Namibia - the desert

Upon arrival in Namibia, the air is dry and the temperature nice and warm. We head straight to the desert driving on dirt roads. They are actually well maintained and we reach our camp at Sesriem early enough to witness a superb sunset on the dunes. It is the next morning that we have to wake up really early. We are amongst the first ones to drive along the river bed of the Tsauchab, a river that still could make it to the sea in the XIX century but got then blocked by the barrage of dunes. Today the temporary river dies here in the middle of the Namibian desert, at a place called Sossusvlei.

The first surprise is that the 60 km long road has been tarred! There is now a perfect road leading us to the highest dunes in the world. For all those who had previously driven on the chaotic untarred road, what a pleasure. So here we are driving around while the sky gets lighter and waiting for the sun to rise. The colours are fantastic and soon the contrast between the sunny and the dark sides of the dunes is breathtaking.

We get to the end of the tarred road, after which only 4*4 vehicule can drive through the last 5 kilometers up to Sossusvlei. And there other surprise awaits us, there are now shuttle busses driving tourists from the parking area to the Sossusvlei. Nice service for the tourists! But having so much enjoyed the walk on the sand and through the dunes the previous time, i decide that we should again do the walk. It gives us so much more, we get to experience the desert and to live it much better. The desert is quiet, yet it is full of life. We also bump into a gemsbok.

At Sossusvlei, a dry salty pan surrounded by a magnificent dune, i decide for the first time to climb it. On the previous occasions, i thought that this climb was only for lazy tourists who just wanted to experience the desert at their convenience and were actually not deserving it. This time, as we were probably the only ones to have walked from the parking area, i agreed that we also deserve to climb the dune. And the view was magic. We see dunes all around, and the contrast between the deep blue sky and the orange sand dunes is most striking.