Meg and I had decided as we were staying at Solitaire that we didn't have to get up early so we were going to sleep in. Naturally I woke up at 6:30am anyway. We had a nice breakfast that morning and were ready to head out to Sossusvlei. Before we left we were taking pictures of the place when their pet springbok decided to come and check us out. Meg was sitting down as it came right up to her. Later it did the same to me and actually licked me! That was definitely a neat experience. They blunted the tips of its horns so it won't hurt you, which I later appreciated when he head butted me. Another three hours or so we finally got to our next lodge called Desert Homestead. We would've been there much earlier, but we couldn't find a single could map to tell us where to go. In the end we went down every road, but the right one. It was at least a nice view. I was tired and as soon as we got into our gorgeous little chattel I took a nap. I convinced Meg to go on a sundowner horseback riding trail later that afternoon. She wasn't sure it would be that fun, but it was just us two and our short irish guide. Since we were experienced riders we were able to go for a canter for a bit, which was a blast. My horse was a wild/arab mix named Cheeky and she was a lot of fun. We got to a good lookout spot where a car had dropped off snacks and drinks for us so we could sit and talk while the sun went down. It was fantastic! As we rode our horses back it was dark and the stars we starting to come out. We saw some jackal and springbok along the way. When we returned it was just in time for dinner. It was a wonderful day just relaxing and enjoying the view.

Tuesday we got up really early and had breakfast with an older couple that was also going to Sossusvlei at sunrise. The lodge gave us breakfast packs to take for the road, and then we sped off to the park. It doesn't open till Sunrise so when we got there some other cars were in line waiting. The sun came up as we started driving in. It was a beautiful view through the park with the dunes and mountains. There wasn't much wildlife, but we saw some oryx, ostrich, and springbox every so often. We got to the part where 2x4 vehicles park and decided we would just walk to death vlei. That turned out to be a bad decision because walking through sand is not an easy thing to do, and I was already saddle soar. Just a little ways off from where the hike started, the older couple with their guide from the lodge came and picked us up. They were way nice. We walked around and took pictures before we headed back (this time with a shuttle bus we paid for). One of the dunes is great for hiking, and we were told to do that after seeing the main hikes at the end. It was great because when we went on the tip of the dune all the way up, there was no one else. I felt like my legs were going to kill me, but I was determined to get to the top. Meg struggled a bit more, but to my surprise she made it all the way as well. After that we went to Sesriam Canyon right next to the gates to Sossusvlei. We had lunch on the edge then we hiked around there. I decided I could have spent much more time there. It was really pretty and had tons of places to climb. Unfortunately, we had to hurry and get back on the road to make it to Swakopmund before dark. Another 5 hours later we finally made it! We were staying at a hostel named Villa Wiese there. I've never really stayed in a hostel, but from the first look everything seemed just like a hotel. I was so tired after the long drive I didn't feel like being social or anything, but I went and asked a group playing cards where we could eat. They all recommended Napolitans so we went there and discovered it's a very popular place among those that stay at Villa Wiese. The portions were huge so we had lots of leftovers. It was a good day, and I felt like we did a lot in a very short amount of time. I was really glad I didn't have as much driving to do the next day though.