Sossuvlei, Namibia. Stunning Sand shapes in the Skeleton Coast.
Written: Jul 20 '07 (Updated Aug 08 '07)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Beautiful scenery, very relaxing, quite interesting.
Cons: Really Hot and really Expensive to get there.
The Bottom Line: A great place to visit to get away from it all. Incredible scenery, just be careful what you spend.
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| travelgall's Full Review: Sossusvlei |
Travelgall’s 100th review. Offending the epinions community since 2003.
Leaving the ghost town of Kolmanskop behind me we had a long flight ahead of us. It was probably the longest part of the trek. The flight was interesting as due to the headwind, it only took about 200 yards to get airborne from Luderitz. After taking off from the desert town of Luderitz, a town that seems frozen in eternity due to the harsh deserts and freezing waters that surround this dusty town; we headed further into the nothingness of the Namib Desert. I have to say that it was a most enjoyable flight, as even though we were pretty high up, it involved flying over the heart of the Namib Desert; the wind and water erosion had created some amazing shapes. I’m pretty chuffed with some of the pictures I took, especially one where the propeller casts a crescent curve over one side of the photo. We basically followed the coast for about half an hour before heading inland; and in our little Cessna Citation the turbulence was incredibly fierce. The Skeleton coast itself was covered that day, you had the Blue of the oceans, then a 500 yard belt of mist where the cold currents met the hot desert and then the sands stretching to infinity on the right hand side of the plane. I subconsciously worked out how much water we would need to walk out, and came up with the answer – more than we had. In the back of my mind I was wishing I’d bought that water purifier that can turn sea water into fresh water. I was trusting the maintenance and equipment of the lowest bidder.
I’d flown in the back of little Cessna’s before, the last trip being mere months before when I was flying out of a jungle clearing in Guyana (see Kaieteur falls review), but this was the first time I’d ever spent a prolonged period in a small aircraft. What fascinated me was how simple these aircraft were, and how the power was worked out on how hot the exhaust of the aircraft was. The rest of the instrumentation (other than the navigation) seemed fairly superfluous although I’m sure an old school friend who flies for BA would disagree. The beginning and ends of the flight is a hive of activity, but for the rest of the trip only the throttle seems to be used; steering being carried out by tiny nudges of the steering wheel. It’s also amazing how soporific flying is in these small aircraft, with the drone of the engine the only man made noise as the hot desert stretches before you. After an hour and a half we dropped down into a valley with the first greenery I had seen on the trip, this was the beginning of the Namib Naukluft national park.
Sossuvlei in the Namib Naukluft national park is famous for one thing only; it has the highest sand dunes anywhere in the world according to its own PR website on the Namibia Tourist board website. It is also the setting for the most iconic image of Namibia, the 400-500 year old petrified trees that are found at the base of these incredible sand-dunes. It’s practically impossible to take a bad photo of these dunes. The black of the wood stands in excellent contrast to the perfect Blue skies and golden sand, with the tops covered in a thin mist of sand being blown off the tops by winds that come off the cold Atlantic waters. And all the time you have the dust and heat that remind you that nature can bite back if you don’t treat it with respect, more on this point later.
The Sossuvlei Hotel is found by the airstrip at the entrance to the Sossuvlei and Sesriem Canyon. The pool is minute and takes a while to be warmed up by the sun but it’s a beautiful setting. The bar has probably the most uncomfortable stools I have ever sat on but when they’re dishing out the cold ones at the end of a day’s trek in the Namib desert, quite frankly I would have sat on a Mexican Agave cactus if it meant that I could sink an Ice Cold beer. The hotel seems to be the main focus point of all the tours that go into the National Park; although there is other accommodation that surrounds this hotel. The hotel has a self catering lodge complex to take advantage of the few backpackers who venture to this part of the world. And make no mistake; they are few and far between, as students don’t usually leave their comfort zone; even when they’re out of their home nations. The ones that actually go to Africa for their gap year rather than visiting Thailand and Australia tend to head to the brighter lights of South Africa before going through the benighted country of Zimbabwe and ending up in Zanzibar. Most of the tourists here are elderly Germans doing a tour of the Colonies their grandparents would probably have been sent to.
