The Namib Desert...

The first real destination on the trip was the Namib-Naukluft National Park, which we accessed at Sossusvlei, and then Homeb. A really beautiful place, but very harsh...

The start of the sand dunes at Sossusvlei. These dunes are big...

And more sand dunes...

Lovely tree next to sand dunes. We took the shade where we could find it!

The climb up is quite tiring, and requires 4 wheel drive... A lot harder than it looks...

 But it's great to get to the top!

 Making heavy weather of it! Hate when the sand gets in your eyes.

 Coming down is a lot more fun though...

 

The cousins in the shade after having conquered yet another sand dune...

As you go further into the desert the vegetation becomes even less, and dunes even taller

Two of the kids are just visible climbing the dune...

That's Fiona in the green rescuing little people whose feet are burning half way up a giant sand dune.

This Gemsbok was hiding in the shade at the bottom of the dune

No. He really was!

The bakery at Solitaire bakes a marvelous apple-pie. Look at the size of the slices!

This is Solitaire. All of it.

Look what we found!

 On the way to Homeb...

...on the sign was this marvelous cricket. Not all of the wildlife here is pretty!

...though some of it is magnificent

Homeb. I'm running out of ways to describe desolate... there's a place in Namibia which is called Moonscape, amazingly this isn't it.