Namibia is one of the world's most spectacular countries with hundreds of kilometers of deserts and wilderness. On this run to Namibia we first visited Windhoek and Swakopmund but after that we briefly visited the Namib Naukluft national park south of Swakopmund. Along the way we did local runs. This report just shows a little of what we encountered.
Before entering the desert we ran along the waterfront in Walvis Bay only to discover these flamingos.
Here we make our way up Dune 7 to the east of Walvis Bay. I had never realised it before but sand dunes are incredibly beautiful with artistic lines and shapes and soft clean sand.
We had a go at writing "PEACE" with our 5 team members.
One of the local residents - can you spot him?
Incredible views.
This is just before we had a race down the dune. It took about 20 minutes to climb but only 46 seconds to go down.
After the dunes we traveled across the desert. I had never before seen land that just has no vegetation. The road soon turned to dirt or perhaps more descriptively dust. This region of Namibia gets between 50 and 150 mm of rainfall a year.
More wide open spaces. It was about 33 deg Celsius on this day.
This was the first tree that we had seen for about 100 km. Just the fact that it managed to survive here was a small miracle. It very kindly consented to give us some shade for our picnic lunch.
Balarka and Cliff try their hand at running for peace in the desert.
This is a sociable weaver nest in a tree near to Sesriem camp.
The morning light on the dunes is haunting.
We headed up a dune that is locally referred to as "Big Daddy". Abhijatri is that little spot about a quarter of the way up.
Still going up...
Yes we should have been running but even walking up there was quite a challenge in the soft sand.
Abhijatri on top far away.
This area of Namibia is one of the most visited by international travelers. This French couple held the Peace Torch on the summit.
And here our whole team is in the photo.
A meditative moment before we head down the steep face of the dune.
And were off.
This pan between the dunes is know of as Deadvlei. This is the view from the top.
Abhijatri had a little mishap on the way down...
but managed to keep the Peace Torch out of the sand.
Almost down.
These camel thorn trees have been dead for many years. This is an area that is known as "Deadvlei"
Ostriches in the desert - their native environment.
An Oryx or Gemsbok also living in incredibly dry conditions. Just the fact that they survive is a miracle.
A quiver tree in the desert.
On our way back it rained in the desert - a blessing from above? I think that we were all captivated by the stark beauty of the Namibian deserts. They have a peace, silence and stillness about them that brings forward your own inner peace.
