Tuesday 2019/12/31

Sesriem – Dune 45 – Deadvlei – Soussusvlei – Sesriem

The alarm rings at 4:30 a.m. We dismantle the roof tent of our car and stand at 5:55 a.m. at the gate, which opens at 6 a.m. A car queue with crazy tourists races in the dark on a paved (!) road towards dune 45 (the sunrise dune) or directly to Soussusvlei.

We make the arduous climb to Dune 45 (Leo is second, Wolle third!). Astrid and Brigitte are a bit behind. The sunrise is great, but actually it can be enjoyed on any dune in the area.

The view is magnificent, the light is wonderful and the mood among the tourists, who line up like a string of pearls on the dune crest, is quite exuberant.

We drive to the end of the road (kilometer 60), where we take the shuttle through the sand to the large dunes as a precaution. When driving, we find that we would have gotten through the sand with our own car. But it's fun to be transported with the tourist shuttle at 50 km/h without being afraid to be stuck in the sand. The shuttle stops at the ascent to the Big Daddy dune and the walk to the Deadvlei. We already climbed a dune, so we decide to make the walk to the Deadvlei, a very dry and photogenic spot between the dunes. In the meantime it is getting hot and we stroll through a second valley a bit away from the masses of people and hike back over some dunes to the shuttle stop. A really great walk! Then the shuttle takes us to Soussusvlei and the Big Mama dune. We only take a photo stop there and return immediately. On the way back we see that a tourist got stuck in the sand in a vehicle similar to ours. A ranger tries to get the car out of the sand. The trick is not to drive too slowly through the sand, but to push through at 30-50 km/h.

Back at the car park we have breakfast before we drive the 60 kilometers back to the campground.

We are totally exhausted. The dune climb was exhausting, it is extremely hot today and the night was short and furthermore disturbed by late arriving and arguing campers in the neighbo campsite and an animal that looted our garbage can.

So off to the pool, countless cold drinks in the restaurant, a small late lunch at 5 p.m. and actually some reading in normal books (not travel guides).

Later we pass the time by scanning the area with binoculars and making silly comments about the wandering tourists or oryxes. We crawl to bed very early and sleep through New Year's Eve.