Sunrise at Sossusvlei.  The Namib Desert. — Sunrise at Sossusvlei. The Namib Desert.

Morning light on sand dunes on the the way to Dune 45

Climbing Dune 45.  I'm definitely not alone in the desert anymore. — Climbing Dune 45. I'm definitely not alone in the desert anymore.

Today I went to Sossusvlei! Then I went to the Sesriem Canyon. I am still at Desert Camp about 5km from the entrance of Sossusvlei. Sossusvlei is a National Park. It is famous for the huge sand dunes and Dead Vlei. Big Daddy being the biggest sand dune. It is about 1300 feet tall. So, here's how today went...

Man, I wanted to get into the park when the gates opened. They opened at 6:00a.m. So, I set my alarm for 5:00. Got up, got dressed and headed to the Sossusvel Lodge for breakfast. They obviously weren't ready for people. They didn't have much to choose from. So I had a bowl of yogurt, some fruit and coffee. Left hungry, but wanted to get in. I joined the line of cars at the entrance. I am definitely at a tourist spot. It is also the weekend, so I'm sure that made it busy as well. I got through the gates and followed the line of cars. People were passing each other. Seems like a lot of jerks. I think they all wanted to be first for something. Still not sure what. But I took my sweet time, pulled over a few times and got some photos of the sunrise, and the beautiful light hitting the dunes. It was cloudy this morning so the light was coming between the clouds. It was really awesome. I finally got to the first dune you can climb. Dune 45. Well, that's not true. I think you can climb any of the dunes, this one just happens to be close to the road, so people stop. Otherwise you would have about a 3 mile walk to the rest of the dunes (other than Big Daddy, that's about 1 mile). It is named Dune 45 because it is at the 45km mark from the park entrance. So, I pulled in, parked my car next to the tour buses, guide services and all the other individuals that came to the park today. It was crazy how many people were there. I am definitely not alone in the desert anymore. I miss that. People are rude. I liked being the only one around for miles. Anyway, I climbed Dune 45 and took some photos. Then I climbed back down, which was much easier by the way, and made my way to the shuttle point for Big Daddy and Dead Vlei.

Big Daddy is the biggest dune ever. Maybe that's according to Wikipedia and things I heard today, but it is huge. When I was in the Fish River Canyon, I was telling Frans that I was coming here. He challenged me to climb Big Daddy. I was going to take him up on his challenge, until I got there. I got to the parking lot, and instead of driving in myself, I decided to take the shuttle for about $8.00. So happy I did that. The sand is so deep and unless you know what you're doing and let air out of your tires, you are stuck. Once on the shuttle we had to stop 2 times to help stuck tourists. So happy I wasn't one of them. Finally got to Big Daddy and Dead Vlei. Side note: Dead Vlei is a dried marsh area. At one point a river flooded the area and it was a marshy area full of trees and green. Then the sand took over and cut off the river. The area dried up and whatever trees were there died and the area became a pan. The dead trees are still at Dead Vlei, thus the name. Ok, back to the Big Daddy situation. So I arrived and it was about a 1 mile walk through the sand to Dead Vlei and the base of Big Daddy. It was only about 9:30 at this point, but I bet the temperature was already at 95 and the clouds had dissipated and the sun was out. It was HOT! So, I decided not to climb Big Daddy. I probably would've died. I just went with the rest of the hordes of people and explored Dead Vlei. Dead Vlei was one reason I wanted to come to Namibia. I had seen photos in the past and thought it was amazing. I had to see it in person. It definitely did not disappoint. Just like almost everything else in Namibia. No disappointments. I walked around for maybe and hour and a half, took a shit ton of photos, then walked back through the desert to the shuttle point. There were so many tourists and not enough shuttles. So, one of the drivers decided to air up the tire on a trailer with seats and use a tractor to shuttle us back to the parking area. While we were waiting, I met a cool Spanish guy and his friend from France. I didn't catch either of their names, but they were cool. We talked a bit. The Spanish guy is living in Namibia and whenever he has friends come to town he take them to Sossusvlei. He explained a lot about the area to me and other parts of Namibia. His French buddy asked which state I was from. Told him, and he said Oh sure, I know. I couldn't believe that he knew Wisconsin. Turns out his brother went to UW-Platteville for a semester and he visited. He knew all about beer and cheese. Yes, across the world, that is what we are famous for. Anyway, we talked about travel on the way back and the Spanish guy's life in Namibia. Apparently, it is VERY boring here. Unless you get out of Windohek. Then it is amazing, but Windohek is boring. Interesting. On the way back he was telling me I should check out a canyon about 4km to the right of the entrance of Sossusvlei. I was hot and tired, but I told him I would. I didn't think I would. We parted ways and I drove back to the entrance. You have to get a permit for the day on your way out. So I stopped in the permit area and found they have a restaurant. I was starving. So I sat at a table and waited. And waited. And waited. I finally flagged down the waiter, told him 1 person and I wanted a beer and a menu. Ok. 30 minutes and I flag him down again. He just stared at me and walked away. I got up and left. Went to the gas station and got an ice cream and went to the canyon. I'm glad I did. It was a super hot afternoon and I was the only one there. I got to the bottom of the canyon and explored for an hour. I was so hot and tired, I needed to get back to my room. I stopped and grabbed some waterand some gas at the gas station and made my way back to Desert Camp.

Once back, I rewarded myself with a beer and headed to the pool. The wi-fi at the pool was amazing. I checked emails, Facebook, and updated some photos on Instagram. Oh, and I swam too. Went back to my room and worked on photos and took a little 30 minute nap. Now I am back at the lodge. It's after dinner and I'm sitting in the bar having a drink and blogging yo.

Tomorrow is my last real day in Namibia. The great road trip adventure comes to an end tomorrow. I think I have a 4-5 hour drive back to Windohek, and the same guest house that I stayed at in the beginning. The car people will come there and pick up the car, so I say goodbye to Doris tomorrow. Fingers crossed all goes well tomorrow, but she's been good to me this trip. I may blog tomorrow if I come across anything interesting on the road tomorrow. Otherwise it is a travel day. I have an overnight in Windohek, and get picked up at 4:00a.m. on Tuesday to go to the airport to catch my 6:35a.m. flight to Botswana. The great safari adventure starts!!

Until tomorrow...maybe...