| | Jan 15, 2006 - Sossusvlei Sand Dunes - Part of the 20 Day Overland Safari - Vic Falls to Cape Town | (click to enlarge)
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 | Starting the climb to reach the top by sunrise
| | Rising sun over the sand dunes - Sossusvlei, Namibia
| | At the top of the dunes
| | Surveying the surrounding sand dunes
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| | Like nothing else on earth!
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 | Sinking in the soft sand
| | Unbelieveable scenery
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| | Footprints in the sand at Dune 45
| | Group photo by Dune 45
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| | Signs of desert life
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 | Our Bushman guide walking through the red desert sand
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| | A spiders home with his 'velcro' sand door pried open
| | Dead Vlei
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 | Dead tree in Dead Vlei where it is too arid to decompose
| | Dead trees in Dead Vlei
| | Boesman and his captured lizard - desert food
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 | | | | Having some child like fun rolling down the dunes
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| 20-Day Overland Safari - Victoria Falls to Cape Town
HIGHLIGHTS: Victoria Falls, Chobe National Park, Western Caprivi, Okavango Delta, Etosha, Swakopmund, Sossusvlei, Fish River Canyon, Orange River, Cedarberg, Cape Town
COUNTRIES VISITED: Zambia, Botswana, Namibia and South Africa
SAFARI TYPE: Participating Mixed Camping and Basic Chalet
SAFARI GUIDE/DRIVER/COOK: Chantel, South African
TRANSLATOR (GERMAN/ENGLISH): Monika, German
PASSENGERS: Shirley - Australian (only with us for 14 days rather than the full 20)
Stephi and Anjou - German (East Germany)
Audi and Elizabeth - German
Andreas - German
And us of course making a total of 8 passengers and 2 guides
The safari experienced was packed with so much I have had a challenge in working out how to record our experience and hundreds of pictures we have taken over the 20 days. So, what we have done is split it up into 4 different sections:
Part 1 - Victoria Falls, Zambia to Okavango Delta, Botswana
Part 2 - Kavango River, Caprivi Strip Namibia to Cape Town, South Africa
Part 3 - Sossusvlei, Namibia - World's Highest Sand Dunes and Awe Inspiring Views
Part 4 - An Unforgettable Touching Lifetime Experience
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PART 3 - Sossusvlei, Namiba - The World's Highest Sand Dunes and Harsh Desert Landscape
Imagine an environment so harsh and dry that it takes a banana peel thirty years to decompose. So arid an orange peel would take fifty to eighty years to break down and dead trees 600 - 800 years before they decompose. Of course any food scraps containing moisture would be devoured by the desert dwellers long before they would even start to decompose. This is the brutal reality of Sossusvlei in the Namibian desert where animals and people have adapted to survive and live in the scorching daytime sand with the heat of the beating sun and chilling night time temperatures.
To go along with this harsh Namibian climate, now envision scenery so incredibly unique you would think you are on another planet. Sand in shades of brown and grey leading up to dozens and dozens of the world's tallest sand dunes looking as if they have been perfectly sculpted by the talents of Michelangelo or Henry Moore. Climbing from the desert floor they reach for miles, dune after dune, in rich hues of red with traces of black from the iron content in the sand. Peaks reaching an astonishing height of 300 metres of soft wind blown sand stretching across the desert as far as the eye can see creating a landscape so foreign to anything most people have ever seen before.
Nestled amongst the dunes are sparse trees and shrubs in the Vlei where water flows in an underground river bed feeding the deep roots of these plants and adding sporadic green vegetation and life to the sandy scene. Small tracks over the surface of the dunes provides evidence that life does exist in this desert - lizards, beetles, spiders, jackals, gemsboks and other unique species that have been able to acclimatize to desert living.
At one time, the nomadic Bushmen of Africa also roamed and survived off of this desert land. With such inhospitable living conditions they were thought to be, and actually treated like animals, as it was believed that no human could survive in such an inhospitable climate. In fact, sad to say, at one point permits were actually issued for hunters to hunt the Bushman when they came on their hunting game safari after the famous African Big Five. Imagine, humans purchasing permits to hunt other humans.
Times have changed. The Bushmen are no longer hunted and few, if any, still live in the desert following their traditional nomadic ways. We were fortunate enough to have a three hour walking tour through the desert and dunes with a man called Boesman (which means Bushman in Africaans, although he was not a traditional Bushman), a local guide who has spent his life living and studying this intriguing climate and the ways of the traditional Bushman.
Before our tour with Boesman, our day started with a steep climb to the top of Dune 45 just as the sun was peaking over the horizon. The breathtaking views of the soaring sand swept dunes surrounded us in every direction as the blazing sun took to the sky, changing the shades of the red sand as it rose higher and higher into the vibrant blue cloudless sky. After soaking in the views and unique atmosphere for over and hour, we descended to enjoy a hearty breakfast cooked by our guide in the lunar like landscape at the base of the dune.
After a filling meal, we set off with Boesman to learn about the desert, the original Bushmen, their culture, day to day life and how any living being survived in these extreme desert conditions. He taught us how the dunes were formed and how the wildlife has adapted to make the desert their home. For three hours we hiked through the desert with him as he educated us with only a minute portion of his knowledge and left us in awe after each mini-lesson as he quickly spun on his heels and marched off further into the sand to prepare his next lesson for when we eventually caught up to him. From finding spider dens in the sand, to capturing lizards with a toss of his hat or explaining how the Bushmen were forced to leave their weak or sick children and elderly behind to die so the rest off the family could survive. The harsh reality of desert life was incredibly fascinating as Boesman brought the life of the desert to our attention.
I believe the tour was the best I have ever taken and in a land so unique and awe-inspiring. Sossusvlei is definitely a unique part of the world that few get the chance to experience - if you are one of the lucky ones in the area, I would highly recommend a visit to experience this scenery that is beyond words!
www.carlhenderson.ca
www.imagestoframe.com
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