Namibia’s Dune 7- World’s Tallest Dune

I thought I'd seen it all. Not that I have half a century of life or more under my belt but I thought I'd seen all that nature had to offer, on TV, online, on images.. you name it. However, the day I saw a desert under the cover of a thick duvet of fog, thats when I knew, that those who know, know and those who don't, don't... or as we say, "Nilijua sijui..." In April, I was fortunate enough to travel for an assignment in Namibia. It was an intense 4 day shoot with early mornings and late nights with alarms set at intervals of 1 minute apart just to make sure that for the love of God, the "Just one more minute" snooze devil would be rebuked. Namibia was a treat. I got to learn some Oshivambo, eat Einsbein (which I later regretted), some braai, and fell in love with the click sounds of one of the Southern African languages. The clicks are so distinct but well placed inside phrases that you wouldn't get angry if you heard them directed at you. You see, in Kenya, the distinct "Nkt!" (our infamous disgust click) either shows that the person who just "nkt'd" you is angry, disgusted, or both of them. In Southern Africa, the clicks soothe you... you feel loved when someone clicks at you... you even want them to slide your name in their sentence repeatedly so you can fall deeply in love!

The weather, oh the weather... It was neither here nor there. I later learnt that in Walvis Bay, the weather can change any minute. The town is near the ocean and the desert so both extremes are highly likely. One thing that is a certainty is it's beauty. Namibia is really beautiful. Its the raw level of beauty in the openness of it's landscape that makes you want to hop on the next plane back as soon as you land at JKIA. You can see more of what I'm talking about on JoshandMutua's journey through the continent as they scramble to Unscramble Africa. Trevor also joined them for the Namibia leg as he never turns down any adventure so check out his stuff too! https://www.instagram.com/p/Bi84r6MF6ka/?taken-by=the_mentalystSo this is a story of how I got to see both extremes of the desert, the roughness and raw beauty of the tallest dune in the world after a tough 4 days at work. Being a primarily outdoor photographer, you always pray that the weather is in your favour. However, there are days that Mother Nature decides to remind you who is in control, this was one of those days. I'd just checked my weather app before hitting the sack so I know how to plan for sunrise at the top of the dune. It had been foggy for the previous days so I was praying, fervently, but with no Mt Kenya to face to as I prayed, my only wish being that those prayers would be answered. I could barely even sleep because of the excitement so I woke up my alarm the next morning. How tables turn! Left the hotel room armed, ready for sunrise and then this........

Walalalalalalala! It was such a painful yet beautiful scene to stare at. It felt spooky and outlandish. I hadn't seen that much fog and light come together to ruin my well planned morning and also look stunning at the same time! So I shot. And shot. Then remembered I was angry at the weather, but shot some more, trigger happy.... How could she do this to me? I had trusted the weather app yet at the back of my mind I knew no developer, however passionate, would be able to make technology decide how clear the sky would be. 🤦🏽‍♂️At this point, Lawrence, our driver in Namibia, was dying, a slow but sure death. He was in tears, at times even wailing. Dying of laughter from my reaction. He knew the weather wouldn't change but had offered to be the beacon of hope that the weather would permit me to take sunrise pictures, because I, Peter, believed I was some sort of god that would bend nature into dancing to my tune. On the drive to the desert, he brought me back down to earth, sharing revelations of how around mid year, he cuddles a lot. How he thanks God more in the cold season for giving him a wife. He even goes ahead and says "My brother, I wish upon you, a wife to give you warmth in the time when you're in need. A time like this", then proceeds to burst out laughing. So be it Lawrence, God will give me a wife at some point, maybe I'll get to enjoy what it is that you opt for instead of heavy blankets.At the dune, it's freezing, light filtering in through the fog slowly, no sign of sunrise whatsoever. Can you believe that at this point I was still convinced I'd see the sun? Lawrence gets out and begins to share with me some life stories about his family, his job and how he'd love to be his boss' boss.The man has aspirations, lots of them. He also has a heavy accent that you cannot afford to practise every so often when he's not in your presence. Interestingly, he also teaches me that I've been mispronouncing the town's name wrong and on top of that, the Capital city too. "It's not Walvis Bay, it's Valvishpaai....." (I'm assuming that I'm writing these words the way Lawrence would like you to pronounce them. Namibia has a strong German influence from its colonial days so most W's are V's, Afrikaans is also quite a presence in their languages and some words have that influence in their pronunciation. After 6 failed attempts at repeating "Valvishpaai", he throws me off by reminding me that Windhoek, the capital city, is not "W-i-n-d-h-o-e-k" but "Vinduk!" Alas! At this point, I'm almost confirming if my name is pronounced differently too. He breaks into laughter again at my failed attempt. We're now laughing and exchanging pleasantries, as I sob inside uncontrollably at how nature had served me an L for my sunrise plan.If I'm being quite honest, it hurt, it hurt a littu. A littu bit. I'm lying. IT HURT A LOT!! But it taught me to make the most of every situation I'm in, prepare for the unexpected and make lemonade from lemons.... (I just wanted to sound like a Githurai bus philosopher here in exchange for not paying fare and getting a free ride to town, like they all do). Part of being a landscape photographer is working with what nature provides you with so it's very important to not have high expectations when you're never going to be in control of the situation. Having this in mind, I took a breather and then planned a return to the Dune at sunset with Lawrence.

