The diamond-mining town of Oranjemund, tucked into the south-western corner of Namibia, is brimming over with stories, colourful characters and desert charm.

In Ruacana, northern Namibia, the Kunene thunders down in a spectacular waterfall during the rainy season and flows sleepily on its long journey to the ocean in the drier months of the year.

On the golden sands of Africa's ancient Namib Desert in south-western Namibia, a small century-old population of wild desert horses fights for survival.

"*Oooo gonnas, hier is ons*!" said my hiking companion as she squeezed out of her cocoon of a sleeping bag on the first day of the five-day Fish River Canyon trail, rubbed the sleep from her eyes and looked around. The last stars melted away into the pink clouds of the canary-blue morning sky and a golden tinge fingered the crests of the great canyon walls that towered majestically above us.

Shangri-la comes to mind. Brigadoon perhaps. When the small village eventually comes into view after a 30km rollercoaster ride along a stony, mountainous path, it certainly looks like it has just emerged from the mists of time.

Velskoen or veldskoen, fondly called ‘vellies’, are undoubtedly southern-Africa’s favourite footwear. There is simply nothing to compare with a well-worn pair of vellies that have snugly moulded themselves to the shape of your feet.

On the south-western tip of Africa, a bee-conservation group has spent the last seven years discovering the wisdom of our wild honeybees