The dunes sing. Sitting between them on a windy dawn, an eerie music can be heard vibrating through the sand, like a whale song, or a didgeridoo moan. It’s as if the Universe has plucked a chord from her ancient harp and it resonates here in this red world of sand.
Situated in western Namibia, the Namib-Naukluft National Park stretches north from Lüderitz to Swakopmund, incorporating dune sea, gravel plains, wetlands and rugged mountains. Covering nearly 50 000km², it is one of Africa’s largest national parks. The dune sea developed as sand washed down the Orange/Gariep River into the Atlantic and then was transported northwards by the ocean currents and wind. The red sand dunes have a high iron content and the colour is the result of a form of ‘rusting’ or oxidation of these particles.
When the light changes at sunset and sunrise, when day moves to night and night to day, there are endless opportunities to listen to the universe, as the dunes turn red and glow in the sun’s rays. Catch these magic moments before the sun rises high in the sky or sinks into the night and we forget that there is the possibility of magic.
Sesriem campsite makes a good starting point to venture out from, but be aware of their gate times, as they shut for the night. At dawn a procession of cars moves out towards the dunes in the distance. For a fine view you can climb Elim Dune or Dune 45 and sit on a ridge on the top as the fine red sand blows against you. From here you can see the Naukluft Mountains in the east and the dune sea extending to the west, and wait in anticipation for the first rays of the sun to catch the red sand. Alternatively you can sit between the dunes, watch sand patterns, grasses blow and insect and animal tracks.
The Namib has a true desert or hyper-arid classification having a mean rainfall of less than 100mm a year. True desert is unsettling for some people. It involves a switch of perception to be open to a beauty that is dry and different. It has a stillness that speaks, an energy all of its own.
To continue the desert experience, a visit to Sossusvlei is recommended. A journey around the Sossusvlei area reminds us that many life-forms make this arid land their home, and that appearances are often deceptive. The dunes themselves have a slow and steady motion. Rivers such as the Tsauchab River have been blocked by this movement, ending here at Sossusvlei in a group of pans. The name ‘sossus’ refers to ‘the end of the river’, Sossusvlei marking the end of the Tsauchab’s journey to the sea, once its final destination. In the rare years of high rainfall, the Tsauchab reaches the dry pans and Sossuvlei transforms into an oasis. Around Sossuvlei the other pans include !Nara Vlei, Hidden Vlei and Dead Vlei, Dead Vlei having been cut off from the Tsauchab River hundreds of years ago, the trunks of its camelthorn trees remaining in the cracked clay floor of the pan. The switch of perception which allows you to delight in this true desert has a field day here, as the surreal pan surrounded by dunes is absorbed and entertained by the senses.
Sossuvlei’s parking area is as far as a two wheel drive vehicle is allowed. From there the five kilometre road can be walked or a shuttle bus can be taken. Alternatively a journey can be arranged by Sossus-on-Foot, run by a husband and wife team, who will collect you from the parking lot and give you a guided tour of the area. In this way you can learn about the fauna and flora, the movement of the dunes, and be amused by the guide’s San stories of tracking animals and diamonds being ‘lucky stones from the moon’. The life of the desert opens up even more as the camelthorn trees and !nara plants are pointed out, the !nara melons sustaining the resident gemsbok population. A head-standing or fog-basking beetle may be found to show how it lifts its behind in the air to catch precious desert moisture. A magnet run across the sand collects iron particles to its surface, revealing the sand’s high iron content. And to extend yourself to understand a culture and a people, history and stories open up this desert as a home to various groups clashing over time.
A day in the dunes, often ending at the Sesriem campsite under a dark sky of bright stars, and next to a sizzling camp fire, is a full one. Senses have been heightened, parameters extended, boundaries blurred. Sitting under a camelthorn with the Namib surrounding you, you may just for a time, resonate with that deep universal sound humming from the centre of the Earth.
Dr E ÖZCAN (Journalist for Atlas Voyager Travel Magazine) |
Is there an African equivalent to ‘walkabout’, or ‘pilgrimage’? A concept of finding yourself, losing yourself, reassessing your Life and values, of finding and following your songlines, and singing your song. A time to commune with the land, to find your sacred space, to connect with your source? 