Friday 5 June 2015 - Sossus Dune Lodge
We wake at 6 and Earl and I watch the second half of another movie – The Journey of Charley and Hooch - or some such name – an Australian movie starring Paul Hogan.
We then join Erich and Wendy for breakfast which is really good – continental cheeses and cold meats, cereals and yogurt and eggs to order.
Our trip to Sossuvlei is interesting. We enjoy the changing scenery and arrive at Sossus Dune Lodge at 12 noon.
Earlybird goes into frantic mode because he can't see the sign to the lodge. I have to calm him down to a panic before he realises that we are right there. We go through the gate, give our details and then go to the reserve reception to pay the conservation fee.
It is still another 2km to the lodge and when we arrive we see some distant huts.
Earlybird once again has a nervous breakdown at the thought of having to drag luggage a fair distance to the door. However, we are ushered into an undercover parking and met by an open land rover and told, "We will take you and your luggage from here."
We are duly delivered to the lodge reception and I go ahead to book in. Outside reception a charming and cheerful Herbert greets me and asks me to wait just a few minutes. Earl and the others arrive and my stressed out hubby immediately attacks me – Why haven’t you checked in? – I have to have a few firm words with him to calm down and wait to do as he is told. He decides that to cross me further will not be in his best interests and nervously paces until Herbert ushers us into reception and brings refreshing glasses of litchi juice for each of us. We fill in the visitors book and he then eloquently explains what is on offer at Sossus Dune Lodge. He stares straight at Earl and says – Do not worry about your luggage, sir – it will be delivered to your cabin - so Earl is able to breathe again. He gives us the details of where we will be lodged, what trips we can book and what and when meals will be served. And so within the first half hour of our arrival a sunset drive, sunrise drive and air flip over the dunes is organised! Tea and coffee is free unless it’s cappuccino, complementary water is in our fridges, breakfast will be served at the sunrise drive venue and snacks will be freely available on the sunset drive too!
We have cabin 13 and 14 right in front of the waterhole and first off we find gemsbok drinking and later springbok and warthog appear.
We meet our guide, Sammy, at quarter past four and along with four British tourists climb into a really nice carriage which is glassed in so that we do not get too cold! It is warm at first and we drive with the windows down. Sammy is an excellent guide and stops to show us oryx and gives information about the bachelor herds and age of the buck we see. Because we are with him we can go to areas that self-drive cars may not. We stop at Elim dune first and find a sociable weaver nest.
This is the vehicle that brings us here.
It is amazing to see gemsbok on the dunes. It's the colours!
At our sunset spot Sammy sets up a table with snacks and drinks. We watch beautiful sunset while sipping our sundowners.
It is dark on our return trip and we are most grateful for the glassed in doors.
Dinner at the lodge is a set menu with a choice of chicken or beef. We skip the soup starter and all chose the Hawaiian Chicken served with pasta. It is delicious.
That's special! 
