Dune 45 and Deadvlei was on Day 5 of my Acacia Africa tour. We had our earliest start of the trip leaving at 4:45am in order to make it to Dune 45 at opening time. The view at Dune 45 is magnificent as you are surrounded by large dunes. Dune 45 gets its’ name from being 45 km from Sesrium Gate.
We hiked up Dune 45 along the track created for tourists in socks. The Dune is pretty steep and you keep digging into the sand as you walk up making it hard to move very fast or to take big steps. Also every step you take, you also slide back a little making the climb a real leg workout. My calve muscles were burning so I had to stop several times to give my legs a break and catch my breath. We were rewarded with a gorgeous view at the top which made the climb worth it. I did find the view at the very top better then any of the other stops so suck it up and keep going.
There were two options to go down. The first option was to go down the steep incline on the side. We saw three guys run down and they were flying down the hill. The third guy made it almost all the way to the bottom before tripping up and somersaulting. With the speed he was going, I have to assume it hurt! But he stood up with a smile like it was no big deal. I just think he was embarrassed and didn’t want to admit it hurt like hell. The second option was to go back the same way we climbed up which is the option I chose to take. It was fairly easy to go back down and I would encourage others to make the same choice. This helps Dune 45 stay intact and prevent erosion of the Dune. Climbing down the middle can cause erosion and changes to the Dune over time.
We enjoyed a breakfast of eggs and bacon before driving another hour to our next stop. We were greeted by giant 4X4 vehicles that drove us over the sand. I sat in the front seat and watched the drivers smile as he raced other vehicles along over the small hills to make it a thrilling ride for us. I always like it when I can see people truly enjoying their job.
We had another 15 to 20 minute walk through the sand to the Deadvlei stop. There used to be a lake among the dunes that dried up. In it’s place is a large area of salt with 400 year old trees growing in random spots. All the trees were bare leaving just large wooden trees. It was unlike anything I had ever seen before. We had fun posing among the trees. The walk was tiring mainly due to the extreme heat and our legs being sore from climbing Dune 45 but totally worth it.
We drove another hour or so to a campsite for a lunch break. We had two hours to eat lunch, swim in the pool, and drink extremely cold beers in the bar. They took out glasses from the freezer to pour the beer in. I wasn’t even wanting a drink it was well over a 100 degrees Fahrenheit so a cool glass of anything sounded amazing.
We drove another couple hours to our campsite for the night. This was one of my favorite campsites despite the lack of a pool to swim in. We hung out by the bar which luckily provided us with enough shade to cool off. The camp had stunning 360 degree views with nothing but nature in sight. It was almost like 4 completely different views depending on which direction that you were looking.
We walked up a small hill to enjoy an absolutely beautiful sunset. For dinner, we had a traditional African meal which consisted of pup – which is made of corn and reminds me a bit of mezza, with an African stew, and peanut sauce coleslaw. I enjoyed the meal more then I thought I would. We started a small fire and made s’mores for dessert. While making s’mores, a grasshopper committed suicide by jumping into the fire. Charlotte decided to further cook the grasshopper and try out the local delicacy. She managed to eat it in one bite. She said it was dry and pretty flavorless and it wasn’t all the bad. It provided us all with a bit of entertainment.
My favorite part of the camp was to see my first Zebra. The Zebras came to the camp to drink. From a small pool with water pumped from underground. Every night, as many as 400 Zebras come and drink from the water. I would guess that we saw about 30-50 at a time by the watering hole. One to two Zebras would drink at a time and another Zebra would stand guard to keep the other Zebras away. If a Zebra from another group came up, the Zebra would fight them by kicking up their rear legs often landing the kicks at the other Zebra’s face. We saw this happen over and over again.
We later learn that Zebras typically travel in packs of 5. There is usually one male and three or four women and maybe one child. The baby Zebra will stay with their parent for one year before they are kicked out and need to fend on their own. Although they usually are never alone and will find a new group to join. Of course the ratio of men to women isn’t actually 1:4. So you will find packs of bachelor Zebras traveling together. The bachelor Zebras are the most aggressive at watering holes and often just go looking for a fight.
Want to read more about my Acacia Tour? Check out my article, Cape Town Township and Wine Tasting Tour .
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