The iconic image of a glowing red sand dune shaped by the winds is one of the classic shots of Namibia, and it is probably what drew me towards this country, so I couldn't wait to get to our next stop: Sossusvlei. Moving on from our few days of adventure and comfort in Swakopmund, we crossed back into the sunny desert and away from the misty coast, again driving past hours of flat sand and gravel plains with very little vegetation to speak of. Despite the constant sun, the sky was still a bit grey due to all the sand and dust in the air. Without much change in landscape, we entered into Namib-Naukluft National Park, the huge reserve that encompasses the dune fields, a few canyons and sprawling areas of protected desert. As most of us were being lulled to sleep by the bumps and rattles of the fairly decent dirt road, I looked out the window to see a few huge rock walls growing up beside us as our flat road ended, and the road began a descent into a huge canyon. Kuiseb Canyon almost came out of nowhere as its walls are about the same level as the surrounding terrain, with the road dropping down and following the course of the often-dry riverbed weaving through the middle. A few lines of trees stood along the banks of where the river sometimes flows, though we only saw a few spots with water. The canyon itself is fairly impressive, particularly to geologists, as the layers upon layers that make up the area are easily seen in horizontal and vertical stacks, depending on the uplift of the particular area. In fact, two German geologists hid out in the canyon for a few years during World War II, not wanting to be brought into the war. One of them, Henno Martin, wrote a book about the experience called The Sheltering Desert. I can't imagine living in such a harsh landscape with so little to eat or drink, especially when the heat of the summer would be in full effect.
We made a quick lunch stop in another dry riverbed, meaning that we found shade under one of the few trees in the area, and soon after we passed the Tropic of Capricorn, moving from the warm tropics down into the cold winter/spring of Southern Africa, but it actually didn't feel any different. Not long after this stop, we came to an aptly named town called Solitaire, a tiny outpost in the middle of the desert, miles and miles away from anything else. The place has become famous as a snack stop in Central Namibia, partially thanks to being written about in Ewan Macgregor's book, Long Way Down, where he and his friend rode down the length of Africa. We pulled up to the small gas station and cafe, flanked by a few old car and truck frames slowing rusting away next to clumps of cactus, though there were a few other tourists around, all of us heading into the cafe for the attraction of the area, the apple strudel. This dessert is said to be the best in the country or even the region, and the serving was huge, though most of us thought it was a little dry, particularly for the desert, and unimpressive. Not long afterwards, we arrived at our campsite on the edge of the massive dunes of Sossusvlei, though we were still 45-60 minutes away from the key attractions of the park, which we'd see the next morning. For the night, we walked around the isolated area, admiring the low mountain ranges encircling the horizon and watching the sun set over the hills from the vantage point of a tiny sand dune standing above the plain. Simon, Gursheen, Slavek and I then started walking back before being surprised by a slithering snake passing right in front of us in the sand. Gursheen has a snake phobia, so she obviously wasn't happy and screamed a bit, though the snake didn't care to hang around and investigate us. Thinking we were probably past the worst of it, we continued on, and another snake scurried along ahead of us, into the small shrubs around the outskirts of the large campsite. Asking around, we found that the first brown and yellow snake was probably some sort of coral snake, and the second medium sized one, pure black in color, was almost definitely a young spitting cobra, so we were happy that the snakes didn't take much interest in us.
We woke up around 4:30 or 5 the next morning, wearily piling into the truck and heading up to the park gates, needing to get there the moment they opened the gates. Once open, our truck, along with three or four others sped along the well-maintained dirt road in the darkness, making our way to the centerpiece of the park, Dune 45. As a coincidence, this dune is 45 kilometers from the entrance gate, and many people mistakenly think this is where the name comes from, but the huge dunes lining the road on each side were simply numbered from about 1 to 60, and this just happened to be the 45th one. On the way there, we were passed by a crazy driver from one of the other groups, ignoring the risk of wildlife along the road, though we all arrived nearly the same time at a small parking lot on the edge of the dune. Though there are many dunes around, Dune 45 is the most popular for its proximity to the road, massive size and relative ease of climbing (and I don't think you're actually allowed to climb most of the others). So we staggered out of the truck and started making our way up the ridge line of the dune, beginning with a fairly flat slope but soon raising up to a steep climb on the sand. Being a desert, the morning was quite cold, many of us bundled up in hats, jackets and gloves, though we knew that would soon change once the heat of the day would set in. As we got higher and higher, the first hints of morning light began to illuminate the area, revealing a massive panorama of dunes in all directions, not to mention the steep sand walls sliding off to either side of us on the ridge. Some people opted to only go up most of the way either due to fatigue or wanting to get back down faster, but we continued on, making our way to the top, with probably about 40 or 50 of us all sitting somewhere along the ridge, taking in the awesome views and waiting for the sun to rise up over the hills. Finally, the rays of light and the yellow-orange sun began to appear directly across from us, rising majestically above this natural wonderland, lighting up the red sand of the area, much more brilliant than many of the yellow/gold dunes that you often see. Dune 45 is about 130 meters high (about 420 feet), so we had some great views over the surrounding area. Despite not having the moment to myself, this was still one of those moments that I had built up in my mind as a must-see sort of thing, and I was not disappointed.
