WEATHER: Cool 10C this morning and a HOT 37C by afternoon
HIGHTLIGHT OF THE DAY: Stepping onto a soussovlai
BUMMER OF THE DAY: Not getting to the top of Dune 45
BUYS OF THE DAY: Can of coke – only thing I bought all day
WORD OF THE DAY: Vagazzale
CAMP SITE RANKING: Hot showers, flushing toilets - 5 out of 5 stars
We had an early start this morning and a BIG day ahead. Our first stop was Dune 45 and the Namib Nauklauf National Park opened its gates at 6.10am. So we were up at 5.30am, we didn’t have to pull our tents down, we were doing this upon our return before lunch, so we really only had to ‘use the facilities’ as GG would say, change and get our sleepy butts on the truck. We left camp at 6am, with only out mattresses left in the tents and joined the growing queue for the mad rush to get up Dune 45 before everyone else to get some photos. I was quite confident that I would be able to make it to the top of the dune and as we drove in the dark the dunes started to loom as the day broke. There were 3 other tour companies and about 8 cars all heading to the dune. Ben did his best in the 45 minute drive he over took 6 of the cars, so it gave us a good start to get up the dune before it got too busy.
GG warned us the sand can be quite cold first thing in the morning, so we decided to wear our thongs, so they could easily be taken off once the sand warms up. I could think of nothing worse wearing sneakers and getting them full of sand – ugh – I’ll stick with the thongs. Apparently the best time of some-one getting up Dune 45 was 10 minutes, well like a red bull to a flag, Sean was up to the challenge to try and bust that time, so the second we stopped he was off and up the dune. I was happy to just take my time and looking at the dune from the bottom, it didn’t look too bad and I was still thinking I could make it to the top. The sand was cold to start with, so I am glad that we did bring shoes to wear, but as the dune got steeper it was increasingly difficult to keep walking in them so they came off and I went barefoot. It didn’t help that an American couple walked past saying they wouldn’t take their shoes off in case there were scorpions in the sand – um good point, but I decided to risk it and went bare feet anyways. Meanwhile walking up the dune was TOUGH! Once you stepped on to the first incline, what looked like an easy climb from the truck turned out to be tough going! Your feet would drop 10cm in the sand each step and I could only walk around 10 steps before having to stop. There was really only one ridge that would get you to the top, so I had to let people pass me by stepping onto the slope and then back onto the ridge of the dune. I decided to not kill myself and went, to say very generously nearly half way; I sat down and just watched the sunrise from where I was. I actually had a great view point from where I was, I guess I just missed out on seeing the other side of the dune, which I was okay with. So I have to say I didn’t make it to the top, but I did try and I still got some magic photos. Dune 45 is a star dune and its name comes from the fact that it is at the 45th kilometer of the gravel road that connects the Sesriem gate and Sossusvlei. Standing over 170m, it is composed of 5 million year old sand that is detritus accumulated by the Orange River from the Kalahari Desert and then blown here. It is also known as "the most photographed dune in the world"; because of its unusually simple and fascinating shape, and its proximity to the road.
Once the sun was up and we had come back to the truck, Simon already had breakfast all ready for us, so we simply had to eat, wash and flap and we were back on the road again at 8.15am to our next highlight of the day and that was a visit to the sossusvlei which was a further 20km into the Namib Nauklauf National Park. As we were driving, you could see all the sand dunes starting to appear and they were enormous, it is so hard to describe these magnificent orange sand dunes – they looked amazing. We had to transfer from the truck to smaller vehicles due to the condition of the roads where the concrete roads end and they turn into 100% sand, so if we got the truck stuck I think it would be game over. So the last 6 km were traversed with 4WD’s. A sossusvlei is a clay pan, covered in a crust of salt-rich sand. While the pan has been shaped over time by the Tsauchab River, the actual flooding of the pan is a relatively rare event, and sometimes several years pass between one flood and the next one. The river is dry most of the year, and even when it is not, it carries relatively little water to the vlei. The vlei is surrounded by high orange-reddish dunes, partially covered by vegetation comprising grass, bushes, and some trees. The name "Sossusvlei" is of mixed origin, and roughly means "dead end marsh". Vlei is the Afrikaans word for "marsh", while "sossus" is named for "no return" or "dead end".
We met our guide and he explained how the vlei’s were made, the different types of sand dunes, to which there are 4. There is the lineal, the parallel, the baclun and the star dune. We were showed some of the local plants and explained how they survived as we walked the 1.1km to get to the vlei in the sand.
I must say it was certainly worth the last sandy hill climb to get to the top to get a magnificent view of the vlei and its white salty ground, with the dead trees and the sand dunes for a background, it was quite breath taking. So after a further 8 minute walk you found yourself on the salt pan. It was a bit surreal and felt what I think it would should the world end like in the movies. Actually with that said there have been movies shot here because of the scenery and I can see why. We all split off to start with to just walk the massive pan on our own and just to take it all in, before meeting up and them getting some photos. It was an awesome experience and the photos turned out great. With the white ground, black trees and the orange dunes = a photographers paradise. We got to spend around 45 minutes here, before making the trek back to the 4WD’s and then the trek back to our truck. So leaving the sossusvlei at 11.15am, we had climbed a dune and walked on a dead vlei and been up for 6 hours already and it wasn’t even lunch time yet!!! GG wasn’t kidding when he said it was going to be a BIG day!
So after driving the hour back to camp, pulling the tents down, lunch was up and we were then back on the road at 1pm and hauling some arse and driving for 5 hours to get us to our camp tonight that is purely to rest up and then head out early again tomorrow morning. We did have some time for a few beers and thanks to Sonya we also had a bottle of Sav Blanc, which for 8AUD, made a nice change from drinking beer and it was actually a nice South African wine.
After such a hectic day, I was in bed by 9pm.
We are now on day 56 of the trip and I am on day 165 of my travels. It is hard to believe I have been gone for nearly 6 months and even harder to believe that our 2 month African journey is coming to an end. 60 days seemed a long time and even at the half way mark it was we still have 35 days, we have plenty of time, and then all of a sudden we have 4 days left. I guess the saying time flies when you’re having fun is true and this component is a classic example. I don’t even want to start to think of good-byes yet. No siree……
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