More desert and dunes and the Deadvlei

Day 18      6^th October

Disappointment as our Balloon Safari for this morning was cancelled due to high winds, so we opted to take the 5 hour road trip instead.  Setting off at 6.30 am, we headed for the desert, watching the sunrise on the way (and the moon setting!)  

Stopping occasionally for photo opportunities, we headed into the valley, with majestic dunes on either side.  We bottled out of climbing the famous Dune 45, as the heat, wind and sand were already mounting, so we carried on to the Deadvlei. 

This is the location of a lake with a white clay bottom, surrounded by red dunes and scattered with ancient dead trees.  Incredibly picturesque.  We had to walk 1.1 kilometers through the sand up and down the dunes to reach it - exhausting but well worth it.  Jeremy found he had a hole in his shoe so had to stop occasionally to empty out the desert!  Once again, a surreal landscape.

On the way home, we stopped to view the Sesriem Canyon, a rocky canyon 60 metres deep.  Jeremy climbed down, Sherry took photos of a bird at the top (plus the views, of course!).