Sesriem – Trouspinet travels

Sossusvlei dune — A dune on the now familiar drive down to Sossusvlei

Today my luck finally changed. When the alarm woke me at 5.30am, all was quiet outside – there was no wind. I hurried to get breakfast and then set off on the now familiar drive to Sossusvlei National Park. I drove straight to the very end, to Sossusvlei itself and found that almost all the other visitors had stopped earlier, at Dune 45 or the Dead Vlei. I had the place almost to myself and set off to climb Big Mommy dune.

view from big mommy — Looking back at Sossusvlei from the flanks of Big Mommy

It was hard going. The sand stretched up before me, perfectly bare and flat, and devoid of any sign of humans or other large animals having passed that way. The only marks it bore were faint traces left by snakes. For every three steps I made forward, I would slip back two. I finally made it to a pleasant sandy ridge, and lay down to catch my breath and peak over the top to see an endless sea of sand, stretching away into the distance.

half way up Big Mommy Dune — Resting on a ridge on the side of Big Mommy

I looked at my watch. I had been walking an hour and was less than half way up. I was not sure the view from the top of “Big Mommy” would be any better, and if I tried to find out, I would use up the entire morning on the climb. Walking after noon would be impossibly hot.

I decided to retrace my steps to the Dead Vlei car park, where a steady stream of visitors were setting off to climb “Big Daddy”.

climbing big daddy dune — The start of the popular climb of Big Daddy

I followed in their tracks and found that this climb was much easier – the earlier guests had compacted the sand, and I could use their footprints as a sort of staircase.

To reach the top took me just under an hour, and I was rewarded with an amazing 360 degree view – east along the river valley and the road, north to the Dead Vlei and “Big Mommy”, south to a range of mountains, and west across countless smaller dunes. In the far distance I fancied I could see the coast and the South Atlantic Ocean some 50km away – or maybe it was the combination of my imagination and a heat mirage.

on top of Big Daddy — On top – looking southwest

view from Big Daddy — Looking west from Big Daddy dune

I stayed a long time absorbing the view and recovering from my exertions. Then I made my descent, which was much quicker than the climb. I noticed some of the taller humans running straight down the steepest part of the dune, making great big strides with their legs. The soft sand swallowed each foot as it landed, and then slid downwards with the foot’s owner. The same shifting sand that had made going up so hard made going down fun…….and very quick. Even with my smaller teddy legs, I was at the bottom of the slop in five minutes, with my shoes full of sand and a big smile on my face.

The base of the dune gave a new perspective to the shrivelled trees of the Dead Vlei.

I traversed the barren empty space in the heat of the late morning to regain my car – hot, tired but happy. I drove back to the park entrance for a well-earned coffee and a cold drink, before making the roughly two hour drive to my next destination – a place called Duwisib, about two hours driving to the south. The road was spectacular – more red and yellow sand dunes, but this time alternating with black and brown rocky mountains. But after my early start and exertions on Big Daddy and Big Mommy I was too tired to stop to take many photos. More about Duwisib in my next post.

On the road south from Sossusvlei to Duwisib

Next Post: Duwisib and its desert horses

Previous Post: Waiting for the Wind to Drop, Sossusvlei

dune 45 at Sossusvlei — Dune 45 at Sossusvlei

Today I made the long drive from Swakopmund on the coast to the centre of Namibia, to a place called Sesriem, near Sossusvlei, where Namibia’s most famous sand dunes are located. At Swakopmund several people told the road was in bad condition and the drive very boring. At first, they seemed to be right, as I crossed an almost featureless desert while bouncing up and down as I drove over a badly corrugated section of track.

But later the road improved, and the scenery became interesting.

After a few hours I reached a tiny settlement, aptly named Solitaire. It sat at the main road junction in its region and had all the essentials for travellers in Namibia – a petrol station, car repair workshop and a very good café with bakery. I enjoyed an excellent cappuccino as a stream of other drivers came and went.

The essential stop of Solitaire, with its collection of rusting vintage cars

I also made friends with this little chap.

This ground squirrel had worked out that the cafe was a good place to get fed by visitors

From Solitaire it was a short drive to my accommodation – yet another bush camp, located on a flat desert plain, about forty minutes drive from the entrance to the Sossusvlei national park. I enjoyed a glass of wine from their lounge as I watched the moon rise over the distant mountains.

Most visitors travel to the sand dunes either early in the morning or late in the afternoon, when it is cooler and when the light is better for photography. My early morning visit involved getting up at 5.30am in order to get to the dunes area for 7.30am. I awoke to sound of a strong wind, which worried me – wind and sand are not a good combination. I did not manage to shower, since the hot water was provided by solar power, and the sun had not yet risen. As I had breakfast, the sky changed colour, and it became quite light, even before the sun appeared.

The light changing in the desert before sunrise

I drove off to the park entrance, which was at the start of the long valley of a now-dry river lined on both sides with sand dunes. The river’s course was marked by dead and living trees – the latter surviving from water that continued to pass deep underground. There was a good asphalt road that followed the valley, with great views of the dunes on either side – at least, when the ferocious wind occasionally stopped, and the dust settled.

One of the best known is called Dune 45 and had already many people trying to climb it.

I continued right to the end of the road, where there was a parking area in a depression (or “vlei”) at the base of very largest dunes. I was greeted with an almost apocalyptic scene. Visitors struggled to open their car doors against the force of the wind, and then staggered around, holding onto their hats and bowing their heads to hide their faces from the stinging sand. I realised that visiting this part of the park was pointless and drove back to Dune 45, where conditions seemed to be better.

I parked at the base of the dune and struggled up the bright red sandy slope. My worries about not showering were soon forgotten as the wind sandblasted my fur, no doubt removing any possible dirt and a few layers of skin. It was a hard climb – for every little step forward I would slip backwards half a step in the sand.

Half-way up, I dropped the lens cap of my camera and it rolled on its side all the way down – I could not have done such a perfect trajectory if I had tried. I had to hurry down the slope to collect it before it got buried by sand and lost forever. Then I recommenced the long struggle up….

view from top of Dune 45 Sossusvlei — The view from the top of Dune 45, Sossusvlei

When I finally managed to struggle to the top, my efforts were well worth it. There were fine views across the field of dunes and the opportunity to take some great selfies.

Proud of my achievement I headed back to the park gate to the small village of Sesriem and enjoyed a much needed coffee. I headed back to my bush camp to catch up on some lost sleep and to enjoy the pool before dinner. I had been surprised that my tour agent had booked me three nights near Sossusvlei, but now I was very glad – I had several more chances to see the largest dunes, at the end of the valley, under more favourable conditions. And my brief morning visited supported my guidebook’s assertion that the area was one of Africa’s most spectacular attractions.

Next Post: Sossusvlei – Sesriem Canyon and the Dead Vlei

Previous Post: Swakopmund and Sandwich Harbour

Tag: Sesriem

Sossusvlei – Meet Big Daddy and Big Mommy

From Swakopmund to Sossusvlei and Dune 45