I finally got to sleep in this morning – up at only 6:30! A lot of early mornings on this trip – certainly not the trip to take if you want to catch up on your sleep. We left Hotel Helmeringhausen and drove on gravel roads to Namib Naukluft Park, driving through a private reserve on the way. There we saw springbok and an oryx along the side of the road.
We arrived at the the Sossus Dune Lodge, which will be our base for the next 3 days. After lunch, it was into a 4×4 open-top game vehicle for an 1.5 hour drive to Deadvlei. Most of the drive is on tar roads, with the exception of the last 5 kms that was definitely 4×4 country – driving in loose sand between the dunes. Then it’s a 1 km hike from the vehicle over the dunes to Deadvlei. We arrived just in time to catch the last hour of light on the dead trees.
After sunset, we had a sundowner (drinks and snacks) on a dune, before heading back to the vehicle. It was a cold drive back with the wind in your ears – I was glad I brought my toque! Back at the lodge, dinner was Namibian Eland, which was excellent.
