The Dunes of Sossusvlei

It is time to catch up on some Africa Blogs that I have been meaning to write. Back in the end of October I attended the Adventure Travel Trade Association World Summit in Namibia. It was great to be able to get back to Namibia as it afforded me an opportunity to take Diane to the Cheetah Conservation Fund to go play with “the kitties.”

The Dunes of Sossusvlei

The summit was fantastic. I got to meet some great fellow tour operators from all over the world, learn a lot and realize that many of us are dealing with the same issues and have the same questions. It is always a good gut check to know you and everyone else are experiencing similar things.

Scorched Acacia

The great thing about the ATTA Summit is that before the summit they arrange a PSA or Pre-Summit Adventure for you. We elected to go on the “Burning Man” desert tour and we are glad we did. There were about 30 of us on the trip and it was a great group from all over the world.

There is Life In The Desert

One of the highlights (there were more which I will write about) was being able to visit the Desert Dunes of Soussusvlei. These dunes are located in the southern part of the Namib Desert in Namibia. They are spectacularly stark. And early in the morning and late in the afternoon the light is amazing. I would argue that it is impossible to take a bad picture during either of these times.

A lot of people climb one of the dunes “Big Daddy” and I wish I had more time to do so but there is always next time. Instead we visited went just below Big Daddy to a white clay area where there are starkly beautiful dead acacia trees. These are the remaining skeletons of the trees, which are believed to be about 900 years old. They have turned black because the intense sun has scorched them (I would not survive a day out in this desert.) They have not decomposed because it is so dry.

Starkly Beautiful

It makes me thirsty just thinking about it.