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sand dunes. The drive was magnificent through the Namibian Savannah along dirt tracks, not a surfaced road in sight, and prides of ostriches everywhere. Sossusvlei national park is a stretch of desert that goes up the Namibian coast for 2000 km and pushes in for 40 km, and is home to these amazing sand dunes, which have arrived there courtesy of the Kalahari desert. Big Daddy, the largest dune, stands at 240 metres. Everything resembles over saturated film, the blue of the sky and the orange red of the sand create this surreal fantasy desert landscape. The summit revealed a searing vista of undulating dunes stretching out into infinity topped by an acid, cyan sky. We then walked out into the desert and after a kilometre of the most intense heat, reached a wide circular pan known as the Dead Vlei, which means dead valley; it is scattered with fossilised black trees in twisted shapes, and evokes a fictional Martian landscape. Next stop was the Kulala Reserve for quad biking along the dry riverbed. We bounced merrily along the tumbledown twisting route pitted with gullies and rocks. As the sun set, the landscape turned an umber orange and then in the distance we could see a large black clouds tearing towards us, dragging a dark curtain of sheet rain. The light was extraordinary:
dark yellows, blues, pinks and golds scattered everywhere and as darkness fell the mood on the African plain intensified under the bike headlights as we raced home through the puddles back to the lodge. The following day we flew over the desert to Damaraland Camp in a Cessna 402. We took the scenic route of 750 km via the coastal town of Swakopmund over endless giant orange dunes striated with rivers. After a fabulously warm welcome at the beautiful luxury camp Damaraland, we chatted with everyone and sat for dinner while the whole crew appeared and sang a welcome song and danced in the traditional style. This is followed by the Namibian national anthem and then by a jokey song that gets each of them dancing in front whilst the others clap appreciatively with the persons name following the word “sexy� sung high and loud. The menu is recited in English and in the Click language which sounds fantastic. The next morning we are up early for the Elephant Safari. We head north which is where some elephants were spotted a few days ago. We pass a couple of the local villages with wooden kraals for the goats, cows and donkeys. The houses are traditionally made of mud and cow pats or more recently with canvas and aluminium.
Everyone here are co-owners of the tourist industry and very friendly, coming out to wave and say hello. We head up the hills looking for elephant tracks and soon come across large spoor and footprints which indicate the elephants were here this morning and the direction they are heading. The chase is on. Soon our guide gets even more excited as he has spotted Black Rhino tracks, they are rare and it would be great to find one. Finally as we crest a hill we spot the elephants on the other side of the valley, there are six of them, though it is not a typical herd as they have large tusks which the locals do not. The elephants are beautiful and a deep rich brown from the mud they immerse in to cool down. There is also a new born baby, maybe 6 weeks old, to whom the parents stay very close, circling regularly to shield her from any potential harm. It is a wonderful day, watching them graze peacefully in such a heavenly natural landscape. Namibia is breathtakingly beautiful and the people are warm and welcoming, it is an exciting land full of adventure and mystique, with luxurious lodges, wonderful service and genuine eco credentials. Take a flying Safari for the trip of a lifetime and create some lasting memories you will recount to your friends again and again.
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