Saturday 6 June 2015 Sossusvlei

Our wake-up call is a knock on the door at 4:30 am. It is a tad chilly and we all meet wrapped up in fleeces and warm jackets. It is an hour’s drive to the sunrise spot. We take photos of the rising sun before climbing a high dune.

Dune Sunrise

The name, Sossusvlei, comes from two languages – Sossus is the Nama word meaning No Return – or – Dead End. Vlei is the Afrikaans word for marsh or pan. The actual Sossusvlei is a salt and clay pan which fills with water on the rare occasion that it rains. There is no water in it when we visit. The name “Sossusvlei” also refers to the surrounding area (including other neighbouring vleis such as Deadvlei and other high dunes), which is one of the major visitor attractions of Namibia. The area has many high sand dunes of a vivid pinkish/orangish/reddish colour caused by the high content of iron in the sand and the consequent oxidation processes. The older the dune, the redder the colour. Big Daddy is 380m high and this is the one we climb!

Big Daddy

Erich at the top

The dry pans look white because of the high salt content

Wendy does well but has a height phobia so decides to go back down after a while. As we climb it seems to get steeper and steeper with each footfall! There are a number of other climbers, some in groups, some individual. We have a photographic group in front of us so they keep stopping to take interesting and creative photographs giving us an excuse to rest frequently! We are supposed to descend at a certain point and go down to Deadvlei but I turn back and go the way I came meeting Sammy on his way up and he tells me to return so as to get to Deadvlei with him. Omiword – another upward climb before I can descend! I am feeling a bit shaky – from low blood pressure or altitude intolerance – or perhaps I’m just not fit enough for dune climbing!

The descent is lovely. We make our way to Deadvlei where the trees have been dead for almost a thousand years. There is underground water so there is a grove of green trees there too. We wonder around and take creative photos and then make our way back to the vehicle.

Looking across to one of the dunes

A short drive to Sossusvlei and we disembark once again where we find a beautifully laid breakfast table set up by Sammy who then presents us with cereal, fruit salad, yoghurt, cold meats, boiled eggs and fresh bread. Wow. The Cape Sparrows think it was for them and twitter away in the trees until we give in and feed them a few crumbs.

Our return trip takes us past all the amazing dunes and we marvel at the shapes and contrasting colours. We stop to photograph Dune 45 so named because it is 45 km from Sossus Dune Lodge.

By now it is hot and we all take off the outer layers. Back at the lodge I have a shower and change into shorts.

I put on cargo pants and take a fleece to fly over the dunes in the afternoon. We have to go to another lodge just outside the park to get our over-dune flight. We pay our fare, receive proper tickets and fill in an indemnity form at the Adventure Activity desk and then are taken to the airfield by one of the staff who also explains where we would go and what signals the pilot would give to indicate what he sees below. Unfortunately the plane is not equipped with earphones! Loubser is our pilot and we are his fifth trip of the day. I am feeling only a tad nervous having recently been up in a light aircraft with Abri and survived! This plane is a little bigger but not as comfortable as Abri’s. But I can open a tiny square in my window to take photographs which makes a big difference. I will let the photos tell the story.

Sossus Dune Lodge from the air

The Dunes

Wave after wave of them

Old Mining Settlement

The dunes stretch all the way to the sea

The Wreck

Seal Colony

Dinner this evening is kudu steak for me and Earl and pork for the Schoffls. After our long and exciting day we are in bed by 8 o’clock.

Friday 5 June 2015 – Sossus Dune Lodge

We wake at 6 and Earl and I watch the second half of another movie – The Journey of Charley and Hooch – or some such name – an Australian movie starring Paul Hogan.

We then join Erich and Wendy for breakfast which is really good – continental cheeses and cold meats, cereals and yogurt and eggs to order.

Our trip to Sossuvlei is interesting. We enjoy the changing scenery and arrive at Sossus Dune Lodge at 12 noon.

Earl goes into frantic mode because he can’t see the sign to the lodge. I have to calm him down to a panic before he realises that we are right there. We go through the gate, give our details and then go to the reserve reception to pay the conservation fee.

It is still another 2km to the lodge and when we arrive we see some distant huts.

Earl once again has a nervous breakdown at the thought of having to drag luggage a fair distance to the door. However, we are ushered into an undercover parking and met by an open land rover and told, “We will take you and your luggage from here.”

We are duly delivered to the lodge reception and I go ahead to book in. Outside reception a charming and cheerful Herbert greets me and asks me to wait just a few minutes. Earl and the others arrive and my stressed out hubby immediately attacks me – Why haven’t you checked in? – I have to have a few firm words with him to calm down and wait to do as he is told. He decides that to cross me further will not be in his best interests and nervously paces until Herbert ushers us into reception and brings refreshing glasses of litchi juice for each of us. We fill in the visitors book and he then eloquently explains what is on offer at Sossus Dune Lodge. He stares straight at Earl and says – Do not worry about your luggage, sir – it will be delivered to your cabin – so Earl is able to breathe again. He gives us the details of where we will be lodged, what trips we can book and what and when meals will be served. And so within the first half hour of our arrival a sunset drive, sunrise drive and air flip over the dunes is organised! Tea and coffee is free unless it’s cappuccino, complementary water is in our fridges, breakfast will be served at the sunrise drive venue and snacks will be freely available on the sunset drive too!

We have cabin 13 and 14 right in front of the waterhole and first off we find gemsbok drinking and later springbok and warthog appear.

Very comfy beds

Enormous bathroom

The waterhole is right in front of our chalet

We meet our guide, Sammy, at quarter past four and along with four British tourists climb into a really nice carriage which is glassed in so that we do not get too cold! It is warm at first and we drive with the windows down. Sammy is an excellent guide and stops to show us oryx and gives information about the bachelor herds and age of the buck we see. Because we are with him we can go to areas that self-drive cars may not. We stop at Elim dune first and find a fallen down sociable weaver nest. The birds are there too.

Community nest built by the industrious socialbe weavers.

Gemsbok (oryx) blending into the dune

At our sunset spot Sammy sets up a table with snacks and drinks. We watch beautiful sunset while sipping our sundowners.

Wendy ad Earl

It is dark on our return trip and we are most grateful for the glassed in doors.

Dinner at the lodge is a set menu with a choice of chicken or beef. We skip the soup starter and all chose the Hawaiian Chicken served with pasta. It is delicious.