Pitching a tent in the middle of the Namibian desert is indescribable. As Stef my German roommate said ‘it would be much cooler to stand underneath a blow dryer’! That just about describes it perfectly!! There is NO such thing as sun bathing. It’s like you run for shade as fast as you can and when you get there you sweat like a mo fo! It’s unreal!

Our first night in the tent was…interesting. When we tried to fall asleep we just sprawled out in a starfish position (well as starfish as you can get with two people and two back packs in a smallish tent). It turned out to get cooler as the night went on and by 3 am I could actually cover myself. You could definitely hear either wildcats like cheetahs, leopards or lions carrying on in the distance. It is eerie, but also incredible to be surrounded by these sounds.  When we woke there were fresh hoof prints all around the tents.

 

This morning it was a 530 rise. We had to get moving before the heat set in. We went to the massive sand dunes that are well known in pictures of Namibia. We climbed to to the top of Dune 45 which was about 170 metres. It was challenging because A. it’s sand. and B. I’m totally out of shape. After slugging it to the top the view was magnificent!  With the sun rising on the bright red dunes it just made the climb so worth it.

Our next stop was Death Valley. Here we walked deep into the desert and in the middle was this surface that looked like the moon’s crust with 800 year old dead trees dotted around. Again, this was a sight to be seen. But let me tell you…f*%# hot! I tried to pose for a photo opp by wrapping my legs around the base of the tree and holding on with my thighs. Let me warn you against this…I walked away with many slivers in my inner thighs. Not sure how I am going to get those puppies out?

Right now a few of us stopped in at a fancy ass lodge for a buffet and free wifi. I dread the walk back to the campsite but let me tell you, I will jump into the murky pool as soon as I get there. It will be like a mirage! The non chlorinated pool that you can’t see your body when you’re in it is simply the cats ass! At home you would never jump into water like this, but here…this is a no brainer!