions

All the conservancies are run by Previously Disadvantaged People and in their Joint Ventures with companies like Skeleton Coast Safaris, everyone has an invested responsibility. Everyone who is employed under the Skeleton Coast Safaris banner is from one of the conservancies.

On top and above the contingency partners that are involved and benefitting from Skeleton Coast Safaris, are five Himba tribe families who live across inland from the coast. The Himba are indigenous people and are hunter-gatherers. Culturally distinguishable from the Herero people, the Himba are semi-nomadic, pastoralist people but may have to move within the year depending on rainfall and to where there is access to water. Skeleton Coast Safaris makes sure that these families are looked after and contented.

Written by Robbie Stammers

The Schoemans are a rare breed of people who love the diverse people and the unique wilderness that the Skeleton Coast offers. Bertus, Andre, Leon and Henk all carry the legacy of their late father, Louw and make sure that this unique coastline remains sustainable and beautiful for many years to come. Skeleton Coast Safaris is run together with their spouses – especially Helga and Ute, and continuity is assured by the up-and-coming next generation, thus far Michael, Kyle and Cindel.

www.skeletoncoastsafaris.com

Skeleton Coast Safaris

Meet the family who became iconic; The Schoeman's

A flying safari with Skelton Coast Safaris is one of the great African travel experiences. Run by the four Schoeman brothers and set up almost 50 years ago by their father, this safari operator offers a rare chance to experience Namibia from a unique perspective.

It is not just this wonderful country that makes this trip so special, but the unique blend of passion, knowledge and adventure that the Schoeman brothers bring, which really can't be replicated or replaced.

Kick-off with a morning flight to the Skeleton Coast, enjoying aerial views of the famous Eduard Bohlen shipwreck at Conception Bay, The Kuiseb canyon and adjoining red dunes. Landing and refuel at Swakopmund and continue with a low-level flight north along the Skeleton Coast past the seal colony at Cape Cross for a light picnic lunch near the beach. 

After lunch, cross the desert by aircraft to the Ugab formations, a nearly lifeless 'moon landscape' of numerous black ridges contrasting with the white desert floor. Proceed to Kuidas camp in the Huab River Valley for your first night's stay.

After breakfast, depart by Land Rover to explore the colourful red lava and yellow sandstone of the Huab River and view the ecological aspects of this area - this includes the Welwitschia Mirabilis, a tree that the rigours of the encroaching desert climate have dwarfed. Have lunch at Kuidas Camp before flying to Terrace Bay, viewing the most prominent shipwrecks along this part of the coast; the Montrose and Henrietta.

At the coast, access the roaring dunes by Land Rover, which always proves to be a stimulating experience. You will visit the beach with its profusion of multicoloured pebbles and old bleached whale bones before returning to the aircraft to continue north to Leylandsdrift Camp in the Hoarusib Valley in the Kunene Region.

Low season starts from £6,879 per person

High season starts from £9,169 per person

The safari is available year around and there is no real best time to travel.

Children are welcome but there is no discount.

After breakfast, embark on a scenic drive along the Hoarusib Valley to visit a settlement of the nomadic Himba people, hopefully being lucky enough to come across the desert elephant who frequent this valley. From here, you will continue North along the Skeleton Coast by aircraft to the Kunene River acting as a border to Angola.

From the airfield, you will take a scenic drive by Land Rover to your lunch site, and after, head through the mountains and dunes of the Hartmann Valley, which extends to the Kunene River, reaching Kunene River Camp in the late afternoon.

Take an early morning boat trip on the Kunene River as it flows through the scenic desert landscape, observing bird life and possibly crocodiles. Birds vary from aquatic species on the perennial waters to endemic desert varieties and those that inhabit dense riverine vegetation. After lunch at the camp, we fly back to Eros Airport, Windhoek, arriving late afternoon.

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Namibia Schoeman’s Skeleton Coast Safari

‘See that sedimentary mountain? The one with the jagged face and neat stripes of multi-coloured rock. Eighty million years ago that was once the ocean floor’. I am on the edge of my seat in a light aircraft just metres above the mountain in question, hanging on to our guide Bertus Schoeman’s every word.

