Aus to Sossusvlei

We arrived in Sossusvlei on July 27th and spoiled ourselves for 3 nights at the Sossu Dunes Lodge. Sossusvlei is located in the Namib desert in the Namib-Naukluft National Park, the largest conservation area in Africa and boasts some of the highest sand dunes in the world, some reaching up to 400 metres. The red sand makes for spectacular photography, especially in the early morning or late afternoon. On the morning of the 28th we drove 60 km to the dunes where we hiked about 1 km to reach some of the dunes in the photos and attempted to climb them but it was extremely hot and dry and heart attacks are not in our itinerary.

The next day we visited Sesriem Canyon located less than 1 km from our lodge located in the park. The canyon’s birth dates back between 2 and 4 million years, when continental upheaval resulted in the creation of most of the westward flowing rivers in the Namib Desert region. Today the Tsauchab River only runs after good rains fall in the nearby Maukluft Mountains. The canyon is a testament to the rivers long-past prime some 15-18 million years ago when the gorge was created by the river’s once sweeping movement. The canyon is up to 30 metres deep at points and is roughly about 1 km long with a width that ranges between 1 and 3 metres wide, flattening out as it approaches the iconic Sossusvlei.