“Safe is good for sidewalks and swimming pools, but life requires risk if we are to get anywhere.”
– Simon Sinek
We woke up in Namibia!
It’s a Friday and we are fairly disoriented because we’ve been on the road for two full days. We’re “acclimatising” to the heat and the vastness but it doesn’t help that no beverage stays cold for more than 2 minutes. By the time we leave our Helmeringhausen camp at 7am, Tania and I have already had our morning coffee with a shot of rum, so we’re having a good day in spite of the 40°C plus temperature.
Today we arrive at our camp in Sussosvlei, and we’re hiking up Dune 45, then going to Sesriem Canyon. Nengi and I have already cracked open a few Windhoeks and the people in the backseat are having a good time! The trip is not that long, and this is the first time I feel like I’m in another country. We stop to take pictures of the landscape and Vesh is nowhere to be found, chasing away the zebras and bucks we see along the way.
We arrive at the campsite shortly before lunch and it’s beautiful with a swimming pool and warm water (not that we will be needing it, the temperature being at 45°C and all).
I remember thinking maybe sitting in the fridge at the service station halfway between the campsite and the “actual desert” wasn’t such a bizarre idea as we bought water for the hike. On the short drive to Dune 45, I had gone through a lot of emotions, literal bodily sensations, and at some point thought my internal temperature was bordering on feverish.
Needless to say, we don’t all get to the top of Dune 45 because it’s 47°C now and the sand is burning through everything. In true Andrä style, he is the first to summit and he is doing it barefoot. What a man!
Halfway up, I’m realising that this is not the hill I want to die on and turn back. We drive through the dunes back to the camp to rest before our sunset mission to Sesriem. I’m back at the service station fridge contemplating getting inside, but there’s a swimming pool right in the middle of the campsite so we head there.
Is this a good time to mention the minor detail that I can’t swim? Too late. I’m thrown in the pool by someone I won’t mention but it’s Andrä. We take over the pool area and for the rest of the day we just lazy about, something we haven’t done since leaving Cape Town.
We go to Sesriem when it has cooled down a bit, and see a lot of tourists. We head back to set up camp shortly after sunset, then hang around by the pool again. We sleep fairly early because we have a long day tomorrow, and that’s our first night sleeping in the desert.
Views From The South 