The Living Desert - 24th to 29th February 2008 The Living Desert trip is a new trail developed by 'The Journey' and 'Uri Adventures' and is a 5 day / 5 night trip thorough the Namib desert. The trip winds its way from just outside Solitaire through the desert in the Namib Naukluft National Park and ends in Walvis Bay. The members of the group were all invited guests of 'The Journey' hosted by Jurgens Schoeman. Our guides from Uri Adventures were Marius, Koosie and Johnny in their two Land Cruiser bakkies that carried everything we needed for the next 5 days. The trip started with the members of the group meeting at Solitaire on Sunday afternoon 24th February where we refueled for the last time before getting to Walvis. The distance travelled is approximately 550km, 95% of which is on sand, and so you need about 200l of petrol or 150l of diesel. The little shop at Solitaire sells most of the basics, including hard tack, so if you have forgotten something you can stock up there. That evening we set up camp at the Solitaire Guest Farm and started meeting our fellow adventurers. Firstly my co-driver and companion was my son Sean who has never been on a real off road trip, needless to say that he ended up being a very accomplished sand and dune driver. The rest of the group was made up of a variety of people who were mainly professional people and we all became very good friends during the course of the trip. As for vehicles these were as different as you could imagine and included; a Series 200 Cruiser, Series 100 Cruiser, a new Series 70 Cruiser, Nissan Patrol, current model Pajero LWB 3.2 DiD Auto, Nissan Nivara 2.5 dCi Double Cab, Toyota Hilux 3.0 KZTE, Prado VX 4.0 Auto (current model), Prado 3.0 VX (previous model) and a Jeep Wrangler Rubicon. So which performed best? Well, outside of the Cruiser bakkies, the 100 Series Cruiser and the Pajero did not miss a beat. Next would be the Wrangler and, very interestingly, the Nissan Nivara. This vehicle went where the cruiser went and with relative ease. It was quite amazing to see a 2.5l turbo diesel put out 128kW and 403Nm of torque and play with the big boys. After enjoying a lovely lamb potjie for supper most people hit the sack early that evening. The next morning we were up early and had breakfast at the guest farm before heading off to the entrance gate to the park some 30 odd kilometers from Solitaire. Here we deflated tires, 0.8 bar in front and 1.0 at the rear, and had a last minute briefing by Marius on the do's and don'ts of travelling in this extremely ecologically sensitive area. And so the journey begins. The first day we headed to the Kuiseb river across the Namib plains following in the tracks of the old ox wagon routes from the late 1800s. During the trip Marius provided us with interesting information on the old settlers and explorers that used these routes as well as the geography of the area. The first day was a gentle initiation into driving in the sand and tackling dunes which at that point seemed quite large but which by day 5 were mere bumps in the road. Each vehicle had its own 29Mhz radio and so we had a constant flow of information from Marius and Koosie and of course as the day wore on and people relaxed so the chirps and banter started. And so we explored the Namib Desert over the next 5 days, seeing how the desert constantly changed as we moved westwards towards the Atlantic. From the old red dunes to the constantly shifting sands of those nearer the coast. Each day we would stop for a light lunch and it never ceased to amaze me just how quickly Koosie and Johnny had the tables setup and the food ready for us to eat. Each evening after making camp the group gathered around the fire to enjoy the discussion of the day's experiences over some liquid refreshments. And once again Koosie and Johnny had, as if by magic, conjured up an amazing meal for us to enjoy. Each evening a small tribunal was held to determine which person in the group had sinned so badly that day that they deserved the disgrace of having to wear the orange tee shirt the next day. And so the fun and camaraderie developed between what were 23 stranger s to 23 friends tied by their experience of travelling together through the oldest desert in the world and helping each other over bigger and bigger challenges each day. We saw the Ghost Mining towns, almost frozen in time, near Conception Bay , the rusted remains of the Eduard Bohlen lying some 600m from the coastline. We drove down long stretches of beach and then back into the desert for our last night around the fire and discussions about the ultimate challenges that awaited us on the morrow; such as the Land Rover Graveyard and the infamous Long Drop. If you have an urge to play amongst some of the highest dunes in the world then this is the place to be. The word "Awesome" had been used so many times on the trip however Day 5, our last day in the desert , was truly AWESOME. If you want to see a Land Cruiser fly then this is the place to be, not to say that some of the other vehicles didn't fly either. So, at midday we drove the final 30km to Walvis along the beach, drained of the last ounce of adrenaline, stunned at the immense beauty of that we had experienced and sad to have to say goodbye, but also knowing we were privileged to have experienced something so special and just maybe ,if we were very lucky, we would be back. The one thing that cannot be done is to describe the beauty, solitude, immensity and ruthlessness of the Namib. No photo or video can even come close to giving one a sense of the place, the majesty of those dunes, awe at the animals that eke out an existence in the hot and barren sand and the wonder of the people who had attempted to live there in the past. It cannot be described, it must be experienced. In closing I must say thank you to Jurgens for making a slot available to the club to participate in this inaugural trip of the Living Desert trail. An even bigger thank you must go to Marius, Koosie and Johnny who made the trip the success it was. Nobody felt at any time they were in danger or at risk. Marius led the way in a quiet confident manner that ensured everyone's trust. He is a wealth of information about this desert that he loves dearly. Koosie is the recovery guy as well as the cook and gogga expert. Each one of us was extremely impressed by the maturity, intelligence, enthusiasm and absolute wealth of knowledge that this 21 year old has. His knowledge about the desert and the creatures that inhabit it is immense. He loves the goggas and is always catching something to show us. He has a demeanor about him that I wish I had. So in closing, thanks guys for taking me along on one of the best trips I have had the good fortune to experience. Don Hulley