Namibia -Sossusvlei-

Driving down about five hours southwest from Windhoek, we reached Sossusvlei, the red desert area. We visited here for two nights.

When I heard we were going to Namibia, one of my photographic aims was to take some pictures of sunrise and sunset.I had a great oppotunities to achive this goal.

The evening we arrived, we went on a "Sundowner Excursion". The lodge we stayed provided this. At around 6:00pm, we drove down to the sunset viewing point.

Just before sunset, we arrived at the viewing point. We climbed up a little hill and set up a table for some snacks and drinks. I was prepared to take some sunset shots! The sunset was absolutely beautiful.

The next morning, I had the chance to take sunrise pictures.

At 5:10 am, we left the lodge to do a Hot Air Balloon Ride! I had never even seen hot air balloon in person before, nevermind rode in one. I was so excited! The boys were too small to ride, so they followed us in the jeep with the ground crew.

Once we were up in the air, the sun started to rise. It was a superb view! As the sun rose higher, the red desert started to get more color. I wouldn't have been able to imagine how large and expansive the red desert was had I stayed on the ground. It was really amazing.

When we landed, we opened up the champagne, and it was breakfast time! This hot air balloon ride was another unforgettable moment.

After returning, we drove down to Deadvlei.

To go to the Deadvlei, we had to drive with 4x4, plus walk in the dune for over a kilometer in the hot sun. It was 46 degrees Celsius! Struggling with the hot sand and dry air, we eventually reached Deadvlei. It was another world. The blue sky was more blue because of the contrast with the red sand. The trees were dead and black, but still stood there creepily. I was speechless to the natural beauty left relatively untouched.