Scott Dunn: ANYTHING ELSE IS JUST A HOLIDAY

Sossusvlei is the only area in Namibia where the hot air balloon is offered. Your day starts very early, in the pre-dawn glow as you are collected and taken to the launch site. A vast patchwork of colours - the balloon, deflated - lies on the ground, and then begins to rise as the hot air is pumped in. Within minutes the balloon is fully ready, and it's your time to clamber into the basket, large enough for sixteen people and subdivided into sections. Your balloon pilot skilfully launches, and you slowly drift up into the air, in one of the smoothest means of transport ever!

Drifting over the mighty sand dunes and towering mountains, you'll begin to see how Namibia was created, and what forces lend shape to the landscape. Your balloon pilot will point out areas where the dunes are "marching" towards the sea, and you can even drop down low to point out tiny oryx, making their way to waterholes in the morning sun. Take a camera and an extra layer - it can get chilly up high! After about an hour's flight, the balloon will slowly descend to meet the ground party who have been following, and you'll be treated to a champagne breakfast.

For a totally different way to look at Namibia and an incredible experience, we highly recommend the balloon safari over Sossusvlei.

Considered to be the highest dunes in the world, the sand dunes of Sossusvlei are an iconic sight, and an absolute must for anyone visiting Namibia. We highly recommend a visit at either sunrise or sunset; the colours are beautiful and constantly change as the dawn arrives, and photography is at its best. For those wishing to be active, try climbing a dune along its edges - hard work, but the views at the end are spectacular, and you can then "dune-run" all the way to the bottom!

Between the dunes are "vleis", shallow pans which will fill with water during the rainy season but are generally dry, with cracked earth. Dead Vlei is the most famous; with its ghost-like trees standing like statues, never changing, their gnarled branches reaching into the sky. Visiting Dead Vlei is almost a spiritual experience; the vlei is quiet and a whisper carries for many metres. Towering above Dead Vlei like a bright orange sentinel is Big Daddy - one of the largest dunes in Sossusvlei and just begging to be climbed up!

Make time for an early morning visit to the dunes, and then return at sunset as the sun casts long shadows and turns them an incredible rich orange colour - and don't forget your camera!