Dune 45 – Faye Anderson Blog #4
Our day was off to an early start, everyone was up at 5.30am to walk up Dune 45 to watch the sunrise. Dune 45 is a magnificent dune which is 45km between the roads that connect Sossusvlei and the Sesrieum Gate. At 6am we waited at the main gates of our camp site to be allowed into the National Park. This is when I noticed some of my fellow travelers had gone back to sleep.
As daylight started to break those that were awake got to see the many sand dunes that make the Namibian Desert a harsh but fascinating place. The road was particularly long this morning, and we were a bit worried that we would miss the sunrise. However, we finally arrived at the parking area where we found ourselves looking up at this massive sand dune we were about to climb. Those feeling energetic started running, but of course that didn’t last long. I found that walking in socks was much easier as shoes fill up with sand making walking more difficult.
The idea is to walk on the very top of the dune and in the footprint of the person in front. It takes about 20min to walk, many people struggled as I did and at times thought my heart was coming out of my chest, but it was never going to beat me, and I did get to the top with enough time to take in this incredible site.
You have to like sand dunes as that is all you see, so many and each one unique. Not everyone wants to get to the top they are just happy to be sitting part way up on the famous dune and be able to say I watched the sunrise from Dune 45.
By the time I got to the top so many people were already sitting, waiting for that incredible sunrise that changes the colours of the landscape and the sand dunes. As we all sit and wait there is hardly a word spoken, most were getting their cameras ready making sure they had the correct setting, this was just perfect. The sun finally started to rise and it was breath taking, everyone was furiously clicking away as we all knew it wouldn’t last long.
It is well worth the early morning, and yes, it was everything one had hoped it would be. I have now done this walk 6 times and I still never tire of the view – they just need an escalator hidden under the sand for us older people. As soon as it over everyone is content to sit and take it all in for a while. To look down on the truck and the people walking around you realise just how high Dune 45 is. The descent down is the kinda walking I like, nice, easy ,casual stroll, but some choose to take the shortcut and either run or roll down the sides. Back at the truck our guides have been busy preparing us a hot breakfast. What a way to start the day.