Fog life cycles in the central Namib Desert have been studied during the NaFoLiCA intensive observation period, which is described together with initial analyses of the extensive dataset. An intensive observation period was conducted in September 2017 in the central Namib, Namibia, as part of the project Namib Fog Life Cycle Analysis (NaFoLiCA). The purpose of the field campaign was to investigate the spatial and temporal patterns of the coastal fog which occurs regularly during night-time and morning hours. The fog is often linked to advection of a marine stratus which intercepts with the terrain up to 100 km inland. Meteorological data, including cloud base height, fog deposition, liquid water path, and vertical profiles of wind speed/direction and temperature were measured continuously during the campaign. Additionally, profiles of temperature and relative humidity were sampled during five selected nights with stratus/fog at both coastal and inland sites using tethered balloon soundings, drone profiling and radiosondes. This paper presents an overview of the scientific goals of the field campaign, describes the experimental setup, the measurements carried out, and the meteorological conditions during the intensive observation period, and presents first results with a focus on a single fog event.