The Skeleton Coast, where the Namib Desert meets the Atlantic Ocean in south-western Africa, is named after the bleached bones and scattered remains of shipwrecks washed up on its shore. This coastline is one of the most desolate, yet hauntingly beautiful places left on earth. For three months, explorer Benedict Allen attempted to cross this remote desert landscape — the first time the journey has been permitted by any government of Namibia. Allen prepares for his expedition with the Himba people from the northern reaches of the Namib. Submerging himself among these resilient, cattle-herding nomads, he begins to see this severe land as less of a threat and more of a home. He then travels south to the Kalahari Desert for a gruelling three-week training period. There he attempts to mould his reluctant camels — Nelson, Jan and Andries — into a workable team. At the start of his journey, at the closed diamond-mining town of Oraniemund, Allen is escorted by security personnel through the Forbidden Zone. He then continues north past ghost towns and the wrecks of numerous ships towards the treacherous 'Lange Wand', where he confronts his biggest obstacle — a stretch of coast where the incoming tides meet colossal dunes. Continuing alone through mile upon mile of unforgiving desert, Allen enters lion and rhino country where a prime concern is the risk of sudden attack. As he battles on to the last leg of the journey, he struggles to maintain control of his nervous but faithful camels. Benedict Allen recorded his journey with a video camera for the BBC television series The Skeleton Coast.