The Namib

February 1^st, 2002

Still before sunrise we get started this morning after a quick breakfast. We leave the lodge behind and get back to the gravel road within half an hour. We drive on to Sesriem, where we pay the park entrance fee. As we pass the gate the sun rises in our back and lightens up a wonderful landscape.

Beside the paved road graze Springboks and Oryx. As we take a look towards the desert we can already make out the closest of the red giant dunes, that built up up to 300 m above the ground.

It's another 70 km to Sossusvlei, which is the end of the road. On our way there the sand mountains look amazing, especially in the early morning's light. A nature spectacle of colors is what we experience here. Every dune seems to shine in its own color nuance. We leave our car on the parking lot, from where only 4-wheel drives are allowed to go on. We decide to walk the last 5 km into the dunes as it is still early morning and the temperature is as low as 20 °C.

Along the  way we there is always something to discover as for example the strong contrast between the sand and the vegetation.

It is a surprisingly lively landscape, flora and fauna, that exists in these extraordinary conditions. In no time 3 hours have passed and the heat of the noon makes us sweat. We hitchhike back to the car and have a picnic before we head back.

In the early afternoon, just before the heat rises too high, we leave the Namib and after a gas stop head for the Naukluft mountains, where we plan to spend several days....