Deadvlei — Attraction in Hardap

We stayed at the Sesriem Oshana campsite for a night. We had our private bathroom, a shelter, and a sink. It was clean, slightly noisy in the evening, though. Near this campsite there is a public one which doesn't have private bathrooms, as well as a lodge (it was unfortunately full, so we stayed at the campsite). The advantage of staying at the campsite is that you can enter the park around one hour before sunrise and exit it one hour after sunset (people staying outside the park can only enter at sunrise and should exit at sunset). The sunrise was at 7am that day, so we were told to be at the gate at 6.15am. We arrived at 5.50am and were the second car waiting for the second gate to open. However, afterwards, we were overtaken by almost all cars as the speed limit is 60km/h, and we seemed to be the only guys respecting the speed limit. It was still worth it to be amongst the first to arrive and climb the dunes in early morning. At 11am, it was already crazily hot. We drove until the end (around 50 min, we didn't stop at Dune 45 on the way there), parked our car, and took one of the 4WD shuttles for the last 5 km (200 NMD per person). We climbed Big Daddy, which is the highest dune of the park, with amazing views of the surrounding dunes, Deadvlei, the mountains, and the ocean. It was slightly challenging but worth it. We ran down to Deadvlei from Big Daddy, and it was so much fun. Listen for the noise of the sand, it's amazing. We wore our diving shoes, which was the best decision ever. People wore sneakers and walking shoes, and I think most were spoiled by the sand… Barefoot didn't seem reasonable as there were beetles, sharp grass, and lizards in the sand. Down at Deadvlei, we walked around to see the beautiful trees and headed back. On the way back we stopped at Dune 45 but didn't climb it as it was not worth it after Big Daddy (this is also a very touristic place where people are taking pictures and a lower dune than Big Daddy, much less impressive). We also stopped at a viewpoint. In the late afternoon, we went for a 1-hour hike at Sesriem Canyon, and the golden hour colours on the rocks were stunning (the ticket for the park allowed us to stay 24 hours in the park). The previous day, we climbed Elim Dune for the sunset - it was quite hard as the dune is not that high but is very large. The following morning, we saw the park from a hot air balloon at Namib Sky Balloon Safaris - not the dunes but some amazing mountains, the views were...

Deadvlei is an area of Sossusvlei which includes the ancient remains of acacia trees which have been dead for over 600 years yet rest mostly undisturbed and well preserved due to the extremely dry climate in this area of the Namib-Naukluft Park in Namibia.

Here you find a white clay pan surrounded by dunes on all sides. The pan is home to 50 or so tree skeletons some of which remain standing while others have fallen, centuries ago. In the distant past, this area was flooded at times when the nearby Tsauchab river had water, allowing for the acacia and camel thorn trees to grow.

However, around 700 years go a drought occurred, followed by shifting sands which formed a new dune that blocked the water flow from the nearby river from entering the shallow pan ever again. The acacia trees with their deep roots would have survived for a while but eventually died out, providing what you can see today at this extraordinary location in Namibia.

Note: Most visitors include a stop and climb at Dune 45 along the road between the Sesriem Gate and Sossulvlei where you find Deadvlei. The large groups then make way to Deadvlei. If you prefer to avoid the crowds, you can make your visit in the opposite direction, starting with Deadvlei first and then visiting Dune 45 later on.

Note: There is a car park at the end of the Sossusvlei road. At this point there are 2-3 more kilometres of driving on very soft sand which requires 4 wheel drive and some driving experience in order to avoid becoming stuck. At the car park, there is free tractor pull shuttle service for those who prefer to leave their vehicles and not attempt the drive further into Sossusvlei to...

Deadvlei is a dream. We arrived in the morning and as we were driving the mist was so thick that I didn't think we'd see anything. It was maybe 6:30 am in early November and pretty cold. There's a parking area that you are encouraged to park at and take the shuttle to the end where you're able to do some hiking. Or, you can drive the mile long stretch of thick sand and potentially get stuck. We love challenges. Not really but my husband was pretty confident and we managed to drive on our own to the end. It was still pretty misty so we decided to make ourselves some breakfast and coffee - there are a couple picnic tables in the parking lot. By 7:30ish we could tell the mist was lifting so we began to hike up Big Daddy dune. You don't have to hike up much to get to the white clay pan with the awesome trees, but the views of the pan and the surroundings are very worth it! There were some people around but not too many. The path to the top was pretty straightforward, with one short stretch being very steep - it felt a bit like we had to carve our own steps. That was hard, but we made it. Going down is also pretty epic. We were back to our car by 10:45/11, and by then it was HOT.

If you love dunes, I can see the appeal of spending multiple days in the area. There are several dunes in the area and you can have many fun-filled days of hiking. Just watch out because it can get horribly hot. Make sure to wear proper clothing, sunscreen, and bring lots of water. The weather can also be difficult. We were lucky and one day was perfect for us. It is absolutely a place to visit - probably one of the most incredible places...