Rostock Ritz Namib-Naukluft Park

Hauchabfontein Camping 17th &amp; 18th July 2009<br><br>This has to be one of the best campsites ever in our opinion. To reach it we took the C27 towards Sesrium passing through the Namid Rand Nature Reserve. Here we saw gemsbok, kudu, springbok, zebra and secretary birds to name a few. Lovely area to drive through and the roads are suitable for 2WD even though they are only dusty sand/gravel roads. We decided not to stop ...

Destination 359<br><br>km178'954<br><br>After crossing 100s of kilometres of nabian desert gravel roads, some of them with nasty sandy parts, I arrived to the Namib Naukluft Park, to visit and enjoy the giant sand dunes along Sossusvlei. As a result of the Park's friendly and hospitable offer, to build up my tent at the official Campground for around 55 US$ (this is here legal ...

When I had an image of Namibia in my mind before I came, it involved large red sand dunes as far as they eye could see. That's what we got! Setting off pre-dawn, we launched ourselves up Dune 45 (the most accessible of the bigger dunes in the region) to watch the sun rise. A lot of people flagged on the way - climbing on sand isn't easy - but 6 of us made it to the top to watch the ...

... on Styrofoam and yup it was pretty delicious.  Slightly dry with no cream or icecream and containing dead flies aka raisins but when in the middle of nowhere such small things can be easily overlooked.  Mmmm mmm it was good.  Felt sick after but well worth it!  Oliver stuck to a mint magnum.  Even when food's scarce you can't get him eating fruit! Boys saw a sticker for the Pink Caravan which got them all excited.  The Pink Caravan is a Swedish tour company which of course only ...

On our way up from Luderitz to Swakopmund we decide to take the unsealed back roads that border the eastern edge of the Namib Desert rather than the easier, but B1, way out of our itinerary in the west. I know many of you are still waiting for an entry about the farm Claire and I stayed by the dunes, and that I've briefly mentioned in my previous post, but you'll have to bear with me a little longer, as we are on the move. In the meantime ...

... see multitudinous springbuck and ostrich. The entire drive to Sossus one is sided by sand dunes, and as Namibia has had such an exceptional rainy season, the grass was standing knee high just about the whole length of the drive right up into these dunes. Not exactly what I had expected to see. Looked more like savannah plains one would expect in Kenya. We arrived at the main parking area, 4km from ...

... I just ran down the side of it. Its really steep and your feet sink in almost up to the knee if you stop moving. The sand if very soft and fun to run downhill in. Our guides were nice enough to have breakfast made and waiting for us at the bottom...frech toast...another treat! After breakfast, we drove another 10 minutes into the park to a place called Sossusvlei. I don't know how we managed but our desert guide fit about 30 people into a large pickup truck. We ...

... canyon floor runs a long way in both direction. A bunch of us decided to hike/swim on an adventure through the canyon. Its a little creepy but very cool at the same time. We were told there were no crocodiles in here but it doesn't stop your mind from thinking about it. We stayed at the canyon until close to sunset and then headed back to the campsite. We had fijitas tonight for dinner...way too much food but they were excellent. Its an early night.

... red and white lighthouse and sea lions in season). Kolmanskop is now a ghost town, the once inhabited and prosperous houses, casino and tavern are filling up with the encroaching desert sand. the grains burying the last of what was a diamond age. From the white diamond sands of the west coast of namibia we next steered north toward more sand. couplethis time red. We were headed for the massive red sand sea of western Namibia. The sand ...

... the lead for most of the rest of the way, only falling at the last section when I could taste my lungs. The view from the top was definitely worth it, the colours of the sand in the rising sunlight were spectacular. We rested at the top for about an hour before trundling back down for pancakes at the bottom; it was definitely easier on the way down. After breakfast we met Boesman, who was to be our Desert Guide for our walk to Soussesvlei. We piled into his bakke (ute) and he ...