Red Dunes

We are now much further into the Namib Desert just outside Sossusvlei. This area is famous for the huge red sand dunes, rising up to over 300 metres high in places. It was a 5am coffee call so we could be at the gates to the National Park to join the long queue when they opened at 6.15. It is then a 60km drive down a tarred road through the large dune fields to try to get to the end of the normal road as early as possible after sunrise to see the fantastic colours and shapes change as the sun gets higher. To get further on than the end of the road you either need a 4x4 or get the shuttle to the biggest dunes or as we did, walk. The dunes are massive rising bright read with curves and lines formed by the shadows from the sun. It is also getting hotter so we started a climb on the soft sand, very hard going but the formations were impressive.

On the long drive from Swakopmund, the roads were just gravel so speed was slow. We passed through two passes on very twisty roads before getting to the “One Horse Desert Town” aptly named Solitaire. Famous the world over for its Apple Pie, or so we were told so we had to stop and try. The town is just a filling station, bakery and small lodge but is very quirky. The Lodge has a lot of old cars lining the route in, stuffed with cactus and other plants growing from them. Fuel first the bakery for apple pie which was delicious especially welcome in the desert.

Not a lot of large animals around, a few ostrich, springbok and oryx as well as the odd Jackal. On the lookout for meerkats but not seen any yet.

Now moved on once again to a place in the mountains called Zebra River Lodge, a great place in the middle of nowhere. Time to walk and relax so we may be able to update things again before going to the far south of Namibia. Milage to date just over 3500kms