We drive from Duwisib Castle to Sesriem where we enter Namib-Naukluft National Park. Then we visit Dune 40 & hike to Hidden Vlei.
We take our time today since we only have about 200 km to cover. The drive from Duwisib to Sesriem is particularly scenic.
Driving the C27 through the NamibRand Nature Reserve, the landscape starts to get more and more orange and we see oryx, meerkats, springbok and zebras. We have a picnic lunch from our refrigerator at one of the many lonely picnic tables that dot Namibian roadsides.
By lunchtime we make it to the town of Sesriem which sits just outside the Namib-Naukluft National Park gates. Sesriem is utilitarian and uninspiring. This is where you can fill up on gas and pick up groceries before heading into the park.
Click here to read my post about how to plan your visit to Namib-Naukluft National Park.
We enter the outer gate around 2:00 pm headed to the Sossus Dune Lodge to check in, my one major splurge of the trip. On arrival, we park and have to walk up a hill with our luggage to the main lodge.
We’re shown to our chalet, Number 22, and are told to make sure we lock the windows at night because the baboons might try to get in.
The chalet is gorgeous and I don’t feel too bad about spending $500 a night on it.
But I’ve got this pressing sense of urgency to make the most of our time in the park so we head back out to the truck after dropping our luggage.
Back on the road, an ostrich bolts across the road in a few meters ahead. Dinosaur feet.
Bright orange dunes start to become visible the deeper we get into the park. At 40 kilometers from the gate is Dune 40, where we stop to watch it glow in the afternoon sun for a while.
This land is so ORANGE. And above, the sky is vibrant blue. The angular light creates shadows that clarify the undulations and ripples in the sand. Puffs of trees stand out against the dunes in the distance. A dried up tree skeleton stands close to me.
I feel like I’m in a cartoon.
By the time we leave Dune 40, it’s almost 6 pm.
Up ahead, a truck driving in the opposite direction starts flashing its headlights and the driver signals for us to stop. It’s two NWR rangers – he leans out the window and squints at us. He says we need to turn around now in order to make it out before the gates close. I explain that we are staying at the Sossus Dune Lodge and we want to do a short hike at Sossusvlei to catch the sunset. This is good enough for them – they tell me that we should have enough time to hike out to Hidden Vlei before it gets dark, and then they continue on their way. Yes!
When we get tot the Sossusvlei parking lot it’s empty except for the big shuttle bus trucks that are locked up and resting for the night.
I park the truck in the back of the lot near the Hidden Vlei trailhead and we get moving. It’s two kilometers to our destination and I want to make it before it gets too dark. Sticks poking up out of the sand mark the way but I’m in a rush so I lose and find the trail a couple of times. The scenery is breathtaking.
My god, what an amazing place to be during sunset. We’re the only people around for miles.
We follow the trailposts back to the parking lot and by the time we get to the lodge it’s pitch-black out. By 9 pm we’re sitting on the deck of our chalet watching the sky. Namib Naukluft National Park is one of the best places in the world for stargazing, and I can attest that it is truly exceptional.
Click here to continue to Day 6.
