My trip to Namibia (1): Dawn on Dune 45

in #travel6 years ago (edited)

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This is one of the most famous places in Namibia. Located on a 45 km road with Sesriem, more than 170 meters long, beautiful dune. We went before dawn to watch the sunrise from the very top.

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This is part of the Namib desert, an almost uninhabited area. The oldest desert in the world. Rain does not fall. It is a 1300 km long strip of sand from Kalahari. In nama language, Namib means a place where nothing exists, and so it is...

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Driving among dunes in a car without a 4x4 drive is punished with a high fine. The terrain is difficult and sandy, so an ordinary car would be buried in dry sand in a moment. We wanted to get to the place before the sunrise to watch the dawn from above, standing on a dune.

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Only a few tourists were with us while climbing to the top of the dune. The heat, which grew with the first rays of sunshine and heated sand made climbing difficult, not to mention the lack of fitness... I climbed with a hard heartbeat, following the hardened footprints of previous people. When you put your foot in fresh sand, it immediately falls into the deep.

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The rising sun synchronized with us. The rays of the sun accompanied each step up. Finally, the sun emerged from behind a great dune. The view on the shadows lying on the sand was amazing. On the other side of the dune, at the very bottom, we could see a dried lake and trees.

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The surface was interrupted by shoe imprints. After just a few hours there will be no trace of them, and Dune 45 will return to its former appearance, millions of years ago.

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Peace and love @the-veggie-sloth


Next episode:

My trip to Namibia (2): Meet the South African fur seal


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Great day @the-veggie-sloth. It was worth climbing over there. And, I think I can climb there everyday to see what you saw 😀

Those dunes bathed in the brisk sunlight looks so beautiful and magical.

Thanks for sharing. It was wonderful to to know about the trip.

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Love the sand. So reddish in color. Never knew Namibia really meant a place of nothing. Really love the desert sand

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It must be so magical to watch the sunrise there. I can imagine that it's difficult to walk there. Sometimes I even struggle to walk on the beach for longer as the sand is very flexible and makes it difficult..

If it doesn't rain there at all I wonder how come that these trees are still standing there. Yes, they are dry but I would expect they would somehow fall over or simply disappear after years and years and years of sun :)

I love your photos, especially the last one. It is because this is your only evidence of your presence there. As you said, these shoe imprints disappear in a few hours and there will be no trace anymore :)

Thank you for sharing! Happy travels!


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Lots of people feel Namibia isn't as beautiful as its surrounding countries because it is mostly dessert but you really showing off its beauty in this post. Hope you having a great time :) I havn't been there since I was a kid

It's one of the most beautiful places in the world! Still wild and very fascinating!

I have been to Namibia in the past and haven't done the Dunes. We had enough of that sort of thing in the Army so maybe it is time to enjoy them again and not see them as punishment lol. Great photographs and it looks like it was well worth the effort to catch sunrise.

Namibia is changing very fast, so it's the last moment to get into the wild, and be there before McDonalds :D

It's a shame really, but everywhere is changing and not for the better. Finding places that are untouched are going to be harder to find and only the remoteness will save them.

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hello @the-veggie-sloth
great trip! we too, passionate travelers, sooner or later we will fly to Africa hoping to see a beautiful sunrise like the one you saw! Thank you for bringing with you your descriptions and photos!

This is the part of the world I always wanted to see but it's on the other end of the world :) I've seen documentaries about Namibia but those were mostly about the animal world and reservations. Your blog on the other hand has showed me a wonderful side of Namibia. The desert must be fascinating and dangerous ant the same time. I love the orange sand and the orange light of the sun, these photos are fantastic!

Thanks! :) We, people from colder countries, can spend only a few hours there. The dry air kills us quickly! :)