The room, if one can call it that was very luxurious as far as African travel in the Bush goes. The main bedroom was actually a tent, with good furniture and a very large king size bed. There was no Air Conditioning but there was a large fan and numerous flaps that you could unzip to get some cool air circulating. The base of the tent was a brick or Adobe wall to keep the nasty creatures you don’t want to share a bed with out. The shower and very small reception area was made out of breeze blocks which were the much cooler part of your room, and at times I was half tempted to sleep in the shower where I could be cool. The main selling point of the hotel is the fantastic buffet that they have every night. There is a guy doing Mongolian Barbeque noodles and sauces; but the main event is the guy grilling all sorts of strange and unusual game meat. Eats such as Hartebeest, Kudu, Impala, Ostrich, Zebra (Sorry Horsie), Warthog, Alligator - which is horrible by the way - and various other animals that are appearing on the National Geographic channel wedged between a Lion’s teeth (unfortunately Lion wasn’t on offer). All told there were about 14 different meats, after the Steak, Fish, Pork and Chicken you could get too. The Alligator tastes like fish flavoured Flip Flops, but the rest of it was superb; and believe me I tried the lot; only finishing when I had eaten my own body weight in meat. The deserts were great too – apparently, but I was at this point in Mister Creosote mode and even “Un wafer thin mint” would have finished me off.
The vehicles they use are quite strange, they have metal doors you would expect to find on a World War II Willis Jeep, big fat tires (which makes a lot of sense in the desert where you don’t want to bog down) and the seating is such that it slopes upwards. The vehicle has no real sides and a canvas roof. The only thing I can compare this vehicle to is the Arkansas Chuggabug in the Wacky Races driven by Luke and Blubber Bear. Sossuvlei was formed due to the shifting movement of the sand which blocked the Tsauchab river further up (who makes up these unpronounceable and annoying to spell names, I mean what was the problem with Ayers Rock or Mount McKinley?). Geology nerds call this an erosional trough by the way. This is a very very inhospitable part of the world, the Namib desert is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean on one side and the Kalahari desert on the other side; naturally there isn’t a lot in-between.
One thing the Germans are very big on, and who can blame them, is the sundowners drive. This is when you pile in the back of the 4X4 with a hamper full of alcohol and drive into the bush. Ostensibly this is to look at game, but in reality it’s to drink whilst watching the sun go down. We set off through a vast old deserted farm that had been bought by the lodge and left to fall to pieces, thereby giving the furry bouncy things the free run of the range. Unfortunately they swerve all human contact so the closest you get to seeing an animal is a black blob on the horizon. Unless you have a rifle and scope you’re not going o get any closer. We stopped off for tea when the guide broke out the tea-pot, the table cloths and the china cups for a spot of tea and biscuits. If you’re a heathen then they can also supply coffee. I have a buddy – Lt Colonel Ralph Peters - who on discussing Colonialism in one of his books argued that Britain exports ideas now rather than Quinnine dosed regiments; and this is better. He has a point, but there were the good times too, and getting the natives to dish out a pink gin in the high veldt after a days shooting was one of them. The clothes were cool too, I feel like I should have been wearing a Pith Helmet, my Indiana Jones Brown Fedora and Khaki shirt had to suffice.
Once tea and biscuits had been packed away, we then jumped back in the Arkansas Chuggabug to continue our drive into the hills. Here we got closer to nature and saw numerous Impala and bigger, more solid forms of deer/moose with bigger antlers. He reason we saw more of these creatures was because the 4x4 wasn’t going as fast. The reason it wasn’t going as fast as before was that we were driving down a track that wasn’t fit for mules, never mind vehicles. There was the odd drop off the other side too. Eventually we got to the second spot where the guide, Pat the Pilot and I watched the sun go down drinking beers. All in all, not the worst way to spend a day. It was all the better for the fact that I wasn’t being bitten by Mosquitoes which are usually prevalent round Africa and particularly at sunset. They did offer me a Gin and Tonic to drink, but they’re not really to my taste.
After listening to the South Africans arguing over who was going to pay the bill (they were models on some form of shoot, it’s not like they ate lots); Pat the Pilot and I headed to the bar – I would have stayed and perved over the models but I have a girlfriend and old fashioned genes regarding loyalty. We sat down and discussed what we were going to do the next day, and as this was fairly new to Pat the Pilot too we were both quite excited about the drive to the dunes. The bar looks out over a watering hole and they have rigged up a light so you can see the game taking a drink.
