Flight to Sossusvlei & Swakopmund

 In Walvis Bay we treated ourselves to a two hour flight to the Sossusvlei Desert, one of the most scenic, dramatic nature reserves in Africa. I had read about the beauty of the sand dunes here and just had to see them for myself. The area is situated in the Namib-Naukluft Park and is one of the biggest parks in all of Africa. Some of the highest dunes in the world are here and, as you can imagine, they change constantly with the shifting winds. I should have read the tour highlights a little better.
I thought I read SOARING or GLIDING effortlessly over the scenic desert. Never did I read the small print, where it described the plane as being no bigger then one found wrapped in a paper envelope in a Cracker Jack box. No where did it say feel every bump as the scorching heat of the desert propels your aircraft through the turbulent, crystal blue skies. No where did it say 'fly within 100 feet' of ( your life) the desert floor. No where did it say fasten your seat belts because the doors of the plane don't close with an affirmative clicking sound but trust me, I am the pilot, and I just turned 22. When the 'sick bags' were pointed out, I thought 'Only sissy's' need listen. Within 10 minutes of being in the air, I was ready to head home and plant some feet on the ground. The flight was so bumpy, breakfast might not have been that great of an idea. As the wings tipped to the right and tipped to the left, I would bet money we were within inches of the pretty red sandy dunes. I could only close my eyes, lean, and breath the fresh air from the vent on my left, one seat over. My vent was not working. Every time I tried to aim my camera, the plane would viciously jerk up or slam down. Where do you focus your eyes? Will I ever see my first grandchild come June? Drats, another blurred shot. I just don't feel so well, I thought as I tried to keep a look of calm about me. My eyes were closed more then open for the next 2 hours. I did get some shots in. The beauty of the dunes was amazing from WAY up high and so VERY DRAMATIC fromthiscloseup. Trust me, I know. I did not get sick and embarrass myself, thankfully. I thought it was just me. When I talked to others, I was not alone. Flying in the heat of a desert no matter how beautiful the day is never a pleasure trip. It is always a rough bumpy ride. David asked me what color his pants were when we landed. Being a pilot, he was 'helping the pilot fly' silently in his head while gripping his seatbelt and holding on to the dashboard. David noticed that one of the fuel gauges was reading EMPTY, so he tapped it. The pilot smiled and told him that we depend on the warning light, (is that a lightbulb?) the (trusty)  gauge, not to worry. When we were 100 feet off the ground, David tapped the altimeter and was not comforted to find it was 'off' a bit' ..... which meant we were CLOSER to the ground then he thought. Did you  know a plane can drop 70+ feet in a split second? Sometimes it is best to not know this kind of stuff until you land. We could have been one with nature. But anyway ... what I saw was incredibly beautiful! We were both glad we went, in hindsight.

http://www.namibia-travel.net/southnamibia/sossusvlei.htm/


After our flight we took advantage of a van heading to a town called Swakopmund. I still can not pronounce it and I have given up trying to figure it out. This is a lovely German town with a colonial feel about 20 miles from our port in Walvis Bay. We passed the resort where Brad and Angelina holed up to have their baby (Burning Shore Resort) but more important then that was the beauty of the drive with huge sand dunes on one side of us and this rugged Atlantic with pounding waves on the other side of us.  http://www.namibia-travel.net/centralnamibia/skeletoncoast.htm   At times the wind picked up and the sand, like snow in the states, swept across the paved streets and caused limited views of traffic ahead. Swakop is a bit surreal. ( Those in the know are allowed to call it that) I felt I was in a ghost-town-like movie set when I stood in the middle of these super wide empty streets. We walked to the beach, "The Mole", on the west side of the town where we hoped, but to no avail. to find the "Tug Restaurant" open. It was beautiful....the waves roared into the boulder and sand shore. It was windy. We found a delightful place selling local Namibian crafts,a co-op. I did my best to support the local artists. If David were not with me, I would have boxed up everything in that shop and had it shipped. We had a snack in a little cafe, found a hat pin for David, and a "collectable" t-shirt for me This is a town where being a tourist is fun. We ended up back on the ship in time for a few sunset photos and a before dinner drink. Life was once again back to 'our normal'. We reviewed our photos of the day which always seem to let us know how fortunate we really are to be doing something like this. We were exhausted from cramming way too much in to a very short stay here. At the same time we were feeling really, really good about how we spent our time in Namibia.