Drivers start your engines... Dune 45, Namib Naukluft National Park, Namibia.

view from the top of Dune 45...looking east.

view looking west towards sossusvlei AND the nearby atlantic ocean.

we sat on top of 45 for a long while, watching the colors of the dune (and its neighbours) change minute by minute as the sun rose. i loved moments like this. notice the humanoids on the spine of 45.


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Map points to Dune 45. A typical star-type dune in a sea of sand, it happens to be the most accessible dune along the road from sesriem to sossusvlei.

at the crack of dawn, the desert campsite at sesriem, normally peaceful except for the occasional howling breeze, awoke to the rumble a single overland truck. slowly, one vehicle after another came to life until the cacophony was difficult to ignore from within my toasty sleep bag.

it was time to rumble. my sleepy-eyed friend ahmed and i clambered out of the tent and joined the que of vehicles at the namib-naukluft park gate.

the long standing tradition of racing against the rising sun to Dune 45 was about to begin.

the gates magically swung open. off we went, speeding along the great flood plain of the once mighty tsauchab river.

half hour later we arrived at Dune 45.

sweat poured off our brows as we scrambled to the razor sharp ridge of 45.

was it worth the effort?

i don't post alot of pictures of where i bed down when i travel but this is the campsite at Sesriem. in the foreground is the rental vehicle. man we trashed that poor car. notice the missing front hub cap.... long, long story my friends... anyway, from this site we're about 45 km east of Dune 45. hmmm...45 km. could that be a cowinkydink?