We were on the truck and leaving the campsite this morning at 0530 hours to get to the infamous Dune 45 in time for people to run to the top to watch the sunrise. It was something of a race with many other people staying at the campsite doing the same thing ... the dune is about a 40 minute drive from the campsite.

The dunes in this area are red sand - a stunning range of colours as the sun rises. Tessa went right to the top and along to the end whilst Vikki went 3/4 of the way took a photo or two and decided to descend leaving the maddening horde behind. We drove a further 27km to Sossusvlei which is where the dunes have overtaken a forest and petrified it. A stunning landscape to spend an hour or two wandering in.

After lunch we were on the road again heading through desolate mountain desert where volcanic activity many hundreds of thousands of years ago have created interesting rocky hills and cliffs. Vikki saw a group of the elusive mountain zebra and was thoroughly hassled by the rest of the truckers over dinner for not waking them all up to point them out. Snooze you loose ;-)

It has ben interesting to see how different role choose to experience their time in Africa. Quite a few have a list that they are ticking off and once ticked aren't that interested if they come across such an animal/ phenomena again - their focus is on getting the rest of the list ticked. Many sleep their days away, paying zero attention to the land we drive through or the people we pass. Others relish every moment they have within this diverse, mind blowing, humbling and challenging land with people who provoke thought as one compares all that we have and take for granted compared with what they are content with and how they sustain he selves at a level of survival most of us would fail to meet.