Pat the Pilot and I talked about sport and women because partly this was all we had to talk about once we’d exhausted what the dunes were going to be link; and secondly so everybody else in the bar didn’t think we were a couple. Pat the Pilot was single and wanted to shag one of the models – I told him he should have worn his pilots’ shirt for dinner. Once we’d finished with the merits of the Australian and England Rugby and Cricket teams we decided to call it an early night as tomorrow we were leaving the hotel as soon as the National Park gates opened – and have you any idea what stupid o’clock in the morning time Game Wardens get up.
In the morning we jumped on one of the hotels vehicles into Sossuvlei. One of the highlights of this trip was watching how many vehicles bog down. Just like the retards I heard about in Guyana who decided they didn’t need a guide in the middle of a tropical rain forest, or those idiots who go hiking in the Grampians with a cardigan and half a pack of Polo mints; I never failed to be surprised by those who fail to respect the wilderness. On the trip to the Sossuvlei sand dunes in the NAMIB DESERT on the SKELETON COAST (the clues in the name people!), once the asphalt road finishes you are in 4 wheel drive country. You always get the morons in the lowered BMW’s and Citroens who think that this great big sign saying you need a 4X4 doesn’t apply to then.
Now I consider myself a decent chap when it comes to helping others; if I see somebody drowning I’m going to throw them a life raft – unless they’re George Galloway in which case I’ll throw him a house brick. But if you’re too stupid to pay attention to warning signs in the middle of the desert then you’re walking pal. Of course the ones who were stuck in the desert were French – quelle suprise! If they don’t think that Personal Hygiene applies to them then what chance do they have with signs that aren’t in their ridiculous language that they insanely believe should be the world’s tongue? Anyhow the nice African chappies gave them a lift, I wouldn’t have given them anything except the V sign – they call the English “Les “F**k Offs” for a reason you know.
Once we got there we were pretty much the first ones to arrive. Unfortunately we weren’t the first as there were some European chaps from a country with a foreign language (Greece I think) and some very bad clothes. This rules out the Italians as they’re always fabulously dressed; and equally unlikely to be in a country where they could get dirt on their Prada Loafers. They were wearing these bright red jackets that stood out like a grooms dick on the wedding night after getting through a blister pack of Viagra, and were carrying a Nikon factory on their back. As a result practically every shot of the wilderness I wanted to take was blocked by these giant pains who obviously thought that being a “Professional” photographer meant you could block everybody else’s pictures.
After lunch we were given the opportunity to climb a great big sand dune whilst the guide packed the lunch away. I came up with another solution that involved sitting at the bottom of said sand dunes in the shade with a cold Coke. The German couple I was with thought this was a good idea too, so the British, and the Australians went off with the Germans to make fun of the French again. I find it so heart-warming that the British and Germans can put aside their mutual distrust and difficult history; and come together in mutual harmony and understanding due to their shared hatred of the French. There wasn’t a single American in sight which is unusual, as practically every holiday I go on I get a gaggle of 50 trying to put the word “Like” as many times in a sentence as possible.
It’s hard to write too much on the desert, if you still don’t get what I’m talking about watch Lawrence of Arabia. However, even in the desert some creatures survive, especially since Sossuvlei is the only water for hundreds of miles around. I threw some ice cubes down on the floor, and was immediately dived on as tiny songbirds took a drink from the melting cubes. There must have been at least 50 of these delicate little birds that swooped down on the ice cubes. Obviously they knew what they are, and they seemed to relish a cold drink. So do I, so I’m wrapping this review up and going to the pub. Toodlepip.
Ghost Town Namibia http://www.epinions.com/content_392272907908
Recommended:
Yes
Best Suited For: Couples
Best Time to Travel Here: Jun - Aug
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Epinions.com ID:
travelgall
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Location: London, Great Britain
Reviews written: 104
Trusted by: 92 members
About Me:
Ex Army Stockbroker who spend all his cash on traveling.
Corruptissima Republica, Plurimae Leges.
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