Feb 6: Visit the Famous Sossusvlei Sand Dunes

Up at 5 AM, break camp, have breakfast and on-the-road at 7 AM...this story is familiar. The rain has stopped and the roads are drying out since this is supposed to be the desert. It is about a 150 mile drive to the Sossusvlei Sand Dunes. Things are going well and we should be there early.

Oh-oh what is that ahead...we are 5 miles from our campground and everyone is upbeat, Is that a river ahead of us...yea but a narrow one...Morrison reconnoiters the crossing and we make it safely across. We proceed another half mile and another small river materializes where there is suppose to be a road. We press on and again make a safe crossing...are you getting the picture? About another 200 yards and its appears...not one but two adjacent rivers with strong currents. Some 4 X 4 vehicles are ahead of us and every one gets out of our safari truck.... Morrison and the other vehicle drivers discuss the situation. Bottom line, we will move forward...we hold hands and slowly cross both rivers...about 150 yards, strong currents with water up to our knees. Morrison barrels across as does two other vehicles.

  

We get to the Sossusvlei camp grounds and set-up camp and have lunch..it is about 1 PM. Since we have been delayed, we do not rest but press forward. Off we go to see the canyon where all of the water is spilling into. After that we travel a short distance to June (dune) Ailen which some of us climb...take some fun shots of the group and beautiful panoramic pictures of the surrounding dunes, desert and mountains.

  

  

This place is amazing. I have seen these Dunes on various National Geographic programs. Sossusvlei Sand Dunes are the largest sand dunes in the world, in places rising more than 1000 feet above the desert floor, which result from the strong winds blowing in from the Atlantic Ocean. 

Now about some of my traveling companions. The guides...Morrison - 20 years experience from Zimbabwe, married with 4 children (oldest 29 and youngest 15 years), Yolanda (Yo-Yo) from Cape Town, 32 years-old and has worked on tours for 5 years - excellent cook, Micke - German engineering student working for Nomad between semesters as a German translator and assistant to Yo -Yo.



Sohee is from South Korea. She is in her early 30's, quit her job in South Korea and will spend a total of 100 days traveling through Africa; this is the 1st leg of her journey. Alex is of Serbian descent and lives in Switzerland. She is in her mid-20s and is an advertising executive who will start a new job with the world's 3rd largest ad agency on March 1.