Review of Sossusvlei
One of the most out of this world places in this world, the area surrounding Sossusvlei has been a must-see for anyone visiting Namibia. The images in this post has all been captured by the owners of Awesome Chapters, Isolde and Evert Vorster.
For this short little review, we’ll start at Sossusvlei, and work our way back to the accommodation areas. Sossusvlei itself, and the dunes immediately surrounding it, has this beautiful mixture of yellow sand dunes, and vegetation. “Vlei” is an Afrikaans word for pan, or a body of shallow water.
Considering the hyper-aridity of the Namib, this may seem a little bit of a misnomer. However, if exceptionally rainy seasons, the pan does fill with water. If you do see water here, you are exceptionally lucky!
Normally, the skies are cloudless bright blue, and temperatures in the summer time soar in the daytime. Because of the depth provided by shadows on the dunes, and the high temperatures during midday, the best time to get to Sossusvlei is as soon as the gates open in the morning, and late in the evening. Just ensure that you leave before the gates close!
At the pan of Sossusvlei there are some picnic benches where you can take a break and relax. The silence in this part of the world is deafening. You can hear birds walking on the ground, the rustle of wind in the leaves. Taking a stroll through this beautiful landscape is highly recommended.
The Oryx frequent this area, and are quite tame. Should you keep still enough you might even capture a good image of one with your mobile phone camera! The picture above was taken with a Canon 5D Mk III through a USM L 100-400 zoom lens, so not exactly the same thing.
Big Daddy is quite possibly the highest dune in the world. As it is made of sand it’s height changes slightly through the years, but it has been measured to be 325m from foot to crest. The view from the top of this dune is quite simply breathtaking. The dune sea extends South of the dune for hundreds of kilometres. At the foot of the Big Daddy is the Dead vlei, pictured below.
Climbing the dune takes approximately two hours, when you follow the easy route up. Even the easy route up is still on soft sand, and you need to have a fair level of fitness and lack of serious medical conditions to make it to the top. There is a full clinic at Sesriem campsites, but that is an hour away…
The iconic Dead vlei, with it’s petrified trees are most often the image that comes up when someone mentions Sossusvlei. There are a few of these vlei in the area, as the dunes cut up the clay that forms the pan. Used in popular movies like “The Cell” for it’s otherworldly qualities, you will be entertained for hours & taking some of the best pictures of your life in this pan.
The road to Sossusvlei has been paved to reduce the dust kicked up by vehicles coming for a visit. All along this smooth drive the scenery slowly changes from the grassy fields and impressive rock formations of the Naukluft mountain ranges into grassy fields with impressive dunes. On your trip into this area you will find yourself constantly stopping to photograph the landscape.
Nearing the campsites at Sesriem, the dunes give way to grassy fields and the Naukluft mountains in the distance. When some rains have fallen, this area turns green, and all the wild life has a spring in their step. The entire area just comes alive, and this is a special time in this very special place.
If you have the resources, this must be the most incredible hot air balloon ride in the world. As I personally have not experienced this activity speculation is all I have while viewing them from the ground.
