Sunday 15th January 2017
5:30am, not quite awake but we’re off anyway…today to the Namib-Naukluft Park to experience the spectacular sand dunes up close!
As the sun rises we have entered the park and the red dunes are coming thick and fast. They all seem to have a number or a name. If a number it’s the amount of km it is away from the gate…which I guess makes sense although am not sureness why Dune 7 was in a totally different place to all these dunes… Odd!
After an hour’s time we arrived at the sand dune known as Big Daddy – the highest one in the area. And that is the one we are going to be walking up. I decided against going all the way to the top… would have been too hot plus I had plastered up my left toe nail so it wouldn’t fall off in the sand (it is very loose!) and the plaster was not holding very well in the sand. (Don’t see the nail lasting more than another few days to be honest 😐).
So went about half way up I guess… the sand was so incredibly soft and the views were stunning – I really enjoyed it!
The most fun was definitely getting down again, though! Decided to try and run it. Our guide Wilfred told me that I looked like a horse doing it, which I thought was bit harsh, but after watching the video he shot of me, I can see he was right! Haha! (Sorry I cannot share the video with you – not able to upload it with African internet speed sadly but if you want to see my horse impression when I get back, just say the word!)
With that run we ended up in what is called Dead Vlei – a big area where everything has been dead for 900 years because of new dunes cutting off the water supply. It was a beautiful place – the dunes didn’t look real somehow, was as if someone had painted them on! So utterly impressive!
After a nap in the afternoon and an attempt at packing I went to enjoy the Desert sunset one final time with a cold beer and the great company of our guide and some of the other guests…. and felt incredibly fortunate!
BETINA IN AFRICA 