Day 4 - Sand in my Shoes

11:00
I’m awake earlier than I’d have liked. I think I’ve been a bit het up about not being able to get in touch with Vicki to let her know all’s well. I’m sure she’ll have put 2+2 together, and realised the lack of signal means I got back on the road ok… I pre-warned that there would potentially be lengthy spells without any kind of connection - but even so, it’s rattling around in my brain.

The bonus of being awake at 05:00 is seeing the sun rise over the mountains in front of my chalet. It’s ball-bustingly pretty in Naukluft. Deadly silent, peaceful as can be. Breakfast is served at 07:30, and I’m ready for a feed. My diet yesterday consisted entirely of car food. Pre-packaged sandwich from the supermarket, some Biltong, some Chutney flavoured Simba chips. Not the very best of balanced diets. Breakfast is a bucket full of grease, in the best possible way. Bacon, venison (antelope) sausage, fried eggs and fried bread. Delish. Hopefully no coronary on the way to Sesriem…

I’m on the road by 09:00, and heading to Neuras - a winery about 60km away. Driving back through the park to the gate I entered through last night, I’m struck by just how bumpy and treacherous the road is. Suspect had it not been pitch black when I drove through last night, I’d have been a lot more circumspect in my driving style.

Rejoining the main road (still a gravel road) I set off to the South West, and run through some incredible landscape. Deep rift valleys, hewn millions of years ago from bedrock; stunning rock formations ingrained into red stone cliffs… There’s a scale to rural African scenery that just takes my breath away. I try and capture it on film, but suspect I won’t have done it justice. I turn off the main (gravel) road onto a smaller (gravel) road. It’s 10km of washboard bumps, all the way to Neuras.

The winery is super pretty, mixing the almost Mediterranean style of architecture to a much more traditionally African vibe. There’s a cactus garden say next to a beautiful terracotta roofed terrace, where I sit to taste their wines. They’re pioneers in the art of low water consumption wine making. Despite the climactic conditions here, on the fringes of the Namib desert, they grow three red grape varieties, more common to the Rhone region of France - Syrah, Grenache and Mourvedre. Their 3 estate wines are a straight Syrah, then two GSM blends with differing amounts of each constituent grape in the blend. All are relatively modest ABV - 11% for the Syrah up to 12% for the weightiest of the GSM blends. They’re all delicious, surprisingly full bodied for relatively light wines, and a delightful way to pass an hour. Reminds me - I really must check the drink driving laws in Namibia some time today….

16:00
The journey down to Sesriem is bewitching. Some of the most stunning scenery imaginable. It feels otherworldly at times. I’m particularly struck by the colour contrasts - bright red into yellow into green into blue. It’s just mesmerising. Sesriem is a tourist centre for nearby Sossusvlei - home to the famous and incredibly evocative red sand dunes of the Namib Desert. I pull into Sesriem a little before 14:00. There’s a queue of braying tourists checking in for the campsite, so I repair to the bar for an ice cold Savanna. It’s a thing of great, great majesty - so much so, that I order a second. I’m trying to decide what to do this afternoon. I’m a bit peckish, and wouldn’t mind a nap, but I’m also minded to head to the dunes for a wander. Decisions, decisions…

21:30
I a frankly staggering display of self-discipline, I elect for dunes - and am so glad I did. My ballon trip tomorrow morning will ‘try’ to take us over the dunes, but given the susceptibility of the wind to do windy things, there are no guarantees. I take a 40km drive into the desert on a hot, tarmac road. The National Park closes at 18:00, so all of the traffic is heading in the other direction. The views are mind-blowing, the dunes huge. I have a wander around Dune 40, one of the biggest. I make it approx 12.3% of the way up before I sack off the idea of climbing to the top. It’s fucking hot today - 38C at its peak, and feels every degree of it. Standing at the foot of the dune is bewitching. There are swirls and eddies of sand all over the surface. They’re almost hypnotic.

Back in the car, I cruise back to Sesriem, suddenly conscious that I’ve not eaten since breakfast at Naukluft.

My first setting up of the tent/kitchen combo is probably a little more complex than it really needed to be. I’ll get quicker with practice. There’s a braai pit, so I build a wood fire - for warmth as the desert cools, to cook over, and to ward off beasties. Dinner is a banger. Veggies cooked directly in the embers of the fire - a gem squash, a sweet potato and some corn-on-the-cob. Protein is some steak I picked up in Windhoek on Sunday. It’s a little tough, but very tasty.

Cooking, eating and clearing is done by 20:00, so I spend a joyful hour sitting by the first with a glass of Neuras wine that I bought earlier, and my book. Early to bed tonight, as I’ve an 04:00 alarm call for a sunrise hot-air balloon ride. After the travails of yesterday, it’s been a sensational and successful day…Read more