This is an extraordinary 5-hour (350km) desert route, which follows the coastal road from Swakopmund to Walvis Bay, between the desert and the sea, before turning onto the gravel road that runs eastwards and southwards through the desert and the Kuiseb and Gaub passes towards the frontier-stop of Solitaire. South of Solitaire is Namib Desert Lodge with its fossilised dunes and spectacular scenery, and then, further south, Sesriem, gateway to the famed dunes of Sossusvlei.