JMA's World Travels

What an amazing drive from Windhoek to Sossusvlei! Our driver, Alfie Kaakunga, knew the roads very well so drove along at speeds that the 6 of us passengers would never had considered had we been at the wheel. At the same time, Alfie had the eyes of a hawk and was continuously pointing out animals or birds and sometimes stopping for us to take photographs. We also had a pit-stop at a tree that had been taken over by a giant ant-heap. Throughout our trip we were continuously amazed by the size and shape of the various products of nature. Our fellow travellers for this journey were John & Evelyn from the UK and Lance & Judith from the USA.

Arrival at the Namib-Naukluft Lodge and our home for the next 2 days was a bit like a scene from days gone by. We were welcomed into the main reception area and met by the owners, given a short explanation of what was where and then shown to our rooms where our luggage had already been delivered and sundowner drinks were not far behind. The lodge is a small one with about 14 rooms built in a line, each with its own balcony and all facing the same direction with the same beautiful views. We all sat outside watching the sun going down, transforming the desert scenery into many different colours while enjoying long, cold drinks. Afterwards we dressed for supper which was served outside on the main balcony and was delicious. What a great start!

We had been told that the next morning we would all be woken up at 06:30 AM with a telephone call to telephones that had been strategically placed at the other side of the room from the beds forcing at least one person to get up in the morning to answer it. In Annie and my case this was a good thing as we can sleep anywhere and don't wake easily. After a quick cup of coffee with rusks we bundled into our Kombi (Volkswagen Mini-bus) and headed off to the Dune Sea.