Ticking Off The Tourist CheckList

Gazillions of Stars, millions of breath-taking views, thousands of kilometres driven, hundreds of elephants, tens of black rhino and one very special pangolin. That was our Namibia trip in numbers and every one has a story.

From the first moment, until the last we were fortunate enough to explore mesmerising landscapes, find beautiful and rare wildlife as well as have the most incredible sunrises and sunsets every single day.

However for all of Namibia’s wild, untouched places, there’s one region that just screams “Namibia”. The Sesriem/Sossusveli area is where the bright orange sand dunes meet the turquoise blue sky. From climbing the dunes, to nature drives, hot air ballooning, everything you can imagine possible, is.

One evening I was even cajoled into going horse riding through this rugged landscape. The things I do for Marliek!

But the highlight of this area without a doubt is visiting Sossusvlei, and although it’s one of the more popular places to visiting in the country, it is a must.

We entered the gates at sunrise to ensure the coolest temperatures and enjoyed the scenery, Dune 40 was the one we decided to climb. It’s certainly not as famous as Big Daddy, and therefore not as busy. So we made our way up and enjoyed unrivalled views across the valley by ourselves.

By the time we had finished here, the day was heating up rapidly, but this played to our advantage. When we started walking towards Deadvlei, the throng of people that had arrived there early were walking back towards us, leaving the Valley without another soul.

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The beauty of Deadvlei, aside from the incredible petrified trees, is the isolation you feel here. The wind on top of the dunes isn’t apparent here and nothing stirs. It really is Death Valley.

The forest of dead trees, surrounded by dunes shows the stark beauty of one of Namibia’s most photographed spots and the midday heat didn’t deter us from enjoying every moment as we strolled through this unique landscape all alone.

We may have been ticking off the most touristy bits of the country, but as luck would have it, we timed our visit to perfection! 

The following days were spent enjoying the incredible scenery, sleeping under the stars and of course making the most of the warmth and sunshine by the pool.

This was just the beginning of an extraordinary adventure, and there’ll be plenty more stories, pictures and videos to share in the upcoming weeks.