Day 5: Sesriem

25 April 2019

Another early start. We joined a long queue of vehicles at 6:15, waiting to enter the national park gates when they open an hour before sunrise. As the gates open, hoards of tourists in their rental 4x4’s race down 60km of tar road in an attempt to get to the end first, and we assume, get the best sunrise photos. We took a more leisurely pre-dawn drive, and parked at the end of the tar road, from which you can only proceed with a 4x4 through the last 6km of very thick sand. Reluctant to get the car stuck, we set off on foot into the desert, vaguely following a hand painted sign to Hiddenvlei. We watched a beautiful sunrise from amongst the dunes, devoid of any other people, and eventually stumbled on the amazing vlei after about 2km of walking.

We arrived back at the parking lot to find it had filled up considerably, and a shuttle service was now offering lifts through the sand to Sossusvlei. We hopped on, and after a short drive and a hot walk, we laid eyes on the spectacular Deadvlei. The white clay pan is starkly contrasted by dark dead trees, and the surrounding orange dunes. And people everywhere, all trying to get a photo without any other people in it.

Always up for a summit, we decided to climb the adjacent dune “Big Daddy”. It was only about 9:30am but the sun was already baking and the sand was soft. Like the proverbial frog in the well, we slid back down again with every step up, making hot and tiring work. We finally got to the peak and enjoyed spectacular 360 degree views over the surrounding desert dunes. We then ran back down the dune, which was considerably quicker and more fun than the hike up!

We drove back to camp for a swim and waited out the heat of the day in the shade, and then spent the rest of the afternoon exploring Sesriem canyon. Almost invisible from ground level, the canyon has been carved into the ground by water flowing through sedimentary rock over millions of years, and has a small permanent rock pool at one end which offers respite to many of the animals in the area.