The Namibian Dunes – Part 1 - Sunrise

We’re out of sequence, but the dunes are top of mind.

Liz has booked Sossus Dune Lodge inside the Seriem park.  It’s exotic – very functional, good food, friendly staff and it’s 42C – making the pool a delight…everything one would expect from a Liz selection.  More about the lodge later and the delights about a world where the hot and cold water taps don’t matter.

 

Up at 4am the next day.  Dawn itself is just getting out of bed and the last star has yet to turn in.  Randy, our guide, picks us up and we’re off through the desert.  Saw an oryx staggering home from a late night oryx bar – we do love oryx!

So here we are – Liz and Dick – straddling the crest of a red sand dune, 120 feet in the air, waiting for the sun to come up

 

Randy is meanwhile employing full body choreography to explain the evolution of these pink sand moving mountains.  It is a perfect travel moment

The sun erupts over the horizon and the world changes

As the sun ascends, the dunes perform a chromatic ballet…purples becomes pinks, grey turns golden

For some strange reason we have become fascinated with dunes over the years.  A perfect barchan dune is a particular favourite

All around us the intense blue sky and the wedges of luminate and dark sand compose momentary abstract paintings

One starts feeling artsy.  Everything is lovely.  The inevitable photos of sand ripples start to appear

   

Against the pink sand, in the early morning light, even our footprints look good

But then a lizard’s paw marks…and their actual owner…jolt us from reverie to reptilian

       

A brief backtrack.  The advantage of Sossus Dune Lodge is that we’re the only lodge inside the park the lodge is very near the park gates), which means we can be on the furthest dunes prior to sunrise, and avoid the crowds. (note from Liz – the campers inside the park can leave the gate about 5:30am and the gates open to other lodges at about 6:15am)

Randy drove us out in darkness (we left the lodge at 4:30am) … yes there were oryx wandering home … and we climbed the flank of the “Big Daddy” dune in grey dawn, with Deadvlei behind us.

As you’ll note in the shot below (taken as we left hours later) there are a lot more people later in the day.  The 3 figures on the dune ridge are where we watched the sun come up

Back to real time! As the sun rose we moved down from the apex of the dune to Deadvlei – a dead lake.  Randy has some magical way of walking on th3e sand without sinking in – Dickie staggers and Liz is becoming a sand ballerina

  

Liz’s technique does have one drawback in that it requires regular dumping of sand ballast..but then, she never tips over

The Vlei is a dead lake bed, strangled by the advancing dunes.  From a distance it appears innoculously boring (a bunch of dead trees).  Up close it is photogenic comparable to the Grand Canyon at sunset

See part 2 for LOTS of photos of Deadvlei!

Comments

[Lee Chase]

Absolutely stunning! I have no other words for your photos.
I've enjoyed seeing them SO much, and would love to go there.

[April]

I'll come with you.