If you’ve ever wondered what it’s like to soar above the world’s oldest desert then read on. Angie Cosey is the star of our latest guest blog and in her piece, she recalls the wonder and peace one experiences when floating along the wind currents of Namibia.
By Angie Cosey.
It was our second day in Sossusvlei in the Namib Desert of Namibia. Dwight and I went on a hot air balloon flight over the desert. It was originally scheduled for another day, but we had been told that our booking had to be moved up because they were expecting rain. In the desert. During the dry season.
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Turns out what the locals were actually expecting was high winds, with a chance of sandstorms (which made more sense!). So our balloon excursion guides met us at the gate of the Sossus Dune Lodge just before 6 am this morning and drove us for about half an hour into the desert to a huge empty plain where they had two hot air balloons inflated and waiting. The baskets that we stood in under the billowing canvas were fairly large, and there were 10 or 12 of us in each balloon including the pilot. It didn’t feel crowded though, and we still had an unobstructed view and nobody getting in the way of our photos.
We took off just before the sun came up over the mountains and our balloons drifted aimlessly over the plains and desert for about an hour. At least, it seemed aimless to me as we floated along on the breeze, it seemed we were literally travelling wherever the wind took us. The views were amazing. We wafted over the rocky hills that eventually gave way to brown sand dunes until we reached the tall red dunes that you see in all the guidebooks. Below us we could see tiny springbok jumping and kicking, and tiny ostriches racing each other in the distance. It was an incredible experience and if you ever find yourself in the Namib Desert you should definitely try it yourself.
After about an hour we landed, which was fun. The pilot expertly and carefully deflated the balloon in a semi-controlled manner, which brought the basket touching down – and after it touched down, the balloon continued to pull us as it emptied and billowed out behind. We all had to crouch down in the basket and hold onto the rope handles as we were dragged roughly along the ground. We finally tipped over on our sides and ground to a stop. We were a little dusty perhaps but no worse for the wear. The balloon operators then took us to an area of tables set up in the huge empty plain between the dunes and mountains, where we had a breakfast of champagne and cold meats and cheeses as the sun finished breaking over the horizon. I guess we hadn’t been drifting aimlessly in the sky after all, as we had only a short walk. After the flight we went back to the lodge and rested up for our next adventure.
Want to do this yourself?
We booked our two-week Namibia safari adventure through Natural World Safaris, a specialist in wildlife safaris around the world. Will Bolsover tailor-made our trip based on our time constraints, budget, and our particular interests. I typically book most trips myself, but this is a once-in-a-lifetime experience and it really needs to be done right. They took care of every detail from flights to bonus excursions. I highly recommend checking out their website; in addition to private tailor-made holidays, they also offer small group tours to phenomenal destinations.
http://www.naturalworldsafaris.com
Email: sales@naturalworldsafaris
See what they offer in Namibia here.
For more of Angie’s travel writing head on over to her blog here.