Sossusvlei, Dead vlei and Dune 45

Sossusvlei is a salt and clay pan surrounded by high red dunes, located in the southern part of the Namib desert. According to wikipedia, the name "Sossusvlei" is of mixed origin, and roughly means "dead end marsh". Vlei is the afrikaans word for "marsh", while "sossus" is means "no return" or "dead end". Sossusvlei owes this name to the fact that it is a drainage basin without outflows for the Tsauchab River. The pan has been shaped over time by the Tsauchab river but the actual flooding of the pan is a rare event, and sometimes several years pass between one flood and the next one. The river is dry most of the year, and even when it is not, it carries relatively little water to the vlei.

Deadvlei is another clay pan, about 2 km from Sossusvlei. Deadvlei used to be an oasis with several huge trees. The river that watered the oasis has since changed its course and no longer brings water to the area. We had to walk about one km into the sand dunes to reach this area! The pan is scattered with dead acacia trees, and is an amazing sight amidst the red sand dunes that surround it!

Dune 45 Is known as the most photographed sand dune in the world. We stopped here for sunset and climbed the 80 meters to the top! The pictures of this are on another camera but the views were amazing! Google images can show you just how amazing! The whole area was spectacular!