Sossusvlei - Namibia

At 5am each morning there's a Wacky Races routine at Sesriem when they open the gate blocking the road to Sossusvlei and scores of vehicles race off into the darkness on the long trip to the dunes. The gate closes again at Sunset and anyone arriving back from the dunes well after it's closed can expect a hard time from the park rangers.

It's a bind to have to get out so early but it's also good that they have maintained Sossusvlei's unique location by preventing people from staying overnight there.

Surprisingly we had the roof tent down and were through the gate by 5.15am, it's like Le Man's as each car is stopped and details taken before the race flag goes down and your off racing down the road to try and get to the dunes before dawn!

The road used to be a mixture of sand and gravel and was quite dangerous as everyone raced the 64km to the dunes, now its tarmac (or almost) nearly all the way so you can make excellent time. They have left the last few kilometres untouched so only 4WD vehicles can still get all the way to the dunes.

Previously those in 2WD cars had to park at the car park at the end of the road and trudge the last few Km over the deep sandy track, now a fleet of 4WD vehicles are on hand to ferry people back and forth - for a fee of course.

It was 6.10am when we arrived at Sossusvlei and we were just in time for Sunrise. Unfortunately it was also a bit cloudy so conditions were not ideal for photo's but still very nice. It was a while since we had been here and of course it was a first for Carol and Tanya so we were all looking forward to spending the day here.

The dunes are real Beau Geste stuff, as high as the South Downs if not higher and at Sunrise or Sunset they go through   fantastic changes in colour and hue. Sossusvlei (vlei means lake) is usually dry but due to the heavy rains it still had a good amount of water in it. We are told that most years it is dry but when we were last here it was also full of water so it seems we are lucky with our visits.

The best scenes are when you can climb one of the dunes near to the Vlei and gaze out over the Namib desert. As the Sun rises, the shift in shadows on the surrounding dunes is absolutely stunning especially if the sky is cloudless. The climb up the ridge of the dune is quite tiring but a great way down is to just launch yourself off the edge and run down one of the faces.      

We had just got back to the Landy for coffee and sandwiches when suddenly the sky went black and we found ourselves in the midst of yet another unexpected downpour. Namibia is one of the driest countries in the world but it seemed we were fated not to shake off the wet weather.

Near to Sossusvlei is Dead Vlei, so named from the fact many years ago all the trees died during successive droughts but their remnants remain like reminders of a past age. We missed Dead Vlei on our previous visit to Sossusvlei so we were keen to see it this time.

As soon as the rain stopped we drove over to Dead Vlei, the sky was still looking ominous but in a way this added to the atmosphere.  You walk about 1km over the dunes to reach the Vlei and your first sight of it as you come over a rise is quite spectacular as it rests in a deep hollow with high dunes as a backdrop. The Vlei contained quite a bit of water from the rain and the wet tree trunks were jet black against the red of the  dunes - the photo's (see Home page & May) don't quite do it justice.

Carol was feeling the heat again so she and Tanya went back to the Landy whilst Sue and I continued to take pictures. We were completely on our own as we wandered about and the atmosphere was quite magical but eventually it was time to head back to Sesriem where we found the storm had gone through our camp like a whirlwind overturning tables and chairs.

It continued to drizzle off and on for most of the night so in the morning we decided to head off Northwards. We were aiming for Etosha, Namibia's premier game park but would bush camp in the Namib Desert on the way as it is far too far to reach in a day. 

Sossusvlei and Dead Vlei had been lovely and it was nice to see  Sesriem again, we had certainly been surprised to get such a good camping space,  it was just a shame the weather had not been as kind as it might have been, mind you it was probably just as well as Carol would have suffered even more in the normal temperatures.

However, as we broke camp Sesriem had one more surprise for us, lifting up the ground tent where Sue and I slept we uncovered two large scorpions which had gone under for shelter.

There are basically two types of scorpion in this part of the world. The least dangerous is yellow with large pincers and thin tail, the experts say these will give you a very nasty sting but  are rarely fatal.

The ones to watch out for are black with small pincers and fat tails. If stung by one of these then you must seek expert medical help ASAP, otherwise it can be fatal and guess what these were two big black Mothers!.

We once met a guy who had been stung by both types and he described the yellow one as being like a very bad wasp sting but all you need to do is rest. However, he said the black one was the worst pain he has ever felt; he was stung on the foot and as he raced to the hospital he could feel a burning sensation in his foot gradually creep up his leg so by the time he reached the hospital, less than 30 minutes later, his groin felt as if it was on fire!

As soon as they injected the anti venom he felt the burning sensation start to drift back down his leg to his foot but he reckoned if he hadn't been treated so promptly he would not be here now.

He was lucky to have a hospital close by, we dread to think what would have happened if Sue or I had been stung as we walked around barefoot inside the tent each night, it seemed like now was an opportune time to move on!

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