After admiring the views a little longer, I decided to take off my shoes and head down the side of the dune, following a secondary ridge that made it just a little less steep and also wanting to not wait in line as everyone descended down the original path. The first few steps off the side were steep, though my feet sunk into the rust colored sand and felt fairly stable, so I soon began to run down the side of the huge sand dune, delighting in having this part of the place to myself, as well as taking in the views of the changing colors of the early morning in the valley. About five or ten minutes later, I was down at the bottom, looking up and realizing how high we had actually been, as it was way more apparent when looking from the steep side as opposed to the front with the gradual incline. I circled around the dune, watching it change shades of orange and red before getting back to the front of the dune for a few pictures of it with just one or two dry and/or dead trees standing in a few spots around the front of the dune. Waiting for us below were our driver, cook and guide, having made us a nice breakfast to enjoy in front of this magical place. I had a quick meal and explored the area for a little while longer, almost not believing that I was actually at the foot of this dune field that had been in my mind for so long. Eventually, we had to move on, trying to take advantage of the cooler morning air and moving further into the park, to a spot called Deadvlei.
(A quick stop through the dry, stacked rocks of Kuiseb Canyon. Two Germans actually hid out in this canyon for a few years to avoid becoming a part of World War II. I, on the other hand, am fairly conspicuous in this picture.)
(A small trail running through the desolate canyon. Driving from the coast and Swakopmund through flat, gravel plains, we found ourselves descending into the huge canyon.)
(Crossing South over the Tropic of Capricorn, heading into the temperate, frigid climates outside of the tropics. As you can see, I was enthralled to be crossing over an invisible geographic demarcation.)
(The apple strudel in a tiny, isolated town appropriately named Solitaire. This dessert is said to be legendary and the best in Southern Africa, but I wasn't really all that impressed. It wasn't bad, but it was pretty dry, especially after travelling for hours through the desert.)
(Solitaire mostly just consists of a gas station, cafe and shop alongside a few farms and a whole lot of nothing. Just outside the cafe are some of these remnants of cars, fuel pumps and some cacti.)
(These cars and the strudel are pretty much the extent of what you'll see in Solitaire. The place gained some popularity as it was mentioned in actor Ewan McGregor's book when he and his buddy rode their motorcycles down across the entire continent.)
(We arrived at Namib-Naukluft Park just before sundown, giving us a bit of time to set up our tents and go for a walk in the sandy plains to enjoy the sunset. Coming back, we crossed paths with two snakes at very close range, the second of which being a spitting cobra, though both of the snakes continued slithering on their way without paying much attention to us.)
(As with many of the groups staying just outside the park, we awoke early and sped into the park the minute the gates opened, allowing us an early morning hike up to the top of majestic Dune 45 for a view of the sunrise over the rows of sand dunes.)
(Though we weren't alone, it was still an amazing sight to watch the sun light up the valley surrounded by lines of massive red sand dunes in every direction. The hike up to the top of the dune, over 400 feet tall, was a little difficult, but it wasn't horrible, as the heat of the morning hadn't set in. On the way down, I opted for a more direct route.)
(Instead of dodging tourists on the way back down the spine of the wind-sculpted dune, I decided to just go off the path and head straight down one of the steep sides. Running down the dune barefoot, my legs sunk in calf-deep with each step in the soft sand, still cool from the previous night. In addition to being a great way to get down, this saved a lot of time and allowed me to get around to the front of the dune for a few more pictures before the rows of tourists made their way down. This picture is courtesy of Slav.)
(Around the side of Dune 45, named for being the 45th of the numbered dunes in the park, coincidentally 45 kms from the entrance to the park. On the ridge, you can see the tiny specks that are a few people climbing down the sand. In the foreground, the gravel desert typifies much of the area.)
(A few petrified trees at the base of the dune gave us a sneak peak of what we'd soon see in Deadvlei later that morning.)
(The magical morning light added to the wonder of this place filled with unreal shades of yellow, orange and red.)
(The view of the 'front' of Dune 45 from the parking area. After returning from our climb, our driver, cook and guide were nice enough to have a big breakfast waiting for us, giving us a few more minutes to stare at the beautiful landscape before heading further into the park for a short trek to Deadvlei.)
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