Sossusvlei
Namibia & South Africa, July – August 2024
Day 21 – Jul 31: Spitzkoppe – Sossusvlei
Before we arrived at Sossusvlei we drove through Swakopmund and Walvis Bay, the 2 main cities on the west coast of Namibia. This is where the Namib desert reaches the Atlantic Ocean. It’s quite a dramatic sight to see the desert dunes just disappear in the ocean..! The desert near Walvisbay has a couple of lagoons, home to a large colony of flamingoes. So we made a stop there, to have a closer look.
Next stop was at a lonely rocky outcrop in he middle of nowhere, where we had lunch overlooking the Namib desert.
A quick stop at Solitaire and another hour to our campsite in Sesriem, gateway to the Sossusvlei. We put up camp and decided to relax, to save our energy for tomorrow’s long day in the red sand dunes of Sossusvlei and Deadvlei!
Day 22 – Aug 1: Sossusvlei
We woke up early morning, as we wanted to be a little bit in the front of the queue to enter the park when the park’s gates opened. As soon as the gates opened we drove to the parking closest to the Big Daddy dune, with 325 meters the tallest sand dune in the world. From the top you have fantastic views over the red dunes of the Namib desert, as well as the Sossusvlei and Deadvlei.
It’s not an easy climb, as the sand is incredibly soft. Particularly early morning and before the large majority of visitors make the climb the sand is so soft that with every 2 steps up you slide 1 step down into the sand. Once you’re at the top of the dune it becomes clear why this tough climb is so absolutely worth it; the views are something from another planet…!
After Deadvlei we drove first to Sossusvlei, for a relaxed late breakfast. We then drove back to our campsite, to relax. In the afternoon we drove again into the dunes, but this time we decided to hike towards Hidden Vlei, and then slowly drive back along the dunes, enjoying sunset which eventually seemed to set the dunes on fire. I’d been here before, but this never gets dull!
