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If you like deserts, you'll like Namibia. There is enormous beauty in the dry, open landscapes that attest to the fact that here, less is more...

Namibia is a very dry country in south-west Africa. In 2002 we camped at Sesriem in the Namib desert, surrounded by dry grassland that was interrupted by the dark and eery shapes of dormant trees:

Treeforms

One of these stumps had a distinctly demonic appearance:

Demon in the wood

From Sesriem tourists drive to Dune 45 to climb it and watch the sunrise. One of the last up I was first down, retracing our steps, and the sight of so many foot prints next to the undisturbed ripples made me feel momentarily sorry for having spoiled the beautiful patterns in the sand:

Impact

Still low over the dunes, the rising sun stretched our shadows across the sand, making for a somewhat comical sight as our disproportionately long legs descended the ridge of the dune as though we walked on stilts:

Sandwalkers

At the base of Dune 45 a dead tree took on human form as it was illuminated by the sunrise:

Reclining nude

At Elim Dune, also near Sesriem, the wind has sculpted a perfect curve. The smooth oxidized sand contrasts with the pallor and texture of the sun-baked grass:

Perfect curve

At Elim Dune the combination of sand, wind, and setting sun had created a serrated edge that would soon be destroyed by a dozen pairs of feet and backsides as we took up a position from which to watch the landscape change colour in the evening light:

Serrated edge

Further north, this panoramic scene shows the sun-baked environs of the Brandberg Plateaux a short distance from where our tents were pitched in the shadow of the massive. Can you feel the heat both on the back of your neck and reflected back from the ground? From this position we were witness to gathering rains on the horizon and dust-devils in the vast expanse between here and there:

Brandberg panorama

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