JMA's World Travels

The sound of a Dune Sea conjures up many different images none of which were even remotely accurate. We had also seen some pictures of the dunes in books and on the Internet but none of these were real preparation for the day that lay ahead.

First stop was before getting to the dunes to watch the sun rise. All through the various stages of sunrise the desert changed colour from one minute to the next, from black to purples, blues, pinks and many in between. One of the excursions on offer was a sunrise hot-air balloon ride over the dunes which we did not take up but seeing the balloon over the desert at sunrise was a great sight.

The Dune Sea is within the boundaries of a gated National Park so we all queued up to wait for the gates to open before carrying on our journey. There is a camping ground within the National Park so for those who camp there they can get to the dunes before the rest of us visitors. The first dunes we saw and stopped at were on the edge of the Dune Sea with a famous, much-photographed dead tree in front of the dune. Next is Dune 45, the highest dune in the world and the one we were expecting to climb along with the many people already on their way up; not so said Alfie. We had 15 minutes to walk around and admire this huge dune before continuing into the "sea". We were very pleasantly surprised when we found out why we were rushed past Dune 45. We swapped to a special 4-wheel drive vehicle and were driven to the Dead Vlei area, a large dry pan surrounded by various size dunes including the 105 metre high Dune 17 which we climbed. Best of all, we were the only people there for quite some time. One other couple who had joined our group for the 4-wheel ride group walked up ahead of us but, at the top, we walked on past them so the only footprints in the sand were ours. Quite a weird sensation but what a view!!! Getting down the dune was such fun, we slid part of the way down and then "moon walked" the rest. We completed the experience by walking across the cracked-earth dry pan and then being treated to a splendid breakfast table under the tree laid out by Alfie; boiled eggs, various cheeses, breads, juices, water and coffee. Before leaving the Dead Vlei we made use of the local facilities :-)

On the way out we stopped a number of time so the now-named "Snap Happy Abro" could take another photograph, it was difficult not to snap away even more as everywhere I looked the view was even more spectacular!