As the first rays of the sun pierce the thick darkness of the Namibian desert, sinuous ridges of quartz sand ignite in a firestorm of seared orange.
Then the sky lightens to the new day, revealing the sea of sand mountains, their crisp edges and perfect curves wrought and polished by the expert chisel of the Kalahari and Atlantic winds.
With the tracks of yesterday's visitors to the Sossusvlei dunes burnished by the breeze, you can't resist trudging - perhaps plodding or crawling - up at least one of the pristine hills, some towering to 1000 feet, instinctively looking for shimmers of water.
But from the top, there's no sign of the sea; it retreated millions of years ago, back when continents were drifting wildly.
What's left is a dazzling geological display of possibly the world's highest sand dunes, extending for 400 miles along the coast and more than 80 miles inland.
Those naive enough to believe that a dune is a dune is a dune are faced with a dizzying array of sand configurations: parabolic dunes with dynamic slip faces, long and narrow transverse dunes, dunes petrified by ancient climate change, and star dunes formed by winds that buffet them from all sides.
Such a forbidding panorama hardly seems the stuff of a compelling journey. But Namibia, a country of stark beauty and riveting contradictions, should be at the top of any serious traveler's want-to-visit list.
The landscape is otherworldly, from the ocean of blood red crests along Dune Alley at Sossusvlei (pronounced SOSS-oo-vlay) to the gravity-defying rock formations and petrified forest of Damaraland, in the country's centre.
Even beside the main highway, there are enough elephants, giraffes and springbok to satisfy those who can't imagine a southern African trip without big game.
Namibia isn't easy, especially for travellers whose notion of a vacation is dashing from one sight to another, or for urbanites who need regular fixes of bright lights and noisy streets.
Except for those with pockets deep enough to arrange chartered flights between the dunes and the Damara homesteads, it demands patience with corrugated gravel roads and mile after mile of what poets are fond of calling terrible beauty.
Yet there is something beguiling about the bleakness of this place that you miss if you bop across the country by air, from warthog to lion, from sand spout to watering hole.
Namibia is as much about the environmental and human interstices between sites as about the sites themselves.
By far the most mesmerising of those sites is in the northwest corner of the country, in Kunene. All the paradoxes of modern Africa seem to be concentrated in that remote corner of Namibia, and they are at their most glaring inside the OK Grocer, on the edge of the dusty town of Opuwo, just 100 miles south of the Angolan border.
There on a morning in late January, two Himba women, their breasts bared, their waists draped with multilayered goatskin miniskirts, ogled the rich German-style cream cakes on display.
The glass of the showcase was already streaked with red from the mixture of fat, ash and ochre-coloured mud with which Himba woman coat their bodies and hair, their homemade version of Clarins Hydra-Wear.
But Namibia is nothing if not unpredictable, and just a day's drive from the OK Grocer, you can find yourself among meticulously coiffed Germans shopping for springbok-skin photo albums, handcrafted silver jewelry encrusted with malachite or mandarin garnet, and elephant-hide belts in the elegant boutiques of Swakopmund, a surreal seaside town.
For decades until 1914, Namibia was a German colony, South West Africa, and even 94 years after Germany lost it as the spoils of defeat in World War I, the Teutonic imprint on Swakop, as locals call the city, remains unmistakable. But the illusion of Europe embedded deep in the heart of Africa vanishes barely a mile from the centre of town.
This is a wild land of enormous skies, nomadic herders and vast farms with the thinnest possible veneer of modernity. For decades, the Skeleton Coast, north of Swakopmund, buffeted by impenetrable fog, perilous cross currents and treacherous reefs, has been a graveyard for ships, and Kaokoland, the ruggedly inaccessible northern mountains shrouded by the mists of the Atlantic, wasn't fully explored until the second half of the 20th century.
Where Namibia meets both Angola and the sea, hunters and gatherers still wander remote mountains. In a country twice the size of California but with just 2 million inhabitants, the major cities, Swakopmund and Windhoek, the capital, feel like prefabricated alien entities plopped down without any local roots.
In Damaraland, we wended our way around the Brandberg, Namibia's highest mountain (8440 feet), and lingered at the gallery of 6000-year-old San petroglyphs at Twyfelfontein.
If you're as lucky as we were, a desert-adapted elephant will saunter by before you check in at a luxurious lodge where the wine is always at a perfect temperature, and a much-needed massage may be available.
While the game-viewing at Etosha National Park and along the Botswanan border is among the best in southern Africa, Namibia is one of the few countries where visitors are likely to see serious game outside of a park.
But when I dream of Namibia, it is of the OK Grocer. As I wandered out of it on my first day in Opuwo, my mouth still agape from the richness of clanging cultures, a Himba woman approached me, covetously eyeing the sleeveless short dress I'd bought at Banana Republic and offering to sell me bits and pieces of her own outfit - a necklace or two, a beaded ankle bracelet, a woven container of the ochre mixture she smothers on her hair.
I was more covetous than she was. I would get an original; she would wind up with off the rack. But even as I purchased a fabulous ankle bracelet made of metal beads wrought from melted wire, I flashed back to the women inside the supermarket and their obvious hunger for the most untraditional of cream cakes, at least in Himba terms, and couldn't help but wonder how soon the woman in front of me would trade in her goatskins for clothes like mine.
Go soon to Namibia. The rhinos will always be there, but Banana Republic might be as well.
A WILD LAND
For help planning a trip to Namibia, or anywhere else in southern Africa, I recommend Colin Bristow of Ecological Africa (263-9-61189; www.ecologicalafrica.com), who is also an excellent guide and pilot. He charges about US$300 an hour of flight.
WHEN TO GO
Many say that the Southern Hemisphere fall - the dry season - is the best time for game. But generally speaking, April through October is fine.
GETTING THERE AND AROUND
There are no direct flights to Namibia from the United States, but South African Airways (www.flysaa.com) and Air Namibia (www.airnamibia.com.na) fly to Windhoek from Johannesburg. A web search found round-trip fares from New York to Johannesburg in late September starting at around US$1325.
American tourists do not need visas to enter South Africa or Namibia.
A 4x4 vehicle is essential for exploring the country, and Kalahari Car Hire (109 Daan Bekker Street, Windhoek; 264-61-252-690; www.natron.net/tour/kalahari/hester.htm) charges 600 to 850 Namibian dollars a day for a Toyota twin-cab truck - about US$75 to $106.
WHERE TO STAY
For a taste of old colonial South West Africa in Windhoek, the capital, you can try the posh Hotel Heinitzburg (264-61-249-597; www.heinitzburg.com), a 1914 castle where doubles are 2014 local dollars, with breakfast.