Everything he tells us simply reinforces my absolute awe of this beautiful, stunning country. I have grown accustomed to feeling small and inconsequential amidst the vastness of the African continent, but Namibia takes this feeling to an altogether different dimension. Everything about it is…well, just big and bold, its landscapes, mountains, sand dunes, night skies and even its colours. The only small thing about Namibia is its population, but this too is a positive as it allows for 42% of the country’s land mass to be dedicated to conservation.

‘Safari’ is the Swahili word for journey, and I am on a flying safari along the Skeleton Coast with one of the Schoeman brothers. This remote corner in the north-west of the country is as wild as it gets – much of the topography hasn’t changed for millions of years – and it is hard to comprehend that others may have been here before you. Bertus shares his unique knowledge with us, gives us space and time to absorb what we are seeing, and we do begin to believe that we really are the first people to set eyes on this breathtaking environment.

Each day was remarkable, different and full of surprises.

Every incomparable last experience was soon surpassed. Highlights were too many to list, but flying ten feet above the shipwrecks that still litter the Skeleton Coast, landing on a clay pan in the Sossusvlei corridor, listening to the dunes ‘roar’ then driving across them in a land rover, boating on the Kunene River and, as a finale, flying over the mountains of Angola are memories that will stay with me for ever.

A Skeleton Coast Safari with the Schoemans is a very, very special experience that no word or photograph – and certainly not mine! – could ever do justice to.

Legends & Legacies

Schoeman family.

Legends of the Skeleton Coast in Namibia

Schoeman Family - over 40 years along the Skeleton Coast

Louw Schoeman, an attorney by profession, initially came to know the Skeleton Coast through his clients who were involved in prospecting, and researching the feasibility of a new harbour in the area. Plans for the latter thankfully fell through, by which time Louw knew, and loved, the area very well.

His thoughts turned to conservation, and he was instrumental in the conservation and proclamation of the Skeleton Coast Park in 1971. The Schoeman offspring spent their childhood days (early sixties) exploring and playing among the remains of old wooden ship wrecks and natural wonders of the Skeleton Coast.

NAMIBIA NATURE FOUNDATION

While Louw Schoeman’s 30-year involvement in the Skeleton Coast has become his lasting legacy in Namibia’s conservation history, it is not widely known that he was the original founder of the Namibia Nature Foundation, an organisation initially established to act as a conduit for funds donated to the official conservation authority for specific conservation purposes. Since being formally constituted in 1987, the foundation has evolved steadily to become the leading conservation NGO in Namibia.

By the late 1970s, Louw had been closely associated with the Skeleton Coast Park for nearly twenty years. During those early years he became increasingly captivated by the extraordinary beauty and diversity of the landscape. He also became progressively more aware that the remoteness and untouched nature of the terrain could easily be destroyed by over-utilisation, and that entry to the area by tourists and four-wheel drivers needed to be controlled because of the sensitivity of the desert surface to vehicle tracks, the removal of historical artefacts, the disfigurement of rock paintings, the indiscriminate removal of plants and the dwindling numbers of game.

To set the wheels in motion, he went to Stellenbosch for a meeting with Hymie Bluhm, Director of the SA Nature Foundation, to discuss the feasibility of an equivalent foundation for Namibia. Mr Bluhm gave the idea his full support, pledging the backing of the SA Nature Foundation, provided the project was officially sanctioned by the Namibian Division of Nature Conservation and Tourism, at the time under directorship of its founder, Bernabé de la Bat. But Mr De la Bat felt that in view of the political climate of the late seventies, the time was not right.

However, the pressing need for conservation efforts above and beyond those handled by the official authorities was becoming increasingly apparent. Examples of conservation concerns prevalent at the time are the steady decline of free-roaming cheetah populations in central and northern Namibia where they were being shot by commercial farmers because they preyed on livestock and game; the alarming decimation of the critically endangered black rhino in the arid north-western regions of Kaokoland and Damaraland due to severe poaching; the disappearance of breeding colonies of the Cape vulture in the Waterberg environs; and ongoing issues such as desertification and deforestation in the north-eastern regions. The dilemma was that funds from private donors given to the official conservation authorities for specific conservation concerns often disappeared into the general state coffers and ended up being used for other purposes.

