Namib Desert: Dune 45 at Sunrise

My alarm was set for 4:30 am, but I didn’t need it. The campground was already buzzing. Groggy-but-excited travelers raced around, getting ready to drive into the Namib Desert for sunrise.

 

By 4:50, my group of six, plus driver Gabriel and assistant Manfred, were in line and waiting for the gate to open. From there, it would be a race to Dune 45 — 45 kilometers down the road — before the sun rose just before 6 am.

 

For the first few kilometers of the drive, I could see nothing but stars above me and car tail lights in front of me. But as we got deeper into the desert, I could start to see silhouettes of something big — was it rocks? was it sand dunes? was it mountains? — surrounding the road on both sides. The further we drove, the bigger they got.

 

Just as the desert was starting to glow in the pre-dawn light, we stopped. We’d reached Dune 45 — the Namib Desert’s premier sunrise spot.

 

Climbing Dune 45

 

 

If you’ve seen photos of the Namib Desert, chances are they were taken at Dune 45. It’s close to the road, not too difficult to hike up, and offers stunning east-facing views from the top.

 

Gabriel had blown past all the other cars and gotten us to the base of Dune 45 first. Each night, the desert winds cover the path from the previous day — so we had to blaze our own trail to the summit.

 

At first, it was easy. The base of the dune was wide. Hiking through the sand was exhausting, but at least it wasn’t too steep. However, the closer we got to the top, the narrower the path became. There wasn’t even room to put my feet side-by-side. On both sides were steep drop-offs. It was vertigo-inducing.

 

Of course, my fear of falling was ridiculous — it was sand, for crying out loud! It’s not like I was going to plunge of a cliff! But with the sun starting to come up, I sat down on the edge just a few meters away from the summit.

 

As the sun crept over the horizon, I watched the desert change color from pale pink to fiery orange. I was surrounded by some of the tallest and oldest sand dunes in the world, in what felt like a barren wasteland — but is actually less than 100 km from the sea.

 

When it was time to go down, I had two options — the 30-minute slog the way I’d come, or the short cut, 170 meters straight down the side of the dune. So I faced my fear of heights and took that first precarious step off the trail. To my surprise, I didn’t plummet to my death — instead, I sunk into the sand up to my mid-shins. So I took another step. And then another. And suddenly, I was sprinting uncontrollably down the side of the sand dune. It took about 3 minutes to reach the bottom.

 

The incredible Wild Dog Safaris team had breakfast waiting for us at the base of the dune. It was perfect.

 

Dead Vlei: The Namib Desert’s “Death Valley”

 

 

We didn’t have much time to dawdle at breakfast — we had to finish our activities in the Namib Desert before the sun got too strong. So we piled back into the land cruiser and headed further down the road. The next 20 km were paved, but after that, we turned onto the sand tracks. It was like being on a roller coaster. We skidded back and forth, felt weightless as we sped over the tops of dunes, and got quite the “African massage.”

 

We stopped at the base of “Big Daddy” — the Sossusvlei area’s largest sand dune. (Sossusvlei is the name of the section of the Namib Desert we were in — the most-visited by tourists.) It’s upwards of 300 meters tall. To reach the top, you have to go up for awhile, go down, and then hike up for a long, long time again. But you’re rewarded with sweeping views of Dead Vlei.

 

Dead Vlei was once an oasis. Water collected there and allowed acacia trees to grow. But hundreds of years ago, the valley dried out. In an area that sees only a few millimeters of rainfall a year, the trees didn’t last. Now, the valley is full of these dead trees, giving it an otherworldly appearance against the backdrop of the orange dunes.

 

I intended to climb to the top of Big Daddy. But about 2/3 of the way up, I bailed. The views of Dead Vlei were great, but you get the point after a few minutes. So I sprinted down the side of another sand dune and into the valley. I spent the next 45 minutes walking around and taking photos of the creepy dead trees. The area is strangely beautiful.

 

By 11 am, the sun was beating down strong. The orange desert sands had turned a more typical beige. It was time to head back to camp.

 

Namib Desert practicalities

 

 

The only ways to reach the Namib Desert are in your own car or on a tour. If you’re traveling alone, it costs about $100 a day either way. If you’re not comfortable driving in Africa, I’d recommend the tour — the gravel roads were pretty bad in this part of Namibia.

 

It’s a full day’s drive from Windhoek or Swakopmund. Coming from Fish River Canyon/Luderitz, I’d suggest spending a night at the amazing Klein Aus Vista campsite as a staging point — it would be too far to drive from any further afield. The first 100 km or so of this drive is very rough and remote.

 

Once you get to the Sessriem area (the base for Sossusvlei), you’ll have two options: Stay outside the outer gate, or stay at Sessriem Campsite. The advantage to the former is more choices. But the downside is you have no chance of getting to the dunes for sunrise — the outer gate doesn’t open until 6 am.

 

Sessriem Campsite is the only accommodation inside the outer gate. If you get one of the ten original sites — each in the shade of a giant acacia tree — it’s fantastic. My group did, and it was my favorite campsite in Namibia by far. However, people who get stuck in the “overflow area” tend to be much less impressed. The campsite has a small shop that sells snacks and water, but bring supplies to cook your meals from elsewhere.

 

There are two other popular activities in the Namib Desert that you can do in the evenings before and after you visit Sossusvlei. The first is a short hike through Sessriem Canyon. There isn’t a whole lot to see here, but it’s a nice spot to watch the sunset and kill time before dinner. The second is a hike up Elim Dune. This takes about 45 minutes (that first “summit” isn’t the real summit, folks!), but the views over the whole desert make it worth it.

 

You may be exhausted by your early wake-up call, but a day in the Namib Desert is a travel experience you won’t soon forget.

 

Like this post? Pin it!

 

 

Have you been to the Namib Desert? What was your favorite part? Leave a comment!