First Ten Days at Sossusvlei Desert Lodge

I have been assisting with the guiding at Sossusvlei Desert Lodge for the last ten days, and having a lot of fun.  I worked for nearly seven years here and my wife and I have been involved with the lodge throughout it's history.  It was called Sossusvlei Mountain Lodge, but changed the name to Sossusvlei Desert Lodge towards the end of last year.

Sossusvlei is a dry clay pan in the middle of the Namib Sand Sea, the dune field in the southern part of the Namib Desert. Sossusvlei is deep in the Namib Naukluft Park, and the lodges that visit the area are based some distance to the east.  Sossusvlei Desert Lodge is based on the wonderful Namib Rand Nature Reserve, now the largest private conservation area in the world.

My activities in the last 10 days have involved doing the long morning tours to Sossusvlei, game/nature drives on the reserve, walks including walking to an area with bushman rock art and artifacts, and doing ATV trips in the dunes.  I have done 6 Sossusvlei trips since getting here, which adds to the near 900 that I have done in my life.

In my spare time (of which there is very little at this lodge) I have been working out a little and working on climbing along with the Astronomer, Frank, and the assistant manager, Paulo.  The lodge it built with local rock and it makes a great climbing wall.  We practice daily climbing sideways.  Part of these guys workout also involves tossing a large rock back and forth...just one of those things people to long in the desert start to do.

I have been lucky enough to see a range of conditions, including fog and a mild sandstorm, which helps to get interesting pictures.  It was great to have come off the last trip that I did with C4Images, which has made me much more keen on my photography.  Due to the very, very slow internet connection we have at the lodge, I will wait and do a few posts with images later.

I still haven't seen a Leopard, but will keep trying!  The area is looking great though, with lots of grass and lots of wildlife.  I really hope to be able to keep coming back to work here from time to time in the futures.  It is a wonderful place!  I think it must be the best lodge in Namibia by miles.

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