We're now laughing and exchanging pleasantries, as I sob inside uncontrollably at how nature had served me an L for my sunrise plan.If I'm being quite honest, it hurt, it hurt a littu. A littu bit. I'm lying. IT HURT A LOT!! But it taught me to make the most of every situation I'm in, prepare for the unexpected and make lemonade from lemons.... (I just wanted to sound like a Githurai bus philosopher here in exchange for not paying fare and getting a free ride to town, like they all do). Part of being a landscape photographer is working with what nature provides you with so it's very important to not have high expectations when you're never going to be in control of the situation. Having this in mind, I took a breather and then planned a return to the Dune at sunset with Lawrence. This time though, being very humble!

At exactly 5PM, Lawrence and I head out to the dunes once again, this time I can see the road clearly and the skies are clear, no cloud in sight and it's plain blue all over. I'm happy, but controllably so, to avoid getting my hopes too high up. Lawrence and I have become brothers at this point. He stops at a local pub on the way and asks for a "koue enetjie", a cold beer so he can cool off at the dunes as I go have my fun. I offer to buy him a cold Tafel Lager to which he hastily returns his coins back to his pocket like they never even left. Oh and Namibia's alcohol laws are quite interesting, you cannot buy alcohol on Saturdays after 1300Hrs and no alcohol is sold on sundays or public holidays at all. This seems to apply for malls and shops though. I wonder how many days of protests we'd have in Kenya if there was such a rule. Yani you dare tell a Kenyan he can't buy alcohol on the weekends? Never.As we approach the dunes, I'M STARTING TO GET A LITTLE EXCITED! I'm serious, just a LITTLE! Who am I kidding? I was all over the moon, I rush out, remove my shoes, kiss the ground like Mo Salah after dancing past 6 watford defenders and scoring a beauty with a sublime finish at the keeper's far post then start doing the gwara gwara. Finally, the same place I was in the morning, covered with fog, was now clear and so different, almost like I'd got the best of both worlds!I've now packed my bag, packed my energy drink, put on my jumper because when Lawrence tells you it'll be cold up there you'd better listen and there's no way I was going to ignore him.

Ready to begin the climb up a 380m sand dune. That's right. 380 METRES! I really didn't know it was that high up until later, when my limbs gave up halfway through the climb. Should I tell you how unfit I am? I think I shouldn't, I'll be embarassing myself too much. From all the food I eat and photograph, it's not wise of me to climb a 300m dune when the only exercise I do is run into people as I run my errands and jump into conclusions. Halfway through the climb, I realise I'm just 30 or so metres away from the ground. Halfway... or not. I thought I had made enough progress but here I was, panting uncontrollably. The worst thing about trying to climb a dune as opposed to a mountain/hill, is that your feet sink in sand. Every step you plant into the large surface area of sand sinks in, so you have to attack it from an angle. Something I learnt the hard way.

I made about 10 stops before I got to somewhere I considered high enough for me to avoid being laughed at by 10 year olds who were going up and down the dune with ease like an escalator. 60 or so metres later, I could not believe what unfolded in front of my eyes. I was looking at raw beauty. Yes it was cold, the wind was strong, the light gloriously kissing the sand but my heart? My heart was in complete peace and right in my mouth. Here I was, somewhere not so far from the top, no rain, no fog. I had heeded Lawrence's advice and had my jumper on to avoid freezing.This was it. I'll stop talking now so you can try and make sense of what I'm attempting to describe. 

I must interrupt to talk about this couple... I began the climb up the dune with them. However, being modest about my fitness and not wanting to be a show off, I let them go and be themselves, you know, let them explore their full potential. On their descent to the next dune, they stopped for a brief moment as the man stretched out his hand to help his partner through the hike up. That moment presented me with a humbling sight, one that contrasted how magnificent the dunes and the landscapes in the area are against how insignificant we humans are in comparison to such enormity. It was also a moment of unity and support as they pushed each other to hike up to the tallest dune in the area. You can see them in subsequent images. 

I  assume it's never easy to travel alone. From all the solo travel I see on Instagram, I always ask myself how people manage to have their own pictures taken. Do they take them? Do they ask strangers to take them? I really wanted a self portrait but I'm definitely not good with strangers so that is out of the question. The only option I had was to ask the dunes to take a picture of me. No? You don't believe me? Okay, I never expected you to anyway.

Thank God for technology and reducing wind speeds at the time I made this decision! I quickly planted my bag in the sand, set my timer on and triggered the camera using the wifi app on my phone. Voila! A quick few jumps and after 87 images, here we go!

As it got  darker, it got colder, I couldn't hang on for long so I had to begin my descent. Bumped into two care free French guys who were planning to camp out in the dunes for the night and I immediately got jealous. I had to leave, had I not been under the mercy of the client, I would have and should have extended my stay. This only means I'm going back at some point, not sure when but I will definitely be back at some point to explore even more gems in Namibia.I also made a short video of the whispering winds and the sand dunes which you can watch here.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BiECyK_BmXI/?taken-by=petersize10 

See you soon Namibia!