In the mid-eighties Polla Swart, Director of the then Directorate of Nature Conservation and Resorts, urged Louw to continue with his efforts to establish such a foundation. The first step was to formalise the constitution, and then to “sell” the concept of the foundation to conservation-minded companies and individuals, initiate fundraising and appoint trustees. On 29 July 1987, with the support and patronage of Mr KWR List of the Ohlthaver and List Group and the appointment of Douglas Reissner as its first director, the NNF was launched as a non-governmental, non-profit organisation governed by an independent Board of Trustees.

The primary aims of the NNF were to promote sustainable development, conserve biological diversity and natural ecosystems, and utilise natural resources wisely and ethically for the benefit of all Namibians, both present and future. The NNF was tasked to:

Initiate, support and promote activities that conserve Namibia’s environment, protect biological diversity and foster the sustainable and ethical use of natural resources; support and promote initiatives that strengthen Namibian institutions to understand and manage natural resources better; raise and administer funds for conservation and Namibia’s environment; plan, develop, implement and administer projects to support the mission of the Foundation; provide small grants to worthy institutions; promote and support community-based natural-resource management initiatives; promote and support initiatives aimed at public awareness and education on the environment and sustainable use of natural resources; and establish and maintain good, open channels of communication with partners and potential partners.

To achieve these goals, the NNF has been working in close collaboration with the Namibian Government, NGOs, international bilateral and multilateral donors and the private sector.

For the full story read: FOUNDATION OF THE NNF – LOUW’S LEGACY TO CONSERVATION IN NAMIBIA by Amy Schoeman, Venture Publications 2012

SKELETON COAST SAFARIS

When Louw officially started Skeleton Coast Safaris in 1977, the now teenaged Schoeman offspring often accompanied safari groups. From their father they learnt to love and understand the complexity of the desert, its fauna and flora. They also gleaned from him the more practical skills of driving in the roaring dunes, and how to introduce the wonders of this amazing desert to perfect strangers.

The Schoeman brothers, Bertus, Andre, Leon and Henk, who in the intervening years acquired and expanded on their father’s expertise and vast background knowledge of the Skeleton Coast and adjacent regions, took over management of the enterprise in 1994. The late Louw Schoeman’s enthusiasm and passion for the desert rubbed off on the youngsters.

Today, middle-aged and wiser for it, the Schoemans are rated as experts on the Skeleton Coast and semi-desert areas of Namibia. They have followed in the footsteps of their father who, at the time, was considered the pioneer of ecotourism in Namibia. They all fully believe that the future of country not only rests with tourism and the preservation of wildlife, but also in protecting the natural resources and wilderness areas of Namibia. They take great delight in sharing their intimate understanding and knowledge of the Skeleton Coast with their visitors.

Says André, who has a keen knowledge of Namibian history and local cultures, “ Forty years ago, our father established a relationship with the local Himba community working with them on conservation issues. We grew up with their children and now that we’re adults, we are also colleagues, working together through their conservancy to set up a joint venture with an eye towards future operations.”

Leon’s son, Michael, is studying aircraft mechanics in Windhoek and André’s son, Kyle, is taking flying lessons. Growing up, these two young men have shared a similar experience as their fathers and uncles and may be the next generation to share their lives and their rich family history with guests of Skeleton Coast Fly-in Safaris.

A wonderful book of the Skeleton Coast by Amy Schoeman was published in 1984 - the book is dedicated to Amy’s late husband, Johannes Louw Schoeman, ‘custodian of the Skeleton Coast Park wilderness area from 1977 to 1993’. More details/information is needed here as there must surely be a link to the family in question.

ARTICLES OF INTEREST

Namibian flying safari by Richard Grant at The Telegraph

Skeleton Coast by Amy Schoeman (Revised Edition 2011) originally published 1984

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Schoeman's Skeleton Coast Safaris

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