Big Daddy Adventures

August 28, 2024

This trip is going to be tough to pick my favorite or most unique experience – because today was hella crazy and something I never thought I’d be doing. 

We got up at “o’dark thirty” (breakfast was at 6am) because the park opens at 715am and we want to be in line around that time to get into the park. We won’t get to see the sunrise, since it happened around 645am – but the sun on these dunes is crazy!

We stop and take pictures of the changing from mountains to dunes (it’s really crazy). And a group of us do “stretch and flex.” We’ve been doing it almost every day (since day two). Michael and I work in construction and it is a morning ritual done on job sites to help mitigate injuries. We had a stunning view for the stretch and flex this morning. 

We stopped at Dune 45 (one of the most famous here) to grab pictures before we get to our destination. We are going to Big Daddy but first we are doing a short 2.5 km “hike” so we can figure out if we want to go up Big Daddy. The very short (maybe 75′) dune we climbed was tough. It was such loose sand. But almost everyone did it. Many decided they wouldn’t be doing Big Daddy. I was not one of those people. I am all about slow and steady work. 

Big Daddy is 325 meters high. I was one of the first there, but I was the last in our group to the top. I learned I cannot look out and enjoy the hike and walk at the same time. It took me one hour and seven minutes to get to the top. And it was worth every single minute. The experience: the pain, the frustration, the views, the feel, the excitement. Every last bit was worth it. The first 1/3 was by far the hardest. It was a significantly steeper incline than the rest of the climb. Thank goodness Noel told me that once I got done with that first 1/3. He broke off when there was the turn off for Big Mama to go check on the group that didn’t climb up. They were with James going to check out the base of Big Daddy, the Deadvei (I think it translates to Dead Valley). The Deadvei is a cluster of trees that are still standing 1,000 years later – but they are not petrified. They just remain intact due to the sand, heat and wind. 

I continued my climb to the top. Eli and Giacomo were just a tish ahead of me – it was nice to have others close if needed. When I finally reached the top René ran down the dune a bit to grab a shot of me climbing. And Michael took my picture at the top so I could show mom. This group has really become a type of family and it showed today on the hike. 

We had 15 minutes after I arrived on top to hang out, then we needed to head down. We took pictures, laughed, took selfies, drank water, and enjoyed the view that we will never see again. Now was the time to go DOWN. And how does one get down a dune?? You run down it, on the face. And let me tell you, it wasn’t easy and it wasn’t fast but it was CRAZY fun!! So much laughing, such beautiful views, and wanting to document the fun. We think it took about 5-7 minutes to get down. I ended up taking my shoes off because so much sand had gotten in they were starting to fall off. Each step you’d take would have your legs going anywhere from six to 18 inches into the sand. And because of that you could run straight down the dune. 

When we got to the bottom we all emptied our shoes, sat on the hard ground and took in the fact that the world under our feet has changed, again. We were now on a hardened riverbed, with the trees at the end. It took us about an hour to get from the base to Noel. We were about an hour later than he (and probably the others) has anticipated, but I think we were just taking it all in and I, for one, was still riding my adrenaline high from the hike, decent and now this new natural beauty. 

We had another 2.5km walk back to where the shuttle would take us back to our van. We had to climb three VERY SMALL dunes, but after hiking the dune, then hard ground walking – climbing those baby dunes was hard. We got to the shuttle location and the I’ll rest of our group was still there. I don’t know why they hadn’t gone back to the van yet – so we just got in the shuttle line behind them. 

Noel tells us awwthat we will have to go to lunch immediatlook !nd not back to camp because we are behind. Our lunch is pretty good. I keep getting salad and fries. I’m always shocked that they have salad in the middle of nowhere, but I also pay for it (it’s like twice as much as a burger!) After lunch we headed to Sesriem canyon. This is a teeny tiny little canyon (think 1/100th of the Grand canyon). We were given an hour to go explore it. I took every last minute. I didn’t want my muscles to seize up from doing all that hiking to sitting on a bus and lunch and not moving. 

After the canyon we headed back to camp. Some of us stopped at the store so we could use wifi (this camp site is run out of a gas station) and get cold water or snacks. After about 15 minutes I went back to camp. I was so hot and full of sand and I wanted to use the pool to cool off (the pool is FREEZING) my feet. I got ready and headed over to blog by the pool. AC and Marghe came shortly after and we all went for a swim then to the wonderful showers to warm up after. 

Marghe and I were the election committee and had to create the ballots for the ranking of our camp sites overall and within five categories: wifi, reception/bar, toilets/showers, campsite, scenery. The one that ranked lowest overall was by far everyone’s favorite view and campsite – but because it didn’t have showers or wifi it ranked lowest. We had so much fun hanging out the ballots, counting them and presenting the findings. 

After this the Italians had a surprise for me. They gave me an Italian quiz (I really didn’t do well, but I made everyone laugh, so I think they took pity) and presented me with my very own Italian passport!! It was very sweet and made me laugh and feel part of their group. It wasn’t very windy after dinner and the Italians and I hung around the fire for a bit before going to bed. Little did we know we were in for a wild night.