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ON SAFARI IN NAMIBIA - THE LAND GOD MADE IN ANGER
Experience the haunting beauty of the Namib Desert at Sossusvlei Mountain Lodge, situated in the foothills of the private NamibRand Nature Reserve in Namibia. Thanks to conservation efforts, the NamibRand spans 445 000 acres of pristine desert wilderness, and is the largest private nature reserve in Southern Africa. The Namib – known as ‘The Living Desert’ – is a world of vast space, endless horizons, dramatic desertscapes and jagged mountain heights. Led by Sossusvlei’s expert rangers and naturalists, explore the desert by quadbikes (all-terrain four-wheeled motorcycles), open 4x4 vehicles – even by hot-air balloon. Excursions to the famous Sossusvlei sand dunes, the highest in the world, and Sesriem Canyon will add to this unforgettable desert-safari experience. |
| The Sossusvlei Desert Safari is conducted in the heart of the Namib Desert on the farm Vreemdelingspoort, which is one of eleven farms that make up the NamibRand Nature Reserve. This pristine reserve, one of the largest in Africa, is a massive 445 000 acres and shares a common border of some 110 km with the Namib-Naukluft Park in the west and is protected by the Nubib mountain range in the east. The special attraction of the NamibRand is the captivating beauty and diversity of its landscape, which changes from expansive gravel plains to undulating dune seas, rugged canyons with towering walls of volcanic rock and distant mountain ranges. |
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The surrounding area lends itself to numerous activities which include scenic drives by four-wheel drive vehicle on the NamibRand Nature Reserve where you encounter a variety of desert animals such as gemsbok, zebra, springbok, bat-eared fox, aardwolf, caracal and jackal. An excursion to the highest dunes in the world at nearby Sossusvlei provides both the keen and amateur photographer with ample photo opportunities. A wonderful way of experiencing the dunes is by All Terrain Vehicles with an experienced guide, who takes one along set paths so as not to damage the fragile ecology.
Guided nature walks and hiking trails provide an insight to the scenic and ecological aspects of the environment with its wide diversity of desert-adapted flora and fauna.
At the end of the day the blanket of stars, which lights up the desert sky, are brought to life through the lodge’s high-powered computerized telescope. Housed in a separate building, this Meade Telescope affords the amateur and the professional stargazer a close-up view of the galaxy. |
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TOP REASONS TO VISIT NAMIBIA
Namib – the world’s oldest desert
Highest sand dunes
Desert-adapted wiife like rare oryx antelope
Fascinating NamibRand Nature Reserve
Exclusive traversing rights over 32 123 res |
Thrilling desert activities include quadbiking
Malaria-free wilderness
Private Observatory
Stargazing with professional astronomers
Dramatic scenery |
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Your game viewing experience at Sossusvlei, Namibia:
The NamibRand Nature Reserve is on the eastern boundary of the Namib-Naukluft National Park. It is part of the Namib Desert, the oldest and one of the driest in the world. Its aridity is shaped by the cold Benguela which captures and condenses humid air that would otherwise be blown ashore. This area hosts some animal life unlike that found anywhere else on earth. Mammals include springbok, Hartmann's zebra, baboon, hartebeest, Grant's golden mole and the silent dune sentinel, the clown-like oryx (gemsbok). Local predators to look out for are hyena, cheetah, jackal, Cape and bat-eared foxes, aardwolf and African wildcat.
Over 115 species of birds occur in the area. These include Ostrich, Lappet-faced Vultures, Black Eagles, Booted Eagles, Martial Eagles and Sociable Weavers, the haphazard architects of the largest bird nests in the world. Green trees like the Quiver, Camelthorn Acacia, Phantom Tree and Wild Hair Green Tree are among the picturesque vegetation punctuating the intense colour of the orange desert against the cobalt blue sky. A dune lizard of interest is the fearsome-looking Namaqua Chameleon, which grows up to 25cm in length.
Several variety of Namib "skink"
(snake-like creatures) may also be
seen. Geckos slip over the dunes.
Busy, often burrowing insects such as
tok-tokkies and sunspiders scuttle
across the desert or. There are
various scorpions as well as a range
of beetles. |
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More on the Namib Desert: The Namib Desert is a world of stark beauty. It is believed to be about 80-million years old, the oldest desert in the world. The Namib-Naukluft Park and the bordering NamibRand Nature Reserves are part of this remarkable area covering over 23 000km² of desert and semi-desert habitats. Its western strip is a sea of sand, comprised mainly of the famous red dunes, depicted worldwide in photographs and films. These dunes are interspersed with dry pans, like Sossusvlei (pronounced Soss-sus-flay), which is surrounded by 300m-high dunes, with some reaching a staggering height of 350m, the highest dunes in the world.
