Deadvlei is a surreal landscape of petrified trees and a flat white salt pan, surrounded by brilliant red sand dunes, probably the second most common image of Namibia (behind only the dunes of Sossusvlei). After our incredible morning watching the sun rise from the high perch of Dune 45, we headed further into Namib-Naukluft Park, rolling along the long flat road, passing through a sort of valley, surrounded on both sides by row after row of undulating dunes. Some are up to 200 meters high (660 feet), others a little flatter and wider, all with the picturesque snaking ridge lines running up the front of the mass of sand, creating one half colored in orange by the morning sunlight and the other half still a dark shadow. At the end of this incredibly scenic road lined with dunes numbered on one side from about 1 to 30 and then running back along the road from around 31 to 60, we came to another small parking lot where we met Boesman (the Afrikaans name for Bushman), our guide for the desert walk into Deadvlei. The shoeless white man in his late 30s or early 40s, clad in khaki shorts and shirt, had come highly recommended by our tour guide and driver who had spoken quite well of him. We piled in the back of his open pickup truck for a short drive down the sandy 4WD road, bumping up and down for a few minutes as we continued to pass a few more scenic dunes on each side with random bits of shrub/tumbleweed and even a few small trees here and there.
Coming to a stop, with his strong Namibian/Afrikaaner accent, he beckoned us out of the truck and began to pour out his incredible knowledge of the area. He explained the vegetation, the history, the people, the animals; it seemed there was nothing he didn't know about the area. He showed how the dunes were shaped in the summer by the winds coming from the desert towards the coast and in the winter by the winds coming from the coast to the desert, explaining that those in touch with nature could actually tell directions by the way the curves on the dunes were facing at a certain point during the year (and this is also why this dune field is fairly stagnant, not moving towards or away from the coast). In fact, these dunes come from the sands of the Kalahari, the oldest desert in the world, and they get the red color from little bits of iron in the sand that actually rust. He also mentioned that he'd be walking quickly ahead of us and not to worry about keeping up, as he'd stop along the way to point things out. After his first few steps in the hot sand, we could see that he wasn't kidding, speeding way ahead of us after every stop, showing a plant that opens with a drop of water after laying dormant for long periods of time and telling us so much information about the recent animals having passed through the area based on just a few prints in the sand. With his incredible knowledge gained from his father and growing up in the area, he explained more and more about the desert, and we soon tracked a few bugs up and down one of the small edges of the dune, finding many different tracks left by bugs, spiders, etc.
We then arrived at the edge of Deadvlei, the terminus of our walk, and Boesman explained a little about the area. Vlei simply means 'pan' (as in salt pan), and it got the "Dead" part of its name as it has been cut off from any water by the surrounding closed area of dunes for hundreds of years, leaving scattered, brittle, petrified trees standing where water once reached them between six and nine hundred years ago. As we walked up the small dune closing off Deadvlei from the rest of the area, we looked over the two circular white patches of hard dirt among the soaring red dunes behind it, dotted with a few small black trees, remnants from long, long ago. Walking down the hill into the vlei, the area did take on the other-wordly feel for which it's known, certainly an incredibly unique place. The white ground was caked and cracked, though fairly smooth to my bare feet, and though it looks small in comparison to the huge dunes behind it, walking among the landscape and dead trees gave us a feel for the size, a kilometer or two from end to end. The strong reds, whites and blacks of the area, combined with the isolation, harshness and cloudless blue sky made for some great photos, though they couldn't even capture the odd, yet interesting feel of the place.
We walked around the amazing area for about 30 minutes before heading back to meet up with Boesman and walk back to the truck, learning more and more about the desert through his great stories. He even found us a gecko in the sand, explaining how it would burrow into the sand if it felt the presence of a bird of prey overhead, so he threw his hat perfectly over the lizard, and we watched as it disappeared into the sand below, but that didn't last long as Boesman sprinted up the side of the dune, jumped down and dug it out within a few seconds. Soon after, he found a trap door spider buried in the sand, demonstrating how to open its door and enticing the spider to come up and look for potential food and shutting its door back again, all in less than a second. The most amazing thing about all of this was that despite doing a few tours a week, probably for years and years, Boesman was still incredibly interesting and enthusiastic to share his environment with each of us. To finish off the tour, he enthralled us with a few traditional stories from the San people/Bushmen of the area, with most of us hanging on his every word, telling a classic tale of a hunter listening to his wife and forgetting the words of his father/ancestors, ending up killing a pregnant animal, which is something that would never be done by a true man of the wild. He also told us more about the San people that originally inhabited the area, adapting perfectly to the desert. Their short stature and yellow skin allowed them to hunt effectively in the desert, and strange adaptations, like being able to eat 10 kilograms of meat in one sitting to store in their bodies until the next meal, made them well-suited for that sort of life. So distinct, they were viewed as a different race of humans, allowed to be hunted until the early 20th century, and there are very few of the traditional people left, as some have been killed off or chased away, others intermixing into the rest of the society and losing their evolutionary advantages. As some of the San people were killed when coming near the dunes of Sossusvlei by other cultures, the area was given the name, Tsossus, meaning the Place Where People Disappear in the Sand.
