A day at the sand dunes
Setting out
The drive from Namib Desert Lodge to the sand dunes was about a 100 kilometres. I had read recommendations for visiting Sossusvlei at sunrise while I was doing my research. But we are middle aged and comfort loving; getting up in the morning and reaching the place by sunrise was not quite our cup of tea. So, we planned we would see the dunes in the dying rays of the afternoon sun.
The sun was already half-way up the top by the time we set off after a leisurely breakfast. 40 km from our lodge we reached Sesriem. The petrol station there was our first stop. We proceeded to the entrance gate of Namib-Naukluft National Park after filling up the tank. The entrance permit to the park can be bought at the Sesriem Campsite, entrance fee is 80 Namibian dollars per person. At the gate, we were told to be back and out of the gate by about 6 pm since the park closes at sunset.
Walking in the canyon
The floor of the canyon
We stopped at the Sesriem Canyon which is a gorge carved out by the Tsauchab River. The bed of the canyon where the river would have flowed through once upon a time is dry today. We walked along the narrow shaded sandy bed, finally managed to locate a small shallow pool of water hidden deep under the rocks and felt a great sense of achievement!
The 60 kilometres’ road from Sesriem to Sossusvlei is metalled and surprisingly smooth. It took us about 45 minutes to reach the 2WD parking. On the way, Dune 45 came to our left, we had planned that particular ascent for our return trip, so we drove on. By then the sun was beating down quite strongly and we had to remind ourselves that it was winter in Namibia.
Between sand and sky
We parked our car underneath one of the scrubby trees hoping that it would be under shade at least part of the time that we were away. Then we found a shuttle to take us to the dunes. The 4 km journey is through desert sand. As we were on our way, we saw tourists negotiating the terrain on their own, but were thankful that we had opted for the shuttle; our city dweller driving skills did not equip us for desert driving. The drive took all of 10 minutes; our driver dropped us in the middle of the desert and pointed to the Big Daddy, the highest dune in the whole area. He would pick us up later to take us back to our car.
As we started walking to the dunes, we felt the heat. It was mid-afternoon and even though it was winter, the sun was really strong. We were happy to have worn long sleeved cotton clothes and carried our big 1.5 litre water bottles. We also, thankfully, had brought our wide brimmed hats along. After about 15 minutes of walking we stood at the edges of the flat caked patch of sand that is the Deadvlei.
It was home to a collection of fossilized camel thorn trees, which formed a stunning vista against the golden-brown sand dunes behind and the clear blue sky above. And in the middle of this stark barrenness we met a stork pecking out food from the hardened sand.
We could see people atop the Big Daddy and decided to give it a go. I gave up at about a quarter of the climb; IB trudged along till about half way to the top, then turned and stopped came sliding down the sand. We sat, panting, at the foot of the dune for some time and then trudged back towards our pick-up point. We decided we will not walk but take the shuttle to Sossusvlei.
The colours of sand
The sun had softened by the time we started on our return drive and the sands had turned a different hue. We stopped to climb Dune 45. Suddenly the wind picked-up and threw sand at us as we were going up. It blew into our faces and pricked through our clothes and then died down as suddenly as it had started. As we stood on top and looked around the sand dunes showed themselves in a spectrum of colours amidst the lengthening shadows of the late afternoon.
We started driving towards Sesriem with more than an hour left till park gate closing time and reached with ample in hand. An ostrich couple, out for a stroll, gave us company for a part of the way.
The reach of cricket
We had time to spare to use the restrooms and have coffee at the bar at the Sesriem Campsite . As we sat down with our cappuccinos, we found ourselves watching an India vs Pakistan cricket match being live telecast! It took great effort to tear ourselves from a World Cup Cricket match to be on our way, but we had been amply warned of the gate closing time.
It was almost dark when we started on the gravelled road back to our lodge. We went slow, luckily there was no cars in front of us but the occasional car coming from the opposite direction blinded us with the cloud of dust at its tail. I am sure we would done the same for them. Evening had descended when we parked our car and it was cold enough to put on our jackets.
Sossusvlei seems like an otherworldly place, and it’s amazing that your pictures have captured the different vibrant colours of the terrain! Really appreciate how easy and calm this itinerary is, while making sure you get a good taste of Sossusvlei.
Sossusvlei is amazing! I hope people like you get inspired to visit the place by reading my story.