4th June 08

Date: 4th June 08
Location: Sesriem, Namibia
Weather: Clear blue skies and sunshine all day, colder 24°c
Status: Very happy and doing well

Up very early to catch the sunrise over the dunes. Tents were packed away and we waited patiently at the gate with all of the big chicken freight overland trucks…we were third in line. It’s a total distance of 64kms from the gate to the dunes and it’s a race between everyone to get there first. We let the trucks head off and within a few km’s had caught them up and overtaken them….there’s no way I’m going to let a 12t truck beat me so we flew past the quickest at 120kph the fastest speed of the trip so far!

Got to the dunes first and climbed to the top of Sossusvlei just in time for the sunrise after a 30min climb up steep sand….go for the heart and the training finally!

Took loads of snaps and headed to Deadvlei which is one of the places I really really wanted to visit on the trip and when we got there I was so happy we’d made it. It resembles the end of the earth, a lunar landscape or a old battle field with blue skies, red dunes and dead tree stumps. Along with Kubu Island which I visited on a previous trip to Africa this rates as one of my finest places on the planet for photography, awesome!

Left after an hour and headed back to the camp to pack up and hit the gravel road south. After an hour I was shattered and decided to have a power nap at the edge of the road and a coffee afterwards to kick start the driving again.

We drove for 8hrs and managed to cover 630kms in all, excellent progress, and pulled into the Lafenis Game Lodge for the night for some cheap camping and a cold beer before heading to bed.


End of day location: Keetsmanshoop, Namibia
Distance covered: 630kms