A Glorious Day

Sesriem, Namibia

Our first full day at the campsite started out early.  Dean and I had made plans with the Pfyffer’s to be on the road by 5:50 a.m. in order to get to "Dune 45" before sunrise.  One of the perks of staying at the campsite was that we were allowed onto the dune road one hour ahead of non-camping visitors.  We were a groggy, but excited group as we parked at the lot that was 45 km from the campground and made our way up one of the many great sand dunes.  As the sky continued to lighten, we marched up and up and took in more of the amazing landscape around us.  

All five kids, not surprisingly, took a strong and hearty lead and were soon the front of the pack.  As far as your eye could see there were magnificent orange dunes.  We were not disappointed when the sun crested the horizon and we watched as the long shadows receded.  In no time, we were basking in the glorious, warming rays.  Well, the adults anyway…. The kids were having a blast tumbling, rolling, and leaping down the dunes, only to race back to the top to do it all again.  Deano, not wanting to miss out on the fun, managed an impressive 12 somersaults until he was halted by lack of stability while Kylie flew past him with an even more impressive 13 somersaults – and much better form, if I may say so!

The next item on the list was Deadvlei – or dead lake.  After enjoying breakfast in the parking lot and meeting a neat Dutch couple who eyed our crew and asked about our trips, we got back in the car to for the last 15 kilometers of paved road before the 4-wheel-drive-only route began.  It was a huge sandy road that put our 4x4 to the test, but she came through with flying colors!  Luckily, the crazy, bumpy, haphazard route was only about 4 km and we parked again before setting off on foot for what appeared to be a dry river bed.  Up and over another dune and then, there it was, a dead, salt-covered lake bed with the remains of trees that were once watered by the lake.  I’ll let Dean’s pictures tell the story.  It was amazing. 

Our afternoon passed in camp at the open-air lodge, complete with thatched roof.  To be out of the blazing sun and enjoying the cooling breeze was almost as nice as being able to hang out with Etienne and Anne.  We all enjoyed and ice cream treat before the kids all ran off to play. It was idyllic.  We decided that dinner at the lodge would be an appropriate end to our time together.  The Pfyffers would be renting a house for the next couple days, just south of Swakopmund, while we'd continue our camping ways.  

After a near heaven-like shower and siesta, dinner at the lodge was indeed a lovely way to complete the day.  Afterwards, we retreated to our campsite where Dex started a camp fire and we shared marshmallows, chocolate, and wine.  It was a fantastic day, and the Hoornaert Family is going to miss our new-found friends, The Pfyffers.