We woke up at 4am as part of a master plan to be the first group to arrive at Dune 45 to be first on the dune for sunrise. Riaan (our guide) drove like a madman in the middle of the road so that no one else could pass us. When we reached the dune everyone went running out the door and up the dune, losing steam pretty quickly. Running uphill in sand is a good work out! I heard that the dune is either 120m or 180m – either way, I made it to the top to watch the sunrise. The sand dunes are really beautiful. On the way down some of the guys were doing somersaults and flips in the sand, but I chose to just run down.
We had breakfast at the base of the dune, and then took a guided walk with a bushman though the dunes of the Sossusvlei. The Sossusvlei is some of the most spectacular scenery I’ve ever seen. It is so stark and beautiful and the colours are absolutely vivid. I love the contrast of the orange sand against the blue sky. The dead vlei is a section of the desert that has dried up and died. The ground is bone white, and there are dark trees scattered around. If you’ve ever seen the Jennifer Lopez movie “The Cell”, the dead vlei is where the little boys’ dream takes place. It’s absolutely stunning.
The bushman guy taking us around was super knowledgeable about the desert, and it was all really interesting. He started off by telling us that he walks pretty quickly and we didn’t have to worry about keeping pace with him. He wasn’t joking! He set off doing some major speed walking and we almost had to jog to keep up! He pointed out these tiny bug prints in the sand, and even this spider nest under the sand. I have no idea how he spotted it, because to me it looked the same as everywhere else. He blew away some sand to reveal a layer of white film, which was the “Velcro” door covering the spider nest. He gently pulled it back and poured some sand over the hole. The spider crawled up to the top and pulled the door shut! One of the few times I haven’t been freaked out by a spider!
He also caught some lizards by throwing his hat up in the sky. The hat made a shadow which the lizards thought was a bird (predator) and then would bury under and hide in the sand. Then he would stick his hand into the sand and pull out the lizard. A really interesting guy, and an awesome place!
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