Solitaire, Namibia … features the only gasoline station, post office, bakery, and the only general dealer between the dunes at Sossusvlei and the coast at Walvis Bay, as well as to the capital Windhoek. …

The name was chosen because of two meanings. Solitaire can mean a single set diamond and Solitaire can also mean solitude or loneliness. Combined these two meanings create the definition of being unique or one-of-a-kind and a precious but solitary place. …

As the surrounding area is sparsely populated it is a common stop-over for tourists. …

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Moose, the legendary proprietor, died earlier this year. But his legacy lives on.

See our group photos in high resolution on flickr.
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Part of the 3-day dunes tour with Wild Dog Safaris, Namibian$3590 / person departing every Tuesday from Windhoek. That’s about US$330.

We were refunded US$20, reluctantly, when one of our road stops was cancelled. The ticket price was about $20 / person at the Cheetah farm.

This filtered image of our group watching sunset near Sesriem Canyon is my favourite photo of thousands from our 3-day tour.

A short hike in Sesriem Canyon just before sunset for some reason became one of the highlights of the trip. Our group bonded at this point.

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See our group photos in high resolution on flickr.

Deadvlei is another clay pan, about 2 km from Sossusvlei. A notable feature of Deadvlei is that it used to be an oasis with several acacia trees; afterwards, the river that watered the oasis changed its course. The pan is thus punctuated by blackened, dead acacia trees, in vivid contrast to the shiny white of the salty floor of the pan and the intense orange of the dunes. This creates a particularly fascinating and surrealistic landscape, that appears in uncountable pictures and that has been used as a setting for films and videos.

Do these photos look familiar? 🙂

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See our group photos in high resolution on flickr.
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Part of the 3-day dunes tour with Wild Dog Safaris, Namibian$3590 / person departing every Tuesday from Windhoek. That’s about US$330.

We were refunded US$20, reluctantly, when one of our road stops was cancelled. The ticket price was about $20 / person at the Cheetah farm.

Sossusvlei (sometimes written Sossus Vlei) is a salt and clay pan surrounded by high red dunes, located in the southern part of the Namib Desert …

This area is characterized by … dunes of vivid pink-to-orange color, a consequence of a high percentage of iron in the sand and consequent oxidation processes. … These dunes are among the highest in the world; many of them are above 200 metres …

Our guide, Manny, led us on a 5km hike across the dunes to Deadvlei.

These Acacia thorns are deadly.

Sossusvlei is the #1 tourist attraction in Namibia.

You’ll be told that this one — Big Daddy — is the highest dune in the world somewhere between 325-380m.

Nearby Dune 7 is bigger, actually.

The dunes in Peru are MUCH bigger. Sechura Desert, Nazca, Peru is home to the largest sand dunes in the world, Dune Cerro Blanco, about 3,860 feet from the base.

We enjoyed the easy sand stroll.

Happy happy. 🙂

See our group photos in high resolution on flickr.
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Part of the 3-day dunes tour with Wild Dog Safaris, Namibian$3590 / person departing every Tuesday from Windhoek. That’s about US$330.

We were refunded US$20, reluctantly, when one of our road stops was cancelled. The ticket price was about $20 / person at the Cheetah farm.

Dune 45 is so called because it lies 45 km past Sesriem on the road to Sossusvlei. It is also known as “the most photographed dune in the world“; because of its unusually simple and fascinating shape, and its proximity to the road, that make it convenient for visitors to stop by and take pictures. It is 80 meters high …

We awoke well before dawn, joining a number of other vehicles bouncing down the dirt roads to Dune 45.

The colours are fantastic.

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By the time we got back down to the truck, breakfast was ready. 🙂

See our group photos in high resolution on flickr.
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Part of the 3-day dunes tour with Wild Dog Safaris, Namibian$3590 / person departing every Tuesday from Windhoek. That’s about US$330.

We were refunded US$20, reluctantly, when one of our road stops was cancelled. The ticket price was about $20 / person at the Cheetah farm.

I’d hoped to join some travellers in a rent-a-car adventure. But when that fell through … I signed on (with 20min notice) to one of the very many camping safaris touring white tourists through Africa.

The vehicles are awesome.

Comfortable enough to sleep. We had 12 tourists (GER, JPN, USA, GBR, NED, SWE, ITA, ARG, CAN) in a vehicle that seats 14.

The scenery is reminiscent of other deserts of the world.

Truck stops reminded me of the Australian outback.

For lunch, the truck pulls over in the middle of nowhere. Campers and staff whip up a healthy meal.

The BIG attraction of Namibia is the animal life. Everywhere.

We were LOVING the tour, so far.

Happily, we arrived at camp early enough to watch the sunset from Elim Dune located 5 km past the Sesriem gate.

Giddy tourists.

It’s quite shocking to watch the colours change at sunset.

We camped here, one of the most popular campgrounds in the nation, just inside the Sesriem gate of Namib-Naukluft National Park.

Though tents were provided, I slept in my own.

I have thousands of group photos from this trip, but posted only a few from day 1 on flickr.
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Part of the 3-day dunes tour with Wild Dog Safaris, Namibian$3590 / person departing every Tuesday from Windhoek. That’s about US$330.

We were refunded US$20, reluctantly, when one of our road stops was cancelled. The ticket price was about $20 / person at the Cheetah farm.

Walvis Bay … 85,000 inhabitants … the only natural harbour of any size along the country’s coast. Being rich in plankton and marine life, these waters also drew large numbers of whales …

I walked the “lagoon” for several hours, enjoying innumerable sea birds, pelicans and flamingos.

my full resolution photos

In 1990 South-West Africa gained independence as Namibia, but Walvis Bay remained under South African sovereignty. At midnight on 28 February 1994 South Africa formally transferred sovereignty over Walvis Bay and the Penguin Islands to Namibia …

Walvis Bay features the very rare mild variation of the arid climate. Walvis Bay receives an average of less than 10 mm of precipitation per year, making it one of the driest cities on the planet. Despite the fact that it has an arid climate, Walvis Bay seldom gets very hot or very cold, an extremely unusual feature for a city featuring this climate. This is primarily due to cold offshore currents near Walvis Bay.

Next time I’m planning on the adventurous 48km drive to Sandwich Harbour, a freshwater lagoon surrounded by dunes, and a favourite amongst anglers and ornithologists

Crazy great photos.

One life changing experience. The memories from 12 days spent in Antarctica will stay with me forever.

Route:

Crystal Sound – Renard Island – Argentine Islands – Lemaire Channel – Port Lockroy – Gerlanche Strait – Paradise Harbour – Necko Harbour – Willemina Bay – Deception Island – Graham Land

read his trip report