0615 was our meeting time on this day as we had to drive 3 km for breakfast and then drive 1/4 mile to the entrance of the park. By the time we had finished breakfast there was already a line of vehicles at the park entrance as they open at sunrise.
Once inside we had a 64 km drive on paved road to where the dunes were. We made a number os photo stops along the way and on one of them there was a hot air balloon over the distant dunes which looked really cool and caused me to re-evaluate whether to try it or not.
Once out at the dunes some elected to pay 100 Rand for a 4X4 ride to the dead lei area where they still had to walk 1.2 km to get to the site. The rest of the group paid 50 Rand for the ride back and set out on foot over the red sand for the dunes.
There were too many photo opportunities along the ways and Mike, Tim and I fell back from the main group who patiently waited for us to catch up a couple of times. We had been told to wear long shirts and pants, sunscreen and hats for this trip. Closed shoes were a must as the sand would get inside your shoes and be very uncomfortable. Bob elected for the ride as he only had water shoes. We we were also to bring at least 1.5 litres of water as this was going to be a 3 hour hike if you went the whole way.
As we neared the deadvlei Mishek informed our group that we could climb the one dune and go down the other side, something we had already done on a much smaller dune. Going down you slide a lot and this is where your shoes fet filled up with sand. Thanks (and I mean a BIG thanks to Darlene and Missy for helping me on choosing some great hiking boots and urging me to get some "good" socks as well. I got hardly any sand in my shoes and the socks somehow stayed dry, even tho it was starting to get really hot.
When we got to the big dune, Tim elected to go with some others for the shortcut rather than attempt the dune. In the end, Terry, Sue, Frank, Mike and I were the only ones who made it to the top.
It was quite a hike but the view was worth it. Going down to the deadvlei flat was fun and the dead trees were fascinating to view.
On a side note, if a walk on the red dunes of Namibia is not on your bucket list, maybe it should be.
By the time we made it back to the vehicles that were to take us back to the bus, everyone was very hot, a number were limping a bit (my right knee was getting a bit sore) and Bill's wife Cheryl was suffering from heat exhaustion.
On the way back we were to go on another hike down some canyon but everyone passed in favour of going back to the tents. Instead we had lunch, photo stop at canyon and then back to tents for cold beer, a sleep or dip in pool for others.
Supper that night was a repeat of the previous evening and we were back to tents by 9:30 pm.
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