Namibia 2024: The Desert Foxes

Namibia 2024: The Desert Foxes

As announced yesterday, the night was already over at 5:20 a.m.

Today we take a guided tour to Sossusvlei.

After a short breakfast our guide is ready to depart at 06:40 am.

He assures us that he has stocked the Toyota with plenty of drinks and provisions.

That calms us down 😂👌

First we go to the Sossusvlei Gate, where we have to wait a short while until we are allowed into the nature reserve.

The sun slowly rises and we see the impressive red dunes to the left and right!

As we were talking about our balloon experience, Denis's three balloons appeared on the horizon. What a nice coincidence.

Lukas, our guide, has a lot of interesting information for us and we listen to him spellbound!

Lukas stops our car at a small parking lot and we get out because he wants to show us something.

He tells us about a spider called the Dancing White Lady!!

This poisonous spider builds an underground tunnel system in which it hides and catches its food through the camouflaged entrance hole.

Here you can find further information:

Rarely seen wonders of the earth - Benny Rebel Fotosafaris GmbH

Lukas points purposefully with his stick into the sand and says that's where the lady lives.

Incredibly, the entrance hole consists of a spun net that was only thinly covered with sand.

Lukas had to dig a bit, but he found the lady and we were able to admire her.

But it still wasn’t enough!

With his expert eye he spotted a poisonous snake.

The Sidewinders!

The animal is small but very evil.

She made this clear to us with massive hissing.

The Sidewinder's raw venom secretion, which is yellowish in color, is a highly effective cytotoxin. A single bite can release 130 to 200 mg of venom (dry weight), with the lethal dose for an adult being around 30 mg.

We are extremely impressed!!!

Afterwards he explained to us the formation of the dunes, the topography of Namibia and much more.

He used the red sand as a blackboard and used his stick to draw everything so that we could understand it!

Lukas is simply great!

Then it was time to saddle up again and head off with four-wheel drive through the deep sand to the Big Papa dune!

Lukas provides us with plenty of water and gives us some orientation and safety tips!

Then it’s time for… our footprints in the sand.

We hike up the edge of the dune.

Quite exhausting because of the deep sand and the heat.

But it was worth it. The view of Dead Vlei makes up for the effort.

We run straight down the dune!

What fun, afterwards we have red sand in every crevice of our bodies.

Now a few more pictures in the Dead Vlei and then it's time to head back to the car before the sun fries away the last of our brains!

When we arrive at the car, Lukas serves us an ice-cold Windhoek Lager.

That was nicer than Christmas and Easter combined!!

Afterwards, Lukas tells us something about a surprise and he keeps his promise.

We drive a few meters and in the middle of the desert he has prepared a lunch that really has everything you need!!

Incomprehensible!!

Now he wants to serve us too, but we won't allow that.

We sit together at the table and eat and drink together. Lukas tells us enthusiastically how positively Namibia has developed in recent years and that this is definitely the positive influence of the current president.

As a negative example, he mentions that white and black in South Africa, after years of almost harmony,

divide again.

The current South African government is not innocent in this and he sees this as a serious threat to South Africa.

In this joking mood, time flies and we have to leave slowly, as we still have to

want to see Sesriem Canyon.

So we all pitch in and dismantle Lukas’ 7-star restaurant together and stow it back in the Landcruiser.

In addition, there is a short German lesson and we explain to him the German proverb “Many hands make light work”

He likes it and will now have it saved forever.

Now it's time for the canyon. It goes back through deep sand to the asphalt road.

On the road, the diesel hums like babies lulling us into a light sleep, except for Lukas, who bravely stays in his lane.

When the car stops at the canyon, we have to rub our eyes for a moment and then we head off to the next attraction.

The Sesriem Canyon is a canyon of the Tsauchab River in Namibia. Over a period of two million years, the Tsauchab has carved the Sesriem Canyon, which is about one kilometer long and up to 30 meters deep, into tertiary sedimentary rocks 80 kilometers west of its source.

Wikipedia

But first we pass the two influencers who are taking pictures of each other on the edge of the canyon in white dresses and cowboy boots. 🤦‍♂️

After you have provided the appropriate images to your followers, you get back in your car and mark this spot as done.

I don't think they'll remember exactly where they were next week.

We descend into the canyon and marvel once again at what a great artist Mother Nature is.

This canyon was formed over millions of years and still exists today!

Afterwards we return to the lodge.

We now need some relax time to rewind everything we have experienced in our minds and enjoy it again in slow motion on our inner screen.

What a fantastic day!👌

Then it’s time to wash your hands again, comb your hair and go to dinner.

Then another Amarula…

And

Good night Africa and thank you for these beautiful moments we were able to experience again today!