Sun Jul 26 2026
Namibgrens to Sesrium
Spectacular sunrise and corrugated roads.
The campsite was just as spectacular at sunrise as it was at sunset. An early wake up at 06:00 to try and photograph the Milky Way between moonset and sunrise revealed a spectacular sky, but no Milky Way to the naked eye (I was probably looking in the wrong direction!). Then the early morning pink sky started to show so I climbed the rocks to watch the dawn break. Soon I was joined by the rest of the gang and we agreed that this place was pretty special.
We got the fire going to warm the shower water, had breakfasts and nice hot showers then packed up camp for the journey to Sesriem.
We travelled along a D road (the third-best grade of gravel road, so loose and corrugated along much of the route) and into some large escarpments with switchbacks and steep dips. Before long we emerged to the most spectacular view over desert plains from high up on a plateau. We stopped to take the view in and take some photos, then carried on along the road towards Sesriem.
Before long we got to a bigger gravel road and shortly after that we stumbled upon the service stop at Solitaire which was the home of McGregor’s Bakery and their famous apple pie. We had to try it, so ordered 5, only to find out each one was roughly the size of a house brick and came with their home made vanilla ice cream. Needless to say everyone was happy with their choice, if a little stuffed by the end of the sitting!
We carried on along the dirt road for a few more hours, passing other road trippers in the opposite direction and finally arrived at Sesriem campsite, sitting within the outer and inner gates of the Sossusvlei National Park and allowing inhabitants to get into the park a whole hour earlier than people staying outside, and hopefully arriving at the sand dunes in time for sunrise.
The campsite was basic but great. It had WiFi and power and a little shop and restaurant. Our site consisted of a small circular wall around the pitch with enough space to park the truck, pitch a tent and set up a table and chairs. There was a big old tree in the middle that had a tap for washing up water embedded into the trunk!
Unfortunately the pool was out of action due to cleaning after some bad weather (not having much luck with pools so far this holiday!), so we made camp, cooked up a spag bol, then chilled for a bit before bed ready for a super early start to see the dunes tomorrow!