Namibia may not have a lot of people living in it, but its sparseness is part of what makes it so incredibly beautiful. On a trip to Sossusvlei, Chandra and I decided to travel in style and charter a plane to get us from the capital of Windhoek to andBeyond Desert Lodge out in the desert of Sossusvlei. What we saw of Sossusvlei, both during our visit and from the sky, would make Namibia one of the most memorable places we have ever been.
Chandra & me overlooking the desert in Namibia
The size and scope of the Namibian landscape is, frankly, difficult to capture with photos. I’ve attempted to include some photos here with people as a reference point. Hopefully they will serve to give you a semblance of just how big and outrageous the Namibian landscape actually is.
Sossusvlei’s Dune #1. The sand is all the same color, it’s just that the sun is only hitting it on the left. The affect is so pronounced that standing with your feet on either side of the crest one is burning hot and the other freezing cold.
Sossusvlei Dune #4 with a similar effect
To get a sense of scope, those are people walking on the crest of the dune. These are the largest dunes in the world.
Two of my favorite forms of transportation. Moments like this always remind me of this iconic Louis Vuitton ad.
And now you can see why we flew instead of driving
Many of the trees appear to be part tree and part cactus. The wildlife seems to like that just fine.
Chandra’s presence in this photo gives you a sense of just how unending the desert is and how remote we are. The pool sure looks inviting.
The raw and untamed desert that is Sossusvlei Namibia
This tree is practically famous in its own right.
What are the hole looking things on the surface? How were they formed? Nobody knows but this place no longer looks like earth.
The area surrounding our lodge from the sky above
This isn’t a great photo, but you can kind of get a sense of depth of the landscape around Chandra. Massive.
This was the view from our bedroom. They don’t call it Desert Lodge for nothing.
The surrealist landscape of Sossusvlei almost looks computer rendered
Looking down from the dune you can see the empty pan. Once upon a time, this was filled with water.
Have you ever been to Namibia? Did it blow you away? Tell us about it in the comments.
