Showing posts with label sand dunes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sand dunes. Show all posts

Sunday, 3 July 2016

ON THE ROAD SURPRISES - Part 7 - THE NAMIB DESERT

This series is not called On the road Surprises for nothing. When I see something that tweaks my sense of humour, I just have to take a photograph, if at all possible.



Namibian Road Sign

I'm staying in Namibia this week to give you a few more tasters of this wonderful country. The following is an edited extract from one of my travel articles:


Any feature you see on Namibia will generally have a photograph of the apricot coloured sand dunes of the Namib Desert.   



The most popular and accessible area is Sossusvlei via Sesriem. At Sesriem we stocked up on refreshments because there are no facilities at Sossusvlei. 

From Sesriem we drove a further 60 kms on a badly tarmacked road to what is called The Two Wheel Drive Car Park. 

This road took us through a broad valley flanked with massive dunes up to 300 metres high.  We were compelled to stop frequently to photograph these fabulous natural sculptures which looked like part of a Star Wars landscape.



At Sossusvlei we climbed a monster dune, then jumped and slithered back down again like a couple of kids.









After emptying the sand from our boots we walked across the silvery crackle-glazed vlei - or pan - to take the shuttle back to the dusty car park.  The only facilities at the car park are three individual toilet huts that look like the privies you see in old Westerns. 

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Ostriches are ubiquitous in Namibia. I was delighted to see a lone bird strutting its stuff in the Namib.







Do let me know if you've enjoyed this post.



Next week I'll be taking you to the South Pacific for more On the Road Surprises.