We wound our way west toward the village of Sesriem and the Sossusvlei Dunes, some of the tallest in Africa. The Namib-Naukluft Park has one of the most impressive expanses of sand dunes we have witnessed. Unfortunately, you are not allowed to drive through a majority of the park. With the Atlantic lapping at its western slope, the red sands of the Namib encompass over 30,000 square kilometers, stretching inland for 100 kilometers to the north and south for another 150 km. An o'dark-30 start put us at the edge of Dead Vlei, a salt pan, in the predawn light. Along with our new German traveling mates who had been attempting the same hike, we made the hour hike up a knife-edge ridge to the top of the Sossusvlei Dunes, 782 feet from top to bottom. From the top, we looked across the tops of equally lofty dunes for as far as the eye could see. Walking a few kilometers into this sea of dunes might put you in a place that no human has ever set foot.
One of the cool things about traveling without firm reservations is the spontaneity of the adventure. Our German friends mentioned the Welwitschia forest and Grootinkas to the north, one of the few natural springs and a place where Burchell's zebras are said to frequent. Known as the Khomas region, the terrain transitioned through a dozen identifiable geological regions and ecosystems. One hundred and eighty million years ago, when the supercontinent of Pangaea began to break up into the seven terrestrial continents, southwestern Africa was akin to the Brazilian coastline. As the tectonic plates contorted and shifted, separating Africa from its western cousin, the Khomas was uplifted and folded like a crumpled piece of raw pizza dough. Precipitous canyons, crafted by a thousand millennia of wind and water, transitioned into alluvial plains. That night, we would have one of these canyons all to ourselves, with not a soul for miles around.
Staying off the main routes, we doglegged through the gravel plains and canyons, stopping to poke around for snakes and spotting a few ostrich and camels enroute. At the bottom of a small valley lay a caked and cracked mudflat at the base of a small earthen dam. The mud beneath the surface shown black, a sign that moisture was still seeping down the draw from the Grootinkas spring. The local wildlife would soon be digging up the mudflat in search of the season's last water.
We set up camp at the edge of the draw and stayed up until the wee hours in complete silence in hopes that a few zebras would happen by. We awoke to howling screams in the darkness. Constantly on the lookout for predators, zebras are extremely skittish and aware of their surroundings. They wouldn't get near our camp. Morning light exposed hoof prints of a half-dozen different species of animals that had sneaked down to the spring under the cloak of darkness.
A couple of miles north lay the welwitschia forest. With trees standing less than 2 feet tall, without leaves, and several hundred yards distance from each other, it is not exactly what we would call a forest. Unique in form, the welwitschia is estimated to be one of the oldest living plants, surviving up to several thousand years in one of the harshest environs on the planet. Appropriately named, we were told that welwitschia means "two leaves, won't die" in the native language. We had been 10 days on the road, eating canned chicken curry and peas, PB&J, and cold cereal - it was time to head to town for supplies and a shower and laundry.
Join us next month for part two of the "African Road Trip" as 4WD&SU takes you deep into the famed Okavango Delta on a mokoro (dugout canoe) and to the wilds of the Kaudom Game Reserve.