20 OCT
Morning drive through the desert via the Kuiseb Canyons and Kuiseb Pass. Celebrate the Crossing of the Tropic of Capricorn with a glass of Sparkling Wine.
Kuiseb Pass: Kuiseb Pass takes you through the Kuiseb Canyon, the watercourse of which only flows occasionally but often enough to halt the advance of the red sands of the Namib.
Kuiseb Canyon:Mysterious and remote, the Kuiseb Canyon was carved aeons ago by the Kuiseb River, which runs mainly underground. This deep fissure is flanked by steep folds of rock on one side and the copper-coloured sand dunes of the Namib Desert on the other, and shelters several wildlife species that are acclimatised to the region’s harsh environment, including hyena, buck and even leopard.
Tropic of Capricorn: The Tropic of Capricorn runs through southern Namibia. At various points where it crosses a road or street it is sign posted as such. It is the southernmost latitude where the Sun can be directly overhead at the turn of the zenith, on 21 December. Its northern equivalent is the Tropic of Cancer. Each has a distance of some 2.609 km to the equator.
Solitaire: Solitaire is a small oasis in the Namib Desert, about 1 hour from Sesriem and the entrance to Sossusvlei. There is a small restaurant, accommodation, camp site, gas station, tire workshop and a quaint “utility store”. Solitaire is ideally located on the way to or from Sossusvlei.
