10 Little Kulala, Sossusvlei

at the top of Sossusvlei dune number 45
at the top of Sossusvlei dune number 45

 10.03.14, Little Kulala lodge, Sossusvlei sand dunes

 The next morning we were up at 5.00 to go and see the Sossusvlei sand dunes in the dawn light before it became too hot. The highest one is 276m high and they are all fine reddish sand and quite spectacular. We climbed dune number 45 which was about 100m high and enough for walking as the soft sand is exhausting – a bit like soft snow. Afterwards we visited a flat pan area in the dunes with lots of dead trees which had been there for 90 years. They do not rot in the dry heat and are a popular photographic subject. The temperature was 34deg. There were no animals except a small lizard which buries itself in the sand and a jackal at the picnic place. We also saw the black beetles which collect dew on their bodies on the top of the dunes at dawn.

 The last afternoon nature drive did not produce much in the way of game sightings. I was alone with the guide who drove me up onto a small hill to see the sunset. We then had dinner together at the lodge. He was a young man with a family in Swakopmund, which he was also leaving for the next morning. However unlike me he did not have a direct flight in a (very) small plane but would have to travel the whole way by road via Windhoek, taking all day.

 

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