May 7

Solitude to Sesrium

Our day began (for Al and I) with a sunrise hike up a rocky hill near our camp.  Near the top we found a colony of hyrax, and a few individuals watching us watch them.  As well, we had a 360 degree view over the plains.  In the meantime Charlotte went running and Devon enjoyed some alone time playing his guitar.  

Generally we spend the first few hours of each day at our camp, then drive during the hottest hours of the day (when it would be too uncomfortable to be walking around).

This is gorgeous country, the views from even a small hill fill the eye with memories that will last.  Of course, sunrise or sunset brings out the purple hues,   Desert distances becoming vague: ' is that a few kilometers off, or is it hundreds...?'

We returned to camp, Char returned from a good run,  a breakfast was set out.  This was followed by a little procrastinating over what passed for Internet, then eventually we were off down the dusty road.  We had on a few km to go though, as soon we had the entertainment of a stop in Solitaire - population 97 - which is really just a gas station and small shop.  The creative locals had on display a number of old car wrecks.  Very western.  (photos will be posted)

It was only  100 K to the park gates at Sesriem.  We arrived just hafter noon, located our designated campsite,  had a quick lunch, and proceeded promptly out to Sussuvlei because Irene had a whole schedule of events in our near future.  About 40 km later we are in in the Namib dunes.  It is only later that we understood that we are seeing perhaps a thousandth of one percent, but it is truly magnificent.  We ignored the ostrich and springbok because they seemed  insignificant to the backdrop of huge red dunes.

At the end of sixty km of pavement  the sign reads 4x4 only, and in 100 meters we shifted to 4 low.  Yet we still felt quite threatened because the sand here is soft, and deep. Al was having fun with the challenge, but we were alone enough that getting stuck would not be funny.  We got through to the end of the road at a dry salt pan covering perhaps 10 Ha, then piled out for a hike up a red dune reaching 250 meters up and several km along.  Devon and Charlotte set the pace, and we soon reached an obvious minor summit, then glissaded  down a steep face in 60 seconds of leaps.

Back at the car Devon spotted a large owl in a tree,  and thus attracted the attention of a small tour group.  This allowed Irene to interview the Namibian guide, and find the location of a site that we had been wanting to find ever since admiring Bonnie's photos from here trip here a couple of years ago.   A short drive then a 20 minute hike brought us over a couple sand ridges to a dry pan of perhaps 100 Ha, with dead trees interspersed throughout.  So we captured some images of dark, dead trees on a white flat salt pan surrounded by incredibly red dunes reaching  a hundred meters above us.  Photos will be posted! 

It was sunset and time to hurry back to our camp before the black of night, which comes far too quickly here.  We turned in early with the plan to rise before dawn and hike up more dunes in the morning light.