No Fixed Abode: Dune Raiders

Fri 24 Jun 2016 - Sossusvlei and Dead Vlei

This getting up early lark must be getting easier as there was not one peep of protest from Yvonne and we were underway once more at 0615. Today we planned to push straight on to the end of the road and get to Sossusvlei before the hoards arrived. All went to plan at first as we overtook several coaches and minibuses that had stopped at the same viewpoints that we did yesterday and we got to the 2WD drive car park within an hour to find just a few vehicles already there.

We handed over our cash to the shuttle co-ordinator, jumped aboard one of the open backed safari vehicles and we were soon bouncing along the deep sandy trail. Then our delays started. Within a short while we came across a large 4WD SUV that had got stuck in the sand and our driver pulled up alongside to offer some help. The German guy (let’s call him Klaus) driving it declined at first, had another crack at getting out, buried himself further in the sand then conceded defeat. Our driver left our vehicle and stepped into the driving seat of the car and expertly managed to free the car by revving slowly, swaying the wheels from side to side and enlisting the help of Klaus and Glenn to push. Klaus swapped places, gave him a tip then promptly drove himself into another drift. We repeated the process of freeing the car, parking it under a tree for subsequent recovery then he and his wife boarded our vehicle and we continued. Within another few metres we met a Merc SUV that had passed us earlier but was now also stuck in the deep sand so our driver stopped to help him while we all transferred to another shuttle, however, in the all this time several other shuttles had passed us and we were no longer going to be early.

When we arrived at the end of the track we all climbed out and the driver pointed to a well worn path in the sand on which hoards of people were wearily trudging their way. We scanned the area, located a quiet dune in the opposite direction and immediately headed towards it leaving the mob behind. The vleis of this area are low lying pans nestled beneath the surrounding dunes where water from any rainfall gathers before soaking away or evaporating. Consequently their bottoms are mostly comprised of mud that is baked hard by the relentless sun, which makes walking much easier. The first part of our walk took over such an area and we made rapid progress to the bottom of the dune but then it was back to slogging up sand - firm at first but becoming softer as it steepened. We reached a low ridge relatively easily then followed its gentle arc until we reached a higher level - we’ve concluded that most dunes don’t really have a summit but continue in graceful curves.

Like yesterday we nestled our bottoms into the sand and sat for a while admiring the views. Directly below us was a well defined, almost circular vlei surrounded by trees and with, what looked like, a dry river bed running into it. We surmised this was the eponymous Sossusvlei from which the whole area takes its name, as we’d read that occasionally water does flow here and for a few short days the vlei becomes a turquoise lake. It must look beautiful. We sand hopped down from the ridge to its edge then sat on a solid shelf of dried mud to soak in the scene and empty the sand from our shoes.

From the dune’s top we’d noticed the distant vlei where the hoards were heading but had plotted a course around some other dunes to avoid the main path and we set off for it now. At the end of the dry riverbed we passed a sign confirming this was indeed Sossusvlei then set off cross country trying to remember the landmarks that looked different from down here. After a short discussion on our route we scrambled up a small dune then saw a vast white vlei below us scattered with dry channels and dead trees - an eerie but amazing scene and, best of all, we had the place to ourselves. For quite a while we wandered around taking dozens of photographs. This place was a photographer’s dream: colours, textures, shapes and bright light.

Over a small sand embankment we could see the remains of the hoards so walked up there to see what all the fuss was about. Wow. A large, flat, bright white vlei ringed with high red dunes and dotted with dozens of black dead trees. This was clearly Dead Vlei and what an amazing place it is. With the bright blue sky the colour contrasts were beautiful and, once again, a photographer’s dream. By now it was approaching the heat of midday so most of the hoard had left and many of those that remained merely stood at the top of the last dune or walked to the edge to take a couple of snaps then left. As a result the actual vlei itself was more or less deserted - perfect. We wandered amongst the gnarled tree trunks snapping with the camera and marvelling at what must have happened here to create this scene but eventually a combination of hunger and the heat (mainly hunger) called us back to the shuttle stop so we followed the well trodden path.

For the last two days we seen dozens of small strange tracks in the sand that we could not identify and to our surprise, right in front of us, a large black beetle suddenly popped up from the sand scurried across the sand then disappeared leaving the same tracks. Pleased to have finally solved that riddle we boarded a shuttle back to the car where we took our lunch at a picnic table under a tree amid the attentions of several inquisitive, and fearless, finches who flew and hopped around us waiting for some scraps.

Then was a speedy ride back to Sesriem to try and find a wifi spot to discover the results of the EU referendum. We stopped at the cafe attached to the petrol station but no joy there so pushed on to our overnight stop in Solitaire, another remote desert hamlet. The road was very bumpy so progress was slow but when we arrived we immediately logged in and were bewildered to discover the referendum had returned a decision to leave. The next hour was spent glued to screens reading the news to get a feel for the possible consequences until we were called for an excellent dinner with the opportunity to try some Kudu meat, which was very tasty.