Red Desert Sand Racing

The 4:30 am wakee wakee WAKEE was very uncalled for but it sure got us moving. Jump out of bed, race to the toilets, brush teeth and hair and jump on the truck. The truck then raced to the gate and we sat waiting for it to open. It won't open until 5:15 am but we wanted to make sure we were one of the first in line to exit the camp. The other Acacia truck was there first but they cheated!!! Their truck drove to the gate with no one on it and then their group just walked out to the truck when they were ready.

The gate opened and the race across the desert begins! We were second to reach the dune and we all jumped out and started heading up and up and up. People were in some kind of crazy frenzied race to the top... some in boots, sandals, just socks and then me in bare feet. The sand is very soft and cold and red and we are climbing up the ridge line. Its about 150 metres high and the climb seemed easy but as you go it gets steeper and the sand is shifting around under your feet. The urgency seems to push people beyond what they would normally do. I took off a bit faster than I needed to and jogged 1/2 way up the hill. Now I remember why I hated hill work when I was training for marathons. I'm breathing quite hard and the air is very dry. We haven't even had breakfast yet!! I came to my senses and slowed down a bit. I passed an older gentleman who had to sit and rest as well as a woman who was wheezing terribly. I hoped she had her inhaler with her. I went to the top of the first ridge and sat down in the sand to rest.

Some people kept going further onto the next ridge but that would have involved going down a bit and up again so I decided my viewing spot was perfect. My feet were feeling a bit chilly now in the morning cool - I guess socks would have been a good idea.

A cheer went out as the first rays appeared on the horizon. We watched the sun peek up over the distant mountains and light up the sand dune. Well worth the climb. Lots of camera shutters going off as Kodak share prices rose with all the amatuer photographers hoping for that money shot. My feet were getting really cold now so I decided to head back down and get my socks and shoes on. I was totally unaware when a woman told me that my nose was bleeding. I guess it was the exertion and extremely dry, cold air. It stopped quite quickly and I seemed none the worse for wear.

I ran down the dune to the bottom... ah yes, I remember how much I like going downhill!! When I got to the bottom of the sand I knew my feet were pretty much frozen since I couldn't feel the gravel from the parking lot under my feet. I put my socks and shoes on and waited for the rest of the gang to descend. We had bacon, scrambled eggs and whole wheat bread for breakfast next to the dune. I collected some red sand in an old water bottle to add to our sand and stone collection at home.

After breakfast we drove into the bush in the back of an open pickup to meet our guide - Bushman (yes, that was his name). Bushman is barefoot and hasn't owned a pair of shoes for 10 years. He is married to a Japanese woman that he met on tour. When he flew to Japan to have the wedding he showed up at customs with no shoes on. I guess the customs guys were a bit amused. I also heard he had to wear shoes in the traditional Japanese ceremony but as far a anyone knows thats the only time he's worn shoes since he threw his last pair away.

The other Acacia group joined us as Bushman took us on a tour of the desert and dunes. This area is called Sossusvlei. Bushman took us in to show us the life in the desert and tell us about the plight of the original tribes of bushmen (San).

Apparantly there are only about 30,000 bushmen left and, due to intermarriage, there are none of the original bloodline left. They used to be short and more yellow skin (vs black). This skin colour helped them to hide behind bushes when they were hunting with their poison arrows. I guess when the blacks and whites were moving north from South Africa to the dunes in Namibia and the bushmen were first found they were classified as animals rather than humans. The worship the moon and they believe that when you die, you go to the moon. If you're good that is... if you are bad you turn into a jackal and if you were just grumpy all the time you turn into a dust devil. Who's to say who's right??

On our walk we got to see lots of small creatures managing to survive in the desert. We saw a mouse, lizards who bury themselves under the sand, spiders with trap doors, black beetles that collect liquid condensation in the ridges on their back that then runs into their mouths, a small green succulent plant that gives humans stomach problems but the Oryx can eat it and then humans can eat the Oryx, marigolds with small bulbs buried under the sand that are rather like potatoes and a small plant with dried buds that will open with a single drop of water. If it gets more water, it will release its seeds, if no more water comes, it closes back up again. This is to ensure that the seeds are not eaten by animals.

There are scorpions in the desert but, according to Bushman, they only come out when it is windy since the insects they eat will be grounded from flying around and they can find something to eat.

Bushman also tells us that the easiest way to climb a dune is to walk straight up the back (away from the sun) rather than up the ridgeline... which we had all just done! He said that going straight up was a shorter route... I think he may be right. He also said that the San owned pretty much nothing but a loin cloth. The desert gets cold at night so to stay warm they said all you needed was a full belly, to be very tired and not to think about it. To ensure they didn't think about the cold, they would tell each other stories to keep their minds off the cold.

After the bush walk we headed back to the truck and drove back to camp. We took down our tents, ate lunch and hit the road. Our next camp is in the middle of nowhere off a long stretch of highway. We drove around behind some large rocks and set up tents. This is our first bushcamp meaning its just us and our tents... no bar, pool, toilets, showers, etc... no worries, we have a shovel!

The rock formations are very cool and its so quiet as night falls. We go to bed early and listen for animal sounds.