Sossusvlei & Deadvlei

Breakfast at seven, out the door between eight and half past, heading into the Namib-Naukluft National Park — one of the largest national parks in the world and home to some of the most extraordinary desert landscapes on Earth. A quick stop at Sossus Oasis to refuel and pick up the park permit, and then in.

Our first stop was Sossusvlei — a salt and clay pan ringed by towering orange dunes, with Big Mama Dune rising directly behind it. We climbed the dune for a panoramic view over the desert that was, simply, one of the most spectacular things any of us had ever seen. Lunch followed at the car park, using the cooking equipment from the jeeps.

The afternoon took us to Deadvlei and Big Daddy Dune. Big Daddy is said to be the tallest dune in Namibia, reaching somewhere between 300 and 400 metres. We climbed partway up — not to the summit, but enough to earn the view. Deadvlei itself is something else entirely: a perfectly flat white clay pan surrounded by dark red dunes, scattered with the blackened skeletons of camel thorn trees that have been standing dead for six to nine hundred years. The contrast — white floor, black trees, red dunes, blue sky — looks almost painted. It is one of those places that photographs well and still manages to exceed expectations in person.

Back at the Sossus Dune Lodge by late afternoon for a swim and some rest before dinner. Along the way throughout the day — across open plains before entering the park, and through the desert itself — we spotted zebras, oryx, springboks, impalas, ostriches, and baboons.