Kwessi Dunes

Head out after dinner with your guide and let the landscape shift under darkness. Your eyes adjust as the vehicle moves across open plains, stopping when movement catches the light. You’ll see oryx standing alert, springbok darting away or a bat-eared fox pausing mid-hunt. Predators are more active at this hour and you’ll follow their tracks, listening for distant calls.

The air cools quickly, so you’ll pull your jacket closer and focus on the sounds beyond the engine. Your guide explains how each species adapts to survive in arid conditions. When you switch off the headlights, the sky takes over, revealing constellations sharp and bright above you.

Start with a safety briefing and a short practice run before heading out across the dunes. You’ll control your own ATV, following your guide along marked routes that protect the reserve. The sand shifts under your tyres as you’ll climb ridges and descend into wide valleys, adjusting your balance as the terrain changes.

You’ll stop at intervals to learn how the dunes are formed and how wildlife survives in this arid environment. Tracks in the sand reveal beetles, geckos and small mammals that move mostly at night. The ride challenges your focus and coordination. Return with sand on your boots and a clear sense of the desert’s scale.

Wake before sunrise and transfer to the launch site as the burners begin to inflate the balloon. After a short briefing, you’ll step into the basket and lift off just as the first light reaches the dunes. You’ll rise several hundred metres above the reserve, drifting with the wind as the pilot adjusts height to find the best current. From above, you’ll see the patterns of the sand and spot oryx or springbok moving below.

The flight lasts around an hour, depending on conditions and ends with a controlled landing in an open area. Afterwards, you’ll return for breakfast with a new perspective on the landscape.