South Africa and Namibia: September 2018: Day 6: Namib Desert

South Africa and Namibia: September 2018

Day 6: Namib Desert

Some of the 18 vehicles ahead of us on the way into the heart of Namib-Naukluft National Park.

Early morning hikers up Dune 45.

Hoping that's not a sandstorm blowing in...

Hiking up the most famous sand dune in the park, Big Daddy.

Bright sun and rolling dunes in the Namib.

The top of Big Daddy.

770 feet of elevation (235 meters) makes for a great view.

Sand dunes as far as the eye can see.

Our tour guide hamming it up for his social media.

The clay pan known as Dead Vlei lies below Big Daddy.

The guides are pros at hiking up and down.

People are so small they look like ants.

The clay pan of Dead Vlei.

And the many trees.

This bold pied crow landed right on top of the truck!

The top of Dune 45.

Sam is the tiny stick heading down the side of Dune 45.

Sesriem Canyon.

Lunch buffet at Sossusvlei Lodge.

Getting ready for takeoff.

Sesriem Canyon is much more dramatic when viewed from the air.

Sam clicking away with his X1D.

Lots of star-type sand dunes, with Dune 45 in the foreground.

Dune 45 looks much more dramatic from the air.

Sand dunes everywhere.

Devils Fork.

The big dish that is part of Dune 45 is invisible from the ground.

The view from the air is spectacular.

Dune 45.

Deeper into the dunes, more vegetation on the ground.

Desert vegetation.

You can see the pattern of the dunes changing in the distance.

Shifting from sand dunes to fairy circles.

Close up of the fairy circles.

Oryx are impressive runners.

Private pools at the lodge, by the airport.

The highlight of the trip-- the Namib desert. The tallest sand dune inside Namib-Naukluft National Park, Big Daddy, was an unexpectedly strenuous hike. Having experienced sand dunes before, this was by far the most difficult one I've done... Sam, trailing behind, said for every 100cm up, I slid 80cm back. Our guide, Notam (sp?), clearly had better technique than all the foreign tourists, as he kicked our butts up.

The view was worthwhile, with red sand, dry lakes, and blue skies for miles. Even the Atlantic Ocean is just barely visible to the west! The view a few miles back up the road, at the much smaller Dune 45, wasn't nearly as good-- but it was a much more accessible hike. The tree-littered clay pan/dry lake adjacent to Big Daddy, Dead Vlei, was also kind of cool.

And at least coming down the dunes was easy-- a combination slide/walk/slog down the slope!

Wrapped up the Namib desert with a 45 minute helicopter ride. Things look very different from the air-- Devil's Fork and Sesriem Canyon are both best appreciated this way. Not to mention the miles and miles of dunes reveal their texture and shapes very differently when you're 3,000 feet up. Definitely a great way to cap off the trip to Namibia!

Plus an unexpected surprise; the helicopter pilot was the former commander of Namibia's attack helicopter squadron. He looked bored as hell flying Robinson R44's instead of Mi-25 Hind's, but his skill piloting helicopters was evident on final approach to Sossusvlei airport!