After taking in the incredible views of Deadvlei and learning from Boesman, we headed back to the camp to relax in the shade and get out of the hot afternoon sun. Later, we headed in the opposite direction, driving over to the edge of Sesriem Canyon, a 30 meter deep canyon that stretches for a few kilometers just on the outside of the park. In one direction, the canyon walls of composite rock, pebbles and hardened sand narrowed to the width of just about 10 yards, with a few tiny pools of standing water before closing off with a few impassible, pock-marked walls. Moving back in the other direction, the canyon opened up, widening out into a dry riverbed with yellow grasses and medium sized boulders strewn about. Simon and I walked through the area under the late afternoon sun, heading back up the rocky incline on the other side of the canyon as the setting sun slightly changed the color of the area, falling behind the horizon just as we got back to the truck and headed back to the camp for the night. Back at camp, a few dust storms had passed through, filling our tents with little bits of sand through any possible opening and flipping over Simon's unpegged tent and depositing loads and loads of sand into it.
Both Deadvlei and Sossusvlei had very high expectations in my mind, and both of these beautiful spots lived up to their billing as some of the most impressive areas in Namibia and some of the best desert landscapes in the world. Unfortunately, we had to keep moving, leaving the next morning back towards the Southern part of Namibia and eventually making our way to Fish River Canyon.
(A beautifully sculpted dune along the road in Namib-Naukluft park, on the way to Deadvlei. The lines and shadows were wonderful in the early morning light.)
(Though you are only allowed to climb on a few of them, such as Dune 45, the lines of dunes on each side of the road offer spectacular views along the way.)
(Nearing the end of the road, we transferred from our large group truck to the back of our guide's small truck to traverse the last few kilometers of the sandy road that sees more than a few inexperienced drivers get stuck.)
(Our guide, Boesman - Afrikaans for Bushman, let us out of the truck on onto a few of the smaller dunes, offering insight and stories about this seemingly lifeless landscape. Having lived in the desolate area, just like his father, he captivated us with his knowledge of every aspect of the area, along with a few great stories about the history of the place and the native inhabitants.)
(The beautifully oxidized sand reveals wind ripples from the strong gusts that alternately come on from the cold ocean or away from the desert, depending on the season. Boesman actually taught us that you could find your way only using the directions given to you based on the curvature of the sands, though I think he might be the only way brave enough to try something like that. Despite the strong winds that occasionally flare up, the dunes are essentially stagnant, as they move in alternating directions during the year.)
(Ahead of us, as usual, was Boesman. He initially warned us not to try to keep up, as he'd teach us a quick lesson and then speed-walk away, chasing after his next set of bug tracks or hidden foliage. Despite the heat of the sand, he prefers to go barefoot, possibly just to add to his mystique.)
(As he noted, the sand can tell many stories of the animals that live there. Here on the side of the dune, he showed us a few separate tracks of different kinds of bugs or spiders. Later on, he also caught a desert gecko for us, with a deft throw of his hat to simulate a bird passing overhead and sprinting up the dune to catch the burrowing lizard in its tracks.)
(Again, speeding ahead of us to his next stop. Despite leading nature tours many, many times throughout the year, it was obvious that he loves this area, and that enthusiasm made him one of the best, most captivating guides that I've ever had.)
(After cresting the hill of one of the smaller dunes, we had our first view of Deadvlei, the white salt pan that you see behind me. Not to be confused with the ridiculously white feet seen at the bottom of my legs. No, I'm not wearing socks.)
(Surrounded by massive sand dunes and eventually cut off from its water supply, the salt pan was closed off, and the few trees of the former watershed petrified 600-900 years ago, leaving an eerie, other-worldly landscape in its wake. This area is known as Deadvlei, simply meaning dead (salt) pan. They kept telling us that the movie "The Cell" with Jennifer Lopez was filmed her a few years ago, but apparently no one ever saw that movie because it didn't really mean anything to any of us.)
(Distances can be deceiving in this unique area, and the diameter of the large pan actually reaches something like 3 kilometers. We had about an hour to roam around the amazing landscape, and I was in awe of every second of it.)
(Another quick view of Dune 45 on the way out of the park. In the midday heat, only a couple of cars remain in the gravel parking lot that can get fairly full for the morning trek to see the sun rise over the dunes.)
(In the late afternoon, after a short break back at the campsite to get out of the midday sun, we headed over to nearby Sesriem Canyon, about 100 feet tall at its highest point. Narrowing into nothingness at one point, it was an interesting little hike.)
(In the other end, the canyon eventually just flows out into a large riverbed, allowing us to climb around and return along the top rim of the canyon, just in time to see the sun set on our incredible day among the amazing deserts of Namibia.)
(Another view down from the rim of Sesriem Canyon, walls made mostly of a composite of large pebbles and cementlike sandstone.)
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