A SKY SAFARI IN A LAND OF SAND

Caroline Shearing takes a hot-air balloon trip over the Namib Desert

The shadow of our hot-air balloon drifted across the Namib, as a herd of zebra raced across the sand in pursuit of its bulbous shade. It had been love at first light at takeoff, with sunrise views in all directions, but this dazzling display of wildlife momentarily stole the show. The mighty Namib stretches across Africa’s southwestern tip, from Angola in the north to South Africa, but the coastal fringes of Namibia, to which this desert lends its name, lays claim to the country’s most dramatic scenery. The best way to appreciate the Namib’s beauty is from the sky, with a hot-air balloon flight offering a tranquil and eco-sensitive glimpse of this magnificent wilderness.

At dawn, I joined a group of travellers on the outskirts of the Namib-Naukluft National Park, home to the burnt-orange dunes of Sossusvlei. Fire breathed life into two rapidly expanding balloons as our pilot, Tracy Robb, gave a safety briefing.

All aboard, as the burners roared into flame, we gently ascended. An ocean of caramel sand studded with “island” mountains radiated beneath us.

The dunes of Sossusvlei, among the world’s highest, rippled into the distance. To the west, a grey smudge across the horizon offered a clue as to why the

Namib, home to an array of desert-adapted plants and wildlife, is known as the “living desert”: coastal fog and a prevailing southwesterly wind brings moisture to this parched landscape.

The balloon arrived at a pockmarked plain and Tracy brought us low so we could get a closer look at mysterious rings of bare earth known as “fairy circles”. Scientists believe they are the work of sand termites, but the local Himba people say they are the footprints of gods.

When it was time to land, Tracy skilfully brought the balloon down on a trailer no wider than the basket. At a champagne breakfast overlooking the valley, we raised a glass to a glorious flight and a land of sand and silence.