Game Drive in Namibia: Can you see animals at the desert?

 

View from the And Beyond Sossusvlei Lodge

Hello, we will continue talking about our trip to Namibia during the month of September 2021. We had arrived at the Hotel And Beyond Sossusvlei Lodge. That first night we had slept incredibly well.

View from the Room

After having breakfast with a majestic view of the mountains and the valley, and having spent a quiet afternoon reading and swimming in the room's pool, we prepare to start our first Game Drive through the Sossusvlei region. It would be a drive around the reserve to the Petrified Dune.

And Beyond Sossusvlei Lodge

Somebody was having fun
 in the cold water

 

Our hotel guide, Michael, originally from Namibia, explained the nature of this place in detail.

Definitely in a safari through South Africa the visitor is rewarded with the diversity of the fauna of the continent. In Namibia, in the desert, the chances are less due to the adverse weather. But there are desert animals. Definitely!

Mr Orix

Desert animals

Let's go to the Drive

Molly, a friend from Cape Town, asked me when I posted photos on Facebook, if there were animals. Well, I answered yes. From the hotel you can see the famous Orix, a kind of cattle, ostriches and Springbocks. There are also jackals, especially one that ventures to walk through the hotel's courtyards where visitors' clothes are hung and through the garbage dumps. We saw this hotel mascot one night when we were enjoying the stars on the terrace of the room.

Our Ranger, explained us the footprints

And there are also hyenas. Apparently the legend is true and where there are no lions, there are hyenas. This is the case in the Sossusvlei reserve. But you can't see them during the day, at least not during our drive, but you can hear them at night. And also the jackals.

Apparently the only ones who have no enemies in Sossusvlei are the oryx, as their number is significant. From our guide Michael, we learned that male Orix are loners and overly defend their territories. The fights between them are impressive considering their size. Their long, sharp horns, strong as steel, are their best defense weapons.

Beautiful place 

There are obviously vipers, including the dreaded Cape Cobra species. Michael told us that he is talking about the behaviour of these reptiles. Normally they do not attack the human being, on the contrary, they flee from him. They only attack if they feel threatened and don't like open fields. They move through the undergrowth or under the ground. If they leave their safe place, it is to look for water or food. They even move into the mountains or in the dunes of Sossusvlei.

The Petrified Dune

Leopards, Elephants and other animals are sure to be found in Namibia, but in other regions, like Etosha. On this trip we decided not to continue to the north of Namibia. That would be for the next one.

The hand of God or the presence of aliens?

No explanations at all about this phenomenon

We continue in our traditional Safari vehicle. We didn't see much different along the way. The mountains and Orix. But the Petrified Dune was special. But before reaching it, Michael showed us an area where the ground had changed color. Even small circles could be observed.

NamiRand Nature Reserve

For him the most normal explanation was that God had been his creator. For me the best proof of the sensation that I had been feeling since I arrived in Sossusvlei: the presence of ufos.

These circles were formed in the mountains with stones that had changed colour. They were darker. Everyone can interpret this phenomenon. The reality is that in this area nature changes.

At the sunset

We continue the journey to the top of the dune. Yes, the Safari vehicle got on without any problem. Time turned a sand dune, worth the redundancy, into solid material. At the top, our guide prepared everything for the famous sunset drink. The view was wonderful and we took the opportunity to take family photos.

We returned to the room flooded with solar energy and all the knowledge that our guide provided us. We rest a little and get ready to go to dinner the delights of the Hotel And Beyond. Our table was al fresco and we enjoyed the silence of the desert. This is not always the case, but this time we don't hear anything.

Thank you very much for reading me. For the next entry of Landing I will bring you the adventure of walking through the famous Dune 45. Quite a challenge.