10 October - The Sossulvei Area

Wake up was at 5-30am this morning to witness the sunrise over the desert. Obviously at the time of 5-30 it was still pretty dark however with coffees in hand the light slowly changed and by 6am we were in our vehicle and heading down the road to enter the National Park proper.

The emphasis today was on the landscape of the Namib generally and the Sossusvlei area specifically. This area of desert with its massive dunes and neatly swept plains between is among the most visited areas of Namibia and it is a deeply impressive place.

The Namib is a coastal desert in southern Africa. The name Namib is of Nama origin and means "vast place". According to the broadest definition, the Namib stretches for more than 2,000 kilometres  along the Atlantic coasts of Angola, Namibia, and South Africa, extending southward from the Carunjamba River in Angola, through Namibia and to the Olifants River in Western Cape, South Africa. The Namib's northernmost portion, which extends 450 kilometres  from the Angola-Namibia border, is known as Moçâmedes Desert, while its southern portion approaches the neighboring Kalahari Desert. From the Atlantic coast eastward, the Namib gradually ascends in elevation, reaching up to 200 kilometres  inland to the foot of the Great Escarpment. Annual precipitation ranges from 2 millimetres  in the most arid regions to 200 millimetres at the escarpment, making the Namib the only true desert in southern Africa. Having endured arid or semi-arid conditions for roughly 55–80 million years, the Namib may be the oldest desert in the world and contains some of the world's driest regions.

The desert geology consists of sand seas near the coast, while gravel plains and scattered mountain outcrops occur further inland. The sand dunes, some of which are 300 metres  high and span 32 kilometres  long, are the second largest in the world after the Badain Jaran Desert dunes in China.Temperatures along the coast are stable and generally range between 9–20 °C annually, while temperatures further inland are variable—summer daytime temperatures can exceed 45 °C  while nights can be freezing. Fogs that originate offshore from the collision of the cold Benguela Current and warm air from the Hadley Cell create a fog belt that frequently envelops parts of the desert. Coastal regions can experience more than 180 days of thick fog a year. While this has proved a major hazard to ships—more than a thousand wrecks litter the Skeleton Coast—it is a vital source of moisture for desert life.

The Namib is almost completely uninhabited by humans except for several small settlements and indigenous pastoral groups, including the Ovahimba and Obatjimba Herero in the north, and the Topnaar Nama in the central region. Owing to its antiquity, the Namib may be home to more endemic species than any other desert in the world. Most of the desert wildlife is arthropods and other small animals that live on little water, although larger animals inhabit the northern regions. Near the coast, the cold ocean water is rich in fishery resources and supports populations of brown fur seals and shorebirds, which serve as prey for the Skeleton Coast's lions. Further inland, the Namib-Naukluft National Park, the largest game park in Africa, supports populations of African Bush Elephants, Mountain Zebras, and other large mammals. Although the outer Namib is largely barren of vegetation, lichens and succulents are found in coastal areas, while grasses, shrubs, and ephemeral plants thrive near the escarpment. A few types of trees are also able to survive the extremely arid climate.

A decent desert spread

Dunes

Acacia trees hanging on near Dune 45

Southern Fiscal

Pied Crow flying against the dune

Sossusvlei Area - dunes and clay pans - here the river flows [occasionally] hopelessly into the dunes

patterns in the clay

Bird of the Day - Red necked Falcon 

Black fronted Prinia

Dusky Sunbird

Todays Oryx, viewed from our lunch table

Adventurous Alan exploring the Sesrium Canyon

Later in the afternoon we visited a local landform - the Sesrium Canyon. The Tsauchab river hollowed about one kilometer long and 30 meter deep gorge into the rock. The canyon is said to be caused by a continental shift two to four million years ago in the 18-million year old rocks. Previously settlers pulled buckets filled with water up from the depths with six knotted belts. Therefore, the canyon was named after the Afrikaans word “Sesriem” meaning “six belts”.

sand patterns near our accommodation

Acacia Pied Barbet at dusk