Sossusvlei & the Namib Desert, Namibia

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Namibia, as they say is the land of contrasts, and having had first hand experience of this beautiful country, I can agree full heartedly. I visited Namibia in February 2006 with a group of fellow tourism associates, on a mission to learn about the 'Land of Contrasts'.

• Sarah Renshaw
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Namib-Naukluft National Park

The enormous red sand dunes scattered across the vast plains of the Namib Desert transform this inhospitable desert into a dream landscape for photographers and nature lovers. The 200 000 ha make it Namibia’s largest private conservation area. Activities in the area include 4 wheel drive trips, hot air balloon trips and guided hikes lasting up to several days, a great way to learn about the desert’s fauna and flora.

The impressive Naukluft Mountains rise out of the desert, the mountainsides are rocky and with little vegetations but in the ravines and valleys you can explore waterfalls, streams and verdant ravines. It’s a peaceful with some serious hiking trails. The lush vegetation includes sycamore figs and wild olives. Birdlife is prolific too.

Sesriem and Sossusvlei

In the centre of the park the Tsauchab River meanders into the heart of the desert. Along its course the river has carved smooth tunnels from the sandstone, forming the beautiful Sesriem Canyon. Emerging into the desert, it has formed a flat avenue, now lined by towering huge red dunes. This is a stunning journey and at the end, you can walk across a small bar of sand into Sossusvlei, 'Gathering place of water' the Nama called this place. And indeed – amongst the high dunes of the enormous sand sea there is a clay pan, which was clearly formed by water. The pan only fills up once within several years, though, when there has been sufficient rain in the catchment area of the Tsauchab. Usually Sossusvlei is totally dry. The famous star dunes of Sossusvlei tower around the depression, offering thousands of themes to photographers – the most beautiful ones early in the morning and late in the afternoon when light and shadow create a more three-dimensional appearance of the landscape. Only from the top will you experience the sheer size of the dunes, and your effort will be rewarded with a spectacular view of the sand sea.

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