We made an early start for our morning excursion into the national park to explore the Namib Desert. There were a few birds to see, notably Pied Crows, Red-winged Starlings and again lots of Cape Sparrows and other LBJs, but the highlights from a nature point of view (and I make no excuse for including them here in my nature notes blog) were the dunes.
Our guide, Julian, was excellent at pointing out animal tracks in the desert.
Pied Crow
Red-Winged Starling
Cape Sparrow
The younger members of the group – and some not quite so young – climbed Dune 45 (named because it is 45 k from the entrance to the park) before we moved on to visit the Deadvlei clay pans.
The area at Deadvlei was also quite spectacular with clay pans covered in a crust of salt rich sand and surrounded by burnt orange and red towering dunes.
On the way back we stopped briefly to see the small Sesriem Canyon where the Tsauchab River flows and creates the nearby salt and clay pans of Sossuvlei.
By this time the heat was becoming overpowering. On our return to the lodge a shower and lunch were very welcome.
Click below for gallery of this morning’s photos
Martin Tayler's bird blog & nature photos 