The desert is mesmerising in its seemingly eternal yet ever-changing sunlit expanses. The Namib is a land with many faces. Overflying this sea of sand, it sprawls and flickers beneath the shadowy wing of your aircraft – an awesome sight not easily forgotten. The surface of the Namib juts ever-skyward in massive, undulating, twisting and shifting dunes. Some span a full 30km and reach heights of almost 300m. The salt pans and mud flats tell an unfinished story – they are relics of rivers that failed to reach the ocean and never will.
Undergroun streams cross the wasteland. Their secret course is marked by an unexpected green mantle, daring its way through the fiery, inhospitable sand. The streams reach towards the far-off shores of the ghostly Skeleton Coast, the graveyard of hundreds of ships. This desolate coast is named for the mariners who miraculously survived the wrecks only to succumb to the desert.
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DESERT SAFARIS:
In the desert, many of the real attractions are small and well-camouflaged, and may easily be missed. Guided walks are available or you may explore on your own along marked walking trails. In the cool of morning and evening, the resident naturalist will take you in four-wheel drive open vehicles to explore the open grass plains, fossilised sand dunes and orange sand dune belts of the NamibRand Nature Reserve. From the height of a hot-air balloon ride, the view of the orange dunes and seas of dune grass is unparalleled. This bird's-eye view of the desert is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Hot-air ballooning over the Namib is an optional extra (weather permitting).
More exciting optional extras are a guided 4x4 excursion to spectacular Sossusvlei, site of the highest sand dunes on earth. You may also choose to go on guided 4x4 excursions to Sesriem Canyon or the famous Sossusvlei pans, resting place of the Tsauchab River. Excursions on ATVs (automatic, all-terrain, four-wheel motorcycles) are also available.
For stargazers, the crisp, dry desert air provides unrivalled opportunities to be mesmerised by the Milky Way. Tribute to its prime position is Sossusvlei Mountain Lodge's own observatory, housing the most powerful electronic telescope in Namibia outside the National Observatory. Knowledgeable field guides will direct you through the southern skies and tell of the expanding cosmos.
Highest Sand Dunes: The dunes at Sossusvlei are among the most spectacular in the world, and are generally referred to as "Star dunes". Few sights can compare to the view from the top of one of these dunes.
These huge pile-ups of sand are stationary (they do not "migrate", as do the coastal barchan dunes) and their star shape is caused by multi-directional winds, which move the sand on the crests back and forth according to the wind direction. These winds are often very strong, and cause the dunes to "smoke" – a fine shower of sand flying off the crest that can make the dune look as though it is on fire.
At Sossusvlei, the dune field of star dunes can also "roar" during certain winds, sounding almost as if a helicopter or light aeroplane is flying overhead. This happens when sand builds up on the crests and then reaches a critical gravity point, after which it slides down the slip face. The most likely explanation for the roaring sound is that the sand grains generate intense static electricity because of their extreme dryness.
The dunes of the Namib are interspersed with dry pans, like Sossusvlei (pronounced Soss-sus-flay). Sossusvlei is surrounded by 300m high dunes, with some dunes reaching a staggering height of 350m. This makes them the highest dunes in the world. Some of the orange dunes at Sossusvlei seasonally reach a crest height of about 960 metres above sea level, with the vlei itself at an altitude of 570m. Sossusvlei is situated in the heart of the 300km long and 150km wide sand sea in western Namibia.
Sesriem Canyon: The name Sesriem means “six thongs”, and was the number of ox-wagon leather thongs that had to be tied together by early travellers in order to lower a bucket to the water below.
At the entrance gate to Sossusvlei, the meandering Tsauchab River has cut a 1.5km-long gorge through the multi-layered rock conglomerate that underlies the desert sands. Thirty metres deep and in places less than two metres wide, the canyon holds small amounts of water all year round. About once every 10 years, exceptional rains flood the gorge, with the water eventually flooding the pans at Sossuvlei, 55km to the south-west. Thereafter, the water disappears underground, finally emerging at Naribis and Conception Bay on the coast. Remarkably, several fish species, primarily barbus (Barbel or Catfish) species, live in the pools.
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DUNE ELEGANCE
Sossusvlei Mountain Lodge is a truly magnificent lodge. Only twenty guests are accommodated in ten twin bedded suites, built into natural rock at the foot of a mountain overlooking an expansive Namib gravel plain that leads into a sea of red dunes. The suites are extremely spacious and consist of a raised bedroom with steps leading down to a lounge. Sliding doors from the lounge lead onto a covered patio to the side of the suite and an open patio to the front. The suites are equipped with air-conditioning for the hot summer months and a jetmaster fireplace for the cold winter nights. The en-suite bathroom boasts an inside and outside shower, his and her vanity unit and toilet. Exquisitely rich fabrics and furnishings, which compliment the majestic hues of Namibia’s 130 million-year-old desert, adorn the elegant main lodge building’s lounge, dining room, cocktail bar and nature reference library. Other facilities include expansive verandas, an upstairs viewing deck and plunge pool. |
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