July 20th, 2016

Day 111: Sossusvlei

We ordered a packed breakfast before going to bed the night before, as we knew we would need an early start if we wanted to get to the Sossusvlei sand desert in time for sunrise. We found out that our lodge actually runs their own tour to Sossusvlei, which left at 5:30AM, so we decided to leave at 5AM just to make sure we beat the crowd. While we aren’t supposed to drive at night in Africa, we knew this would be the one day we would have to break the rules, as we were staying an hour away from the park gates. Luckily we had the road pretty much to ourselves (except for one jackal crossing the road), and arrived to claim the #5 slot in line for admission.

Even though the park didn’t open until 6:30AM, one of the park managers started walking down the line of waiting cars and started registering everyone ahead of time, so that we could all proceed through the gates the second they opened – smart! The park also allows you to pay the entrance fee on exit, rather than entrance, so they you have more time to admire the dunes at sunrise. Smart, smart, smart!

We are the fifth car in line for the park’s 6AM entrance, so we eat our packed breakfast while we wait for the gates to open

A beautiful full moon is setting as we enter the park

Just as the moons sets, the sun rises behind us – we see several hot air balloons taking flight in the distance

Driving quickly through the park on a tarred road (thankfully!) in order to reach Big Daddy before the tour buses arrive

While most of the cars and tour buses stopped at Dune 45, we sped past – our destination 60KM down the road was the Big Daddy – the highest dune in the Namib Sand Desert, next to the Dead Vlei – the most photographed location in Namibia. The sun was rising fast, and we were warned by Russell from Green Bushpig Safaris that we had to leave by 11AM, as the sand would be too hot to walk on.

When we reached the end of the tarred road, we decided to park our CRV in the parking lot provided for 2×4 cars. We might have been able to make the last 7KM through the sand, but we didn’t want to risk it. The park shuttle was only USD $15 (although the guy at the desk tried to skim some off the top, first giving us the incorrect price, then giving us incorrect change), and we decided the peace of mind was worth it. Good thing too – on the shuttle ride back we saw an abandoned 4×4 Britz camper truck with all four wheels half buried in the sand!

The last 7KM to the big dunes is on a 4×4 sandy road

We decided not to risk getting stuck in the sand in our AWD, and took the park shuttle instead

Big Daddy was AMAZING. We have about 250+ pictures of our climb, as every single angle was so beautiful, we couldn’t stop snapping pics. Since we reached the dune so early, we decided we would climb to the peak, even though Russell said it would take us 2hrs. We climbed the ridge to the first peak, and decided to take a short cut by climbing up the face of the dune. The walk was easy up until the last 50m, when we almost got buried in the sand, but we made it!

Starting the ascent up Big Daddy

Big Daddy and Dead Vlei

Climbing up Big Daddy

The varying landscape of the Big Daddy sand dune

Taking the “short cut” up the face of Big Daddy – Lindsay’s boots have been swallowed by the dune!

View of the Dead Vlei pan from the face of Big Daddy

Reaching the summit of Big Daddy, together!

Views from the summit of Big Daddy

What goes up, must come down – and the fastest way for us to get down from Big Daddy and onto the Dead Vlei was to run down the face of the dune! Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!

Dead Vlei was surreal – like walking inside a Salvador Dali painting. This place is a photographer’s dream – it’s impossible to take a bad picture here. The pan used to be an oasis full of acacia trees, but when the river changed course, it dried up to a cracked, white wasteland and the trees all died. Igor is obsessed with dead trees and has been taking pictures of them throughout our trip – after an hour Lindsay had to forcibly drag him away so we could visit the rest of the park.

Running down the face of Big Daddy

The Dead Vlei pan

The lifeless acacia trees in the distance – this is feeding Igor’s obsession with dead trees!

The trees of Dead Vlei

Dead Vlei – like a Salvador Dali painting come to life!

We see a new group of tourists heading up the dune ridge as we are leaving – we feel like we’ve conquered the desert!

When we caught the return shuttle, we did a quick drive-by the eponymous Sossusvlei, where the trees are still alive. Pretty, but unimpressive after Big Daddy & Dead Vlei, so we decided not to climb it. We returned to pick up our car in the parking lot which was now jam-packed with overlander buses! Feeling very pleased with our decision to self-drive, we headed back to the beginning of the park where we paid our entrance fee and then took a 1hr detour to visit the Sesriem Canyon.

The actual “Sossusvlei” – not nearly as stunning as Dead Vlei

When we got back to the parking lot, it was packed with overlander buses – including Acacia Africa, one of the companies we nearly booked with before decided on a self-drive!

We drove by Dune 45 on the way out of the park – most tour companies stop here first as it is the first climbable dune when you enter. But after Big Daddy, this one just looks puny

“Fairy circles” – inexplicable barren circles of sand surrounded by grasses – in the Namib Sand Desert, a UNESCO World Heritage Site

We took a quick detour right before we exited the park to check out the Sesreim Canyon

It may be tiny compared to the Grand Canyon and even Namibia’s Fisher’s Canyon (the second largest canyon in the world, which we had to skip due to time) – but unlike Australia’s King’s Canyon, this is a *proper* canyon

Climbing the walls of the Sesriem Canyon

Once we left the park, we filled up on gas and started backtracking through Namib-Naukluft and Solitaire on the road towards the coast to Welvis Bay. When we passed through Solitaire and hour and a half outside the park, we still had a near-full tank, so we decided to press on instead of refueling.

More Springbok and Gemsbroke as we backtrack through the Namib-Naukluft region, on our way back north

Since we just refueled at Sesriem, we blow past Solitaire and continue north

More wildlife one the road! Wild ostrich and our first herd of zebra!

After 300KM of corrugated roads and a mountain pass, we finally reach the “driveway” to the Rooiklip Farm…which is another 18KM down a 4×4-only road. We’re now down to a half tank of gas, and getting a little nervous about our drive tomorrow…

The Gamsberg Nature Reserve – the “Land of 100 Hills”

A small Steenbok antelope and Helmeted Guinea Fowl

We reached the Rooiklip Farm just before sunset, and checked in. As this was considered their low season, we were the only guests for the night, so we had a family suite all to ourselves! We relaxed by the pool with the farmer’s 8 dogs each vying for a seat on our laps until dinnertime. We sat down to dinner with the family and their two interns for a home cooked meal of…zebra. OK, we didn’t know people ate zebra – it seems wrong, like eating a horse! But hey, TIA – “This Is Africa.” (Lindsay thought it tasted like a tough version of pork, but Igor liked it.)