We got up at the crack of dawn the next day to get out to Sossusvlei but not as early as some evidently. It is recommended that one visit the dunes as the sun is coming up. People were parked at the entrance gate waiting when I got up at 5:45 a.m. to take my shower. Typically, when and if anyone knows anything about Namibia, they are familiar with the photographs of the brick-red dunes cresting in the azure colored sky. As the sun progresses through the day, the colors apparently change and one can get an entirely different impression in the morning versus the afternoon or early evening. We sped down the 65 km of tar to get to the vlei. The tar ends at about 5 km from the most magnificent of the dunes and the pan where water sometimes collects. Driving on this stuff took some fortitude. The sand just sucks the vehicle in and stopping to catch one’s breath is not an option. Our little two vehicle caravan made it and we were most happy that we did.
The kids immediately jumped out demanding to be able to climb to the top of the dunes. We of course had to oblige. It was a lot tougher than it looked. Some of these dunes measure up to 350 metres high. Many are multi-crested in shape with four or five sinuous crests. These are formed by multidirectional winds that play the sand back and forth. Well about half way up, the wind got to playing making the trek all the more difficult. Once at the top, well, the only way to get down was to go down the side. When you’re over 900 ft. up, plucking up one’s courage takes a bit of doing. Reid and Annie watched a few other tourists and spearheaded our group’s efforts. Annie bit the dust only a couple of times, but insisted it was the greatest of fun and told us she wanted to do it again. I kept my shoes on which filled with about 20 lbs. of sand making the whole adventure feel like a walk on the moon. The view from the top was absolutely spectacular and well worth the effort of getting up there. Unfortunately, we had to get going so as to make it all the way back to Windhoek before night fall and so we had to leave the world’s largest sandbox and head for home. That was to become an adventure in and of itself……
The kids immediately jumped out demanding to be able to climb to the top of the dunes. We of course had to oblige. It was a lot tougher than it looked. Some of these dunes measure up to 350 metres high. Many are multi-crested in shape with four or five sinuous crests. These are formed by multidirectional winds that play the sand back and forth. Well about half way up, the wind got to playing making the trek all the more difficult. Once at the top, well, the only way to get down was to go down the side. When you’re over 900 ft. up, plucking up one’s courage takes a bit of doing. Reid and Annie watched a few other tourists and spearheaded our group’s efforts. Annie bit the dust only a couple of times, but insisted it was the greatest of fun and told us she wanted to do it again. I kept my shoes on which filled with about 20 lbs. of sand making the whole adventure feel like a walk on the moon. The view from the top was absolutely spectacular and well worth the effort of getting up there. Unfortunately, we had to get going so as to make it all the way back to Windhoek before night fall and so we had to leave the world’s largest sandbox and head for home. That was to become an adventure in and of itself……
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