Sossusvlei - Big Daddy

Hello everyone!!! I'm so sorry I haven't had time or internet to post a new blog in ages so I'm very sorry for those of you who have been following along, today I will post twice :)

Last weekend we all went camping at Sossusvlei. Sossusvlei is a salt and clay pan surrounded by high red dunes, located in the southern part of the Namib Desert, in the Namib-Naukluft National Park of Namibia.  We had to drive seven hours to get from our home in Windhoek to the camping site only 20 min. from the dunes.  We pitched our tents and camped under a huge tree although we often came out to see the most beautiful night skies I have ever seen.  Sossusvlei is so far away from any city with electricity that the stars shone more brightly than I have ever seen and we all laid down in the sand and stared up at the sky, just watching.

The next day we left for the sand dunes.  The Namib Desert is the oldest desert in the world and is home to the worlds tallest sand dunes. The drive over was stunning and when we arrived we decided to not climb Big Mama, as most previous groups have done, but instead Big Daddy which is the tallest sand dune in the world measuring about 325 meters tall or 1066 feet!  Imagine the resistance running in the sand at the beach provides, now add steep climbing elevation.  Climbing Big Daddy was one of the hardest hikes I have ever done, but the view we received after hiking in the sand for an hour and a half was the most stunning I have ever witnessed.

Beneath the sand dunes is a huge salt pan and within the pan are trees that have been petrified for 300 years due to the extreme heat conditions.  The ground is cracked and so it has the look of a natural cobblestone road beneath the towering red sand dunes.

I have had such amazing opportunities to see so many different but equally beautiful places on this trip.  This was our last big group trip so now the real challenge starts.  Full time student teaching!  Hope all is well at home and enjoy the pictures!<3 you all!

We passed through the Tropic of Capricorn.  It was very very hot!

This was a viewpoint on our drive over to Sossusvlei, It was stunning.

The salt pan cobblestone beneath the dunes.

Sossusvlei sand dunes against the salt pan.

All of us walking back after our long hike.

Heres Big Daddy!!! If you notice the straight line down the center of the peak, that's where we all ran down the side of the mountain after reaching the top! So much fun!!!