April 23/Sossulvlei Sand Dunes
Freddie endeared himself to us at the Sea of Sand, the world-famous sand dunes. We're not sure who was more courageous, those of us who worked our way up the ridge of "Big Mama" or Freddie for taking us all under his wings and giving us priceless lessons in nature as well as what he called "Lessons in Life" along the way. Most memorable lesson: holding hands as we walked down the sand dune at a 90 degree angle (well, it seemed like 90 degrees) and experiencing a "symbiotic relationship." Thank you, Freddie!
Welwitshia Mirabilis ["Welwitshia," named after the Austrian botanist who discovered it in 1859, and "mirabilis" which means "miracle"].
They are the oldest plants on earth and considered living fossils.
They're found only in the Namib desert and can live 1,000 years or more.
The Sossulvlei Lodge
Our home in the desert.
Camping in style
The view from our "tent."
I assumed, when invited to ride one, that a "quad" was a four-wheel bicycle. Not exactly. Basically, I just held on for dear life and prayed I wouldn't hit a rock or pothole as I zipped along the desert road. The most exciting moment was watching an ostrich trying to escape a fenced enclosure. As we noisily approached, the terrified ostrich backed up for a running start and headed towards the fence at full-speed. I was bracing for a collision as she headed in my direction, but she missed the top of the fence by a few inches and fell in a heap on the other side. Not to worry though. She scrambled up and, with feathers flying, zoomed away.
The next morning we drove out to the Sea of Sand where we discovered there is more than one way to view the desert.
This is the famous Dune #45. Can you see the people walking on the ridge? We didn't realize we'd soon be doing the same thing on the dune known as "Big Mama."
The Sossulvlei Lodge
Our home in the desert.
Camping in style
The view from our "tent."
I assumed, when invited to ride one, that a "quad" was a four-wheel bicycle. Not exactly. Basically, I just held on for dear life and prayed I wouldn't hit a rock or pothole as I zipped along the desert road. The most exciting moment was watching an ostrich trying to escape a fenced enclosure. As we noisily approached, the terrified ostrich backed up for a running start and headed towards the fence at full-speed. I was bracing for a collision as she headed in my direction, but she missed the top of the fence by a few inches and fell in a heap on the other side. Not to worry though. She scrambled up and, with feathers flying, zoomed away.
The next morning we drove out to the Sea of Sand where we discovered there is more than one way to view the desert.
This is the famous Dune #45. Can you see the people walking on the ridge? We didn't realize we'd soon be doing the same thing on the dune known as "Big Mama."
And here we are, ready to tackle a sand dune. Since we were at
the head of the line (this photo was taken by someone else), we didn't realize that a few of the group turned around and waited in the shade while we marched on, three steps forward and one step back in the soft sand.
Though it doesn't seem too high at this distance, the Big Daddy Dune
A sand-diving lizard was no match for Freddie who dove onto the wall of sand to capture him. We were impressed by BOTH of their diving abilities. (Can you see the lizard in Freddie's hands?)
Here are our shadows on the sand just before we joined hands to descend. It was a vivid example of the importance of hanging onto each other for survival. It would have been much harder trying to do it alone. A life lesson indeed.
Though it doesn't seem too high at this distance, the Big Daddy Duneis almost 1,000 feet high, one of the tallest in the world.
And finally, an oryx emerges from the shadows, transforming itself before our eyes from black to white. Another miracle in the desert.
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