Alex and I spent the whole trip singing "Namibiaaaa!" to the tune of the Activia commercial....that's how cool we are.
I'm going to be honest...when Alex and I were tasked with finding a short getaway for while his parents visited, I had no idea where to start. Enter: Alex's friend Jonathon and Lonely Planet Southern Africa. JonJon raved about his ten day trip to Namibia, and after looking through the Lonely Planet book, it sounded amazing.
Namibia is located in southern Africa on the western coast, and is about a two hour direct flight from Johannesburg. It is one of the least densely populated countries in the world (2.5 people per square kilometer! the US has 33.7 people per square km)--and we saw such few cars and people on our 6 hour drive from the airport to the lodge, that the statistic seemed to overdo it. Apparently the landscape in Namibia is quite diverse, with Etosha National Park on the northern border with Angola being mostly tropical, rain forest-like areas and then the area towards the west coast where we stayed, being largely desert and sand dunes.
Namibia did not become independent from South Africa until 1988 (yes, in Alex and my lifetime...crazy) after previously being occupied by Britain and Germany. One of the most amazing things about so many countries in Africa is how young they still are, and how much growing and changing they have done in such a short time. It's super cool to experience.
So anyway, here are a few photos from our amazing journey to Namibia and our stay at &Beyond Sossusvlei Desert Lodge....
I'm going to be honest...when Alex and I were tasked with finding a short getaway for while his parents visited, I had no idea where to start. Enter: Alex's friend Jonathon and Lonely Planet Southern Africa. JonJon raved about his ten day trip to Namibia, and after looking through the Lonely Planet book, it sounded amazing.
Namibia is located in southern Africa on the western coast, and is about a two hour direct flight from Johannesburg. It is one of the least densely populated countries in the world (2.5 people per square kilometer! the US has 33.7 people per square km)--and we saw such few cars and people on our 6 hour drive from the airport to the lodge, that the statistic seemed to overdo it. Apparently the landscape in Namibia is quite diverse, with Etosha National Park on the northern border with Angola being mostly tropical, rain forest-like areas and then the area towards the west coast where we stayed, being largely desert and sand dunes.
Namibia did not become independent from South Africa until 1988 (yes, in Alex and my lifetime...crazy) after previously being occupied by Britain and Germany. One of the most amazing things about so many countries in Africa is how young they still are, and how much growing and changing they have done in such a short time. It's super cool to experience.
So anyway, here are a few photos from our amazing journey to Namibia and our stay at &Beyond Sossusvlei Desert Lodge....
beautiful, stunning red sand dunes of Sossusvlei in the Namib-Naukluft National Park
sand dune
obligatory family photo
the colors on the dunes changed every minute as the sun moved...it was spectacular
before our big dune climb! Alex was quite handy to have around; he's like a little sherpa and will carry anything he's told.
climbing!!!
still climbing!
and the climb continues! Alex was crazy and had RUN, in the sand, ahead to take photos
go Ralph!
almost there!
Ralph beginning his descent down the dune
running down the dune!
Alicia opted for the butt scoot approach
so cute!
Ralph and Alicia reunited at the bottom of the dune after a lovely run and bum scoot
jumpy pic on top of the dune!
Alex was a good sport and did a jumpy pic, too :)
my turn for a little dune run
Alex kicking up some sand on his run down the dune
TA-DA! you can't see my feet because they are buried in sand
after this, our feet were so heavy because our shoes were full of sand we could hardly walk.
Deadvlei
used to be an oasis, then the river changed it's course
breakfast in the bush
cooked by our amazing guide, Nestor
delicious!
i love big SUVs
Alex desperately wants a Land Rover Defender...this is as close as we will ever get to having one
sundowners after ATV riding
the wind made amazing striations in the sand
by the end of the trip....
EVERYONE
embraced
the jumping
PICTURE!
mom and dad and son
Thanks, Ralph and Alicia, for taking Alex and me on the trip of a lifetime. It was perfect!
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