Sesriem - On The Edge Of Nowhere

Sesriem is a 'settlement' on the edge of the Namib Desert.

It is the western entrance to the Namib Nauklauft Park and consists of two camping areas, a Lodge catering mainly to Fly-In and Coach-Tour visitors and, a fuel station/store.

It is also the access point to the famous Sossusvlei and its much-photographed dunes.


On the gravel roads leading to Sesriem there are many Desert Lodges and Operators offering services like Balloon Safaris and Aircraft flights over the dunes.


I don't know what it costs to Balloon over the desert but I'm sure I couldn't afford it.

I had to be satisfied with this aerial view of Sesriem - a Welcome sign at the Sossus Oasis Camp Site where we stayed: the circle in the foreground.


Entrance to Sossusvlei is restricted to daylight hours and therefore Sesriem, being about 70kms east of Sossusvlei, is a convenient stop-over for visitors wanting to get to the Dunes early the next day before the sun gets too hot.


The camp sites at the Sossus Oasis Camp are nicely spaced, ensuring a degree of privacy.

Each shaded camping spot has a barbecue, electrical-point and wash-basin for dishes. Behind the reed enclosure is a toilet and shower with hot water - what a pleasure it is to shower here after a long day on the road, cool breeze blowing and a fantastic view over the desert.

The owners of the camp pride themselves on their eco-friendliness - hot water and electricity is solar generated. I assume that water is also pumped from solar-powered boreholes.


A Biker enters the Namibia Wildlife Resorts Camp where permits are issued for entrance to Sossusvlei.

Motorcycles are not allowed into Sossusvlei so bikers have to either hitch a ride with a motorist or use one of the expensive Shuttle-service Vehicles.

We took two Bikers with us on our trip to Sossusvlei; they'd traveled across Russia, Europe and Africa and were on their way home to Oz, via Namibia and Cape Town - it would have been a shame if they'd come all that way and not been able to get to Sossusvlei.


A Balloon over the Desert.

It seems that the Balloons only fly at sunrise when there is no wind - the view must be spectacular.


In the pic above you can see one of three Micro-light aircraft which appeared in the sky and then came in to land on the gravel road running past the camp.

The whole setting of Sesriem is surreal.

This outpost in the desert with all the strange-looking vehicles coming and going gave me a sense of Déjà vu - later it struck me that Sesriem is like a scene from a Mad Max movie.


After landing, the Airmen taxied up to the pumps and proceeded to refuel their flying machines:


Wow, I can only imagine how it must feel to tour a country in this way - I was feeling too shy to strike-up a conversation with these travelers so I can tell you no more about them.


The Sesriem Canyon, about 5kms from the campsite.

It was midday and hot and I was in no mood to trek down the path leading into it and back up again - maybe next time ...

'Sesriem', literally translated from Afrikaans means 'Six Thongs' - you can read why this Canyon is so-named here

If you follow the Location link below you'll get a good perspective of the area.

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