Early wake-up call this morning… time to hike the most scenic sand dune at Sossusvlei, which is the most-visited part of Namib-Naukluft Park. This particular location is called Dune 45 — a rather uninspiring name if you ask me, given how extraordinary the views are from its spine. It’s simply the 45th dune in a series throughout Sossusvlei, and the only one open to the public for climbing (this is intended to limit tourism impact on the dunes). It’s 170 meters tall, or 550 feet, which is noteworthy because the term skyscraper applies to buildings that are more than 150 meters / 550 feet. So this morning we’re scaling a skyscraper of a sand dune before 7am.

The sky glows in predawn light as we embark on our climb.

This is just the first section — it deceptively flattens out along a ridge, and then there’s more steep stretches lurking beyond. If you’re in decent shape and hightail it without stopping for photos, you might reach the top in about 20 minutes.

It’s not particularly steep, but with every step forward you slide a half-step back so it’s slow-going. The easiest way to climb is to step into footprints left by the person in front of you.

I stop every few feet to snap photos of the ever-changing colors. Sunrise light is magic.

Our guides (and large signage in the parking lot) instruct visitors to only walk along the spine of the dune. This helps preserve its appearance and keep it the way nature intended. Can you imagine if tourists climbed up from every angle? There would be a mess of footprints and over time the dune’s structure would be ruined.

I’m barely halfway up the dune when the sun officially rises — but it doesn’t matter how high up you are, it’s gorgeous from every incline.

See the next stretch of dune in the photo below — we couldn’t see that curve from where we started, but it keeps going up higher.

Sunrise selfie at Dune 45.

Colors get more intense as the sun ascends.

A look back at our overland truck in the parking lot, to show how far we’ve climbed already. This isn’t even the half-way mark.

Climbers look like ants crawling along Dune 45’s spine. The path is narrow, so passing people requires a dance move to skirt around them on the balls of your feet.

This next photo demonstrates just how steep the dune is — the spine is maybe two feet wide, with a big drop-off on either side. It’s not scary though because your feet sink into the sand, which roots your body in place. And if you accidentally fall, you’d just tumble on soft sand until you rolled to a stop below… that might be scary, but you’d likely escape without any broken bones. (Everyone does just fine on this particular morning.)

As the sun gets higher, the vibrancy of the dunes intensifies.

One more selfie from the top:

Remember that rule about how you’re only supposed to walk on the spine to protect the dune? Well these German tourists (not from our group) decide they’re above the rules and scamper down the face of the dune, leaving a streak of footprints in their wake. How rude!

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That said, the above image was chosen as the back cover for the new Acacia Africa tour brochure (and many more of my images are featured inside!) so perhaps I shouldn’t be so hard on those German tourists.

One more photo from the top of the dune — those are the footsteps just created by the tourists. Over time the wind will erase them, but still.

I’m one of the last people in our group to return (story of my life… I should get “just one more photo!” tattooed on my bicep) as everyone enjoys coffee and breakfast in the parking lot.

Latecomers have just arrived. Not only did they miss sunrise, but the heat intensifies as the morning drags on. Despite our early wake-up call I’m glad we climbed in the coolness of dawn.

Not a bad way to start the day. Now I don’t have to feel guilty for eating apple crumble and an ice cream sundae yesterday.

I leave you with a quick video of our visit to Sossusvlei — both at Deadvlei and Dune 45. Enjoy!

I visited Namibia on a 12-day tour from Windhoek to Cape Town with Acacia Africa. They discounted my tour in exchange for blogging and photography; opinions are my own.