Swakopmund to Geluk (Kulala Lodge), Namibia 6 - 7 Nov 07

Famous pink dunes of Sossusvlei

Shortly before we started our descent for Geluk, the desert floor changed to beautiful orange dunes. The reflection of light from the orange dunes gave the base of the scattered cumulus clouds a pretty orange colour. By listening on the standard un-manned airstrip frequency 124.8 MHz, we realised that the approach into Geluk was getting quite busy as there were two other airplanes (both Cessna 210’s) which were all arriving within the same 10 minute ETA window as us. We were second, and got useful wind and game info from the first one. There was a big herd of springbok mid-field, but all on the same side of the runway. The third airplane was flown by a young Namibian lady, and we had a friendly chat with her on the ground.

Geluk is the airstrip for Kulala Desert Lodge where we stayed for one night. The lodge has its own and more direct private entrance to Sossusvlei with its famous pink dunes. Late afternoon, Cristophe drove us to nearby Sesriem canyon. We walked the length of the canyon before driving to Dune no. 1 for a short walk barefoot in the warm sand before drinking our sundowners.
Next day we went on an early morning tour of the magnificent dunes of Sossusvlei followed by brunch under a tree. We hadn’t expected to see much wild life but there were the ubiquitous springboks, a number of ostriches and a few oryx.

Sossusvlei being the most well-known tourist destination in Namibia, it was difficult to get a room in spite of booking months in advance, so we only had the one night there. The rather overpriced Kulala Desert Lodge was fine apart from the food, with tough ‘lamb’ chops for dinner which we could have sworn were actually mutton.

(more pictures on next page)