Sossusvlei Dunes

Glowing… literally! Sossusvlei is an area in Namibia that probably tops the list – the sand dunes are massive! They are a very rich burnt orange color (due to Sands being carried from the Kalahari Desert down the Orange River, into the ocean, and then recirculated over far too many years to count backwards into what now forms Sossusvlei. This spot touched my soul. Hiking up to the top of the Elin’s Dune for sunset, followed by an early morning climb up to the top of Dune 45 for sunrise were ultimately the best thing I had a chance to experience in this region. Climbing the dunes barefoot, and the cool sand on the morning, in contrast to the very warm sand of the night before. The little desert gekkos, beetles, and sharp tufts of grass that you find here and there during your journey. THE GLOW… I don’t even think the following description will do a justice to what it’s like to actually be there… after sunrise, the sun takes on its full effect lighting up the east side of every sand dune…leaving the west side (or backside in this case) black in appearance – so you have what looks like orange & black sand dunes! We spent the entire morning in the dunes and 4-wheeled our way (on the hood of the vehicle for a few of us!) into the Dead Vlei (the ‘bowl area’ that has no living trees and a white limestone pan bottom) vicinity. A very animated local, Frans, gave us the scoop on what each of the creatures were running around the place, how the bigger animals survive, how we should attempt to survive (and he gave us 2 days or less as a realistic time frame for human survival without supplies… I ALMOST felt like challenging that… and I’m sure I would have changed my mind at 1, 2 or 3pm!) The appearance of the dunes has a couple other fascinating aspects – the white sand found below the red sand in areas is from the internal local desert and is heavier – which is why it is found below… along with some black strands of sand – which are actually iron! (just carry a magnet along to check this one out!) Also, the little ripples you see in the dunes can actually be used as a compass! – as the wind blows east to west in the winter and west to east in the summer… so as long as you don’t confuse your seasons with the northern hemisphere (me, especially!) you’re good to go!

If anyone wants to hike the dunes, let me know – I certainly hope to revisit this someday. And if you want 7 days of it… well you can trek the 55km of dunes that work their way from the heart of Sossusvlei out to the Atlantic Ocean!