Let's Do the Dunes!

Tuesday, August 30th:  We were woken at 5:00am to the overland trucks heading out of the campground towards the sand dunes to catch the sunrise.  Unfortunately, I was not aware that watching the sunrise from the sand dunes was a thing to do; therefore, I refused to get up at 5:00am when Jeff tried to get me going.  Sorry, Jeff!  We ended up headed for the dunes around 7:00am.  It was about 45 minutes from the Sesriem campground to the parking lot for the dunes.  Once at the parking lot, you have to either walk, drive your own 4WD vehicle back or pay for a ride.  It was $15/person round trip, but worth it to not have to walk 5km (3.1 miles).  The first drop off was Soussesvlei.  We hiked up to the top of the dunes.  It is weird because you end up walking where the two sides come to a peak.  It is kind of freaking going back down.  Jeff joined the trend of taking your shoes off and just running down as fast as you can go.  I took a video of it hoping to have something to submit to Funniest Home Videos, but Jeff has too good of balance.  Bummer!



We then took a shuttle to the next set of dunes called Deadvlei (Dead Lake).  This hike was steeper and a lot longer.  We stopped after awhile, because it just kept going and going in the opposite direction as the shuttle.  The dunes were reddish/orange and the sand got everywhere and weighed down your shoes.  We had to take our shoes off several times to empty them out, so that we could keep going.  Also, as you are moving the sand around, these little black beetles come out from under the sand and scurry down the dunes.  They go so fast, and it is quite funny to watch.  They reminded me of those people-eating bugs from the movie "The Mummy".  I didn't get a picture of them, because they moved too fast for my camera. Darn!




After we arrived back to our car, we headed back to our campsite.  Due to the wind and sand, our tent was a mess.  The poor thing was snuggled up to a tree and our sleeping bags, pillows, and so much more were covered with red sand.  Dinner was pasta and chicken with a spoonful of sand.  Yummy! Tomorrow we have no plans but to drive...

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