The Dunes of Sossusvlei and Dead Vlei

March 16, 2023

The Sossusvlei dunes and Dead Vlei were the highlights of the morning drive today - at least for those of us who chose not to do the hot air balloon ride as Brent did.

We began the morning drive, by watching the hot air balloons fill with air and rise into the dawn sky.

Brent and his fellow ballooners enjoyed an amazing aerial view of the desert as they floated along.

We also enjoyed looking for the balloons along the way to the dunes.

At the end they enjoyed a morning snack before heading back to the lodge for a rest before lunch.

After the balloons had lifted into the sky, we set out for the Namib-Naukluft Park. The sun was rising as we drove off.

Before long, we had arrived at the lodge's private entrance to the park which allowed us to enter early and skip the long lines of cars at the main entrance.

The sand dunes, among the largest in the world, were magnificent. The morning shadows gave definition to their fluid lines. The red sand that forms them comes from the Orange River which deposits the sand in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of southern Namibia. The Benguela current then carries that sand northward where it is washed ashore by the waves. The wind then picks it up and carries it across the Namib Desert to the Sossusvlei. It took millions of years to form the beautiful dunes that surround Sossusvlei and Dead Vlei.

Although not all dues are numbered, the larger dunes are numbered by their distance from the entrance to the Sossusvlei valley. Dune 1 is the only 1 kilometer from the entrance.

Dune 45 is one of the popular dunes to climb. It's not as high as Big Daddy near the Dead Vlei, but provides a reasonable challenge. We didn't actually climb to the top of Dune 45 as we still had the trek into Dead Vlei ahead of us.

The sparse trees and other vegetation was also striking as we drove through the Sossusvlei. Sossusvlei means "blind river valley." Every ten years or so, it rains heavily and the Tsauchab River floods filling the valley. The large dunes block the flow of the river - hence the name "blind river"- and a lake forms amidst the dunes. However, most of the time the land is dry and the plants that survive have adapted to the arid conditions.

It can be perilous for tourists to drive their own cars through the sands in the Soussesvlei, especially if the leave the road. We passed one car mired in the sand.

Shortly before arriving at the drop off point for Big Daddy and the Dead Vlei, we saw a goshawk, likely a gabar goshawk. These birds camouflage their nests by draping spider webs of the colonial spider over their nests. The spiders continue to build their webs as the baby birds grow.

Dead Vlei is a salt pan that has been completely cut off from water. The Big Daddy sand dune cut off the Dead Vlei from the the Tsauchab River many centuries ago. However, the climate is so dry that the dead camelthorn trees in the valley have not decayed, but continue to stand around the valley. To preserve this amazing site, visitors are warned not to climb or otherwise harm the trees.

Before we began our walk, Gabriel showed us a dry, seemingly dead shrub. He picked off a piece and poured a little water on it from his water bottle and within seconds it was beginning to bloom.

It was a long trek up and down the dunes to Deadvlei. We didn't climb Big Daddy, but did see more sturdy adventurers beginning their trek up the huge dune. We passed dried out salt pans - which were a nice relief from the shifting sand under our feet. Small beetles left tiny tracks in the sand as they made their way across our path. As we climbed, we strove to step in the footsteps of those who had gone before. This kept us from sinking down as far into the sand.

A great feeling of accomplishment filled me as I saw the Dead Vlei appear below me. Just one final climb down and we had reached our destination. We walked around the salt pan gazing at the blackened trees that had died centuries ago but never decayed.

Then it was time to head back over the dunes. It seemed easier going back, perhaps the downhill parts were longer than the uphill on the return trip. We saw more beetles and a Namib sand-diver lizard (or shovel-snouted lizard - it's wedge-shaped head helps it burrow into the sand).

Afterwards, we took a break and ate the morning snack we had brought with us. Some pied crows were there to greet us at the picnic spot. They are very intelligent birds who can use tools and love shiny objects. They are similar in many ways to ravens.

As we headed home, we admired more dunes and saw a small herd of sprinkbok, and a couple of lone oryx.

Back at the lodge, sparrows were hanging out on the lamps, a gecko was resting on a rock by the gift shop and some oryx were drinking at the waterhole.

After a rest in our room, we returned to the lodge to meet for our sundowner drive. The wind was blowing the sand around which made walking to the main lodge challenging, but was beautiful to watch once there.

As we drove out for our evening drive, we asked about all the stones stacked along the side of the road. Emmanuel (he was our guide for the evening) explained that the lodge puts them all along their private road to keep guests who visit the lodge from driving off the road and leaving tire tracks across the desert and destroying the homes of small animals.

Soon after we saw a long trail across the desert. It looked like a bike trail, but was really an oryx path. They walk single file all on the same path to go to and from the waterholes. You can use their trail to find water in the desert, but you need to know what direction they are headed so you don't move away from the water.

We saw an actual oryx soon after.

We stopped by a tree with a huge weaver bird nest in it, as well as one on the ground. There were no weaver birds there currently as it is not nesting season. They enter the nests from the holes below which makes it more difficult for predators to get to the babies.

Do you remember this tree with the special pods?

Tonight we headed into the rocky hills to get a good view for our sundowner.

On the way up, we stopped to look at some fairy circles. These round symmetrical circles surrounded by only one species of grass are one of the mysteries of the desert. No one is sure how they form, but there are many theories. The legends of the Himba people of the desert claim they are the footprints of the god Mukuru. Some scientists believe termites create them to collect water. Others think the grasses themselves create them through competing root systems - also with the benefit of collecting water. The theory supported by our guide is that they are caused by fungi that kill the grass inside the circle.

Nearby we saw another goshawk, perhaps the pale chanting goshawk, searching for prey in the grass.

The sunset was beautiful over the hills as we relaxed with our soft drinks and snacks. Brent was brave and climbed along the rocky edge to get the best view. Our Holland America shore excursion escort, Rebecca, took a time lapse video of the sunset.

Back at the lodge, we had a special dinner. We watched oryx at the waterhole.

The staff treated us to some traditional song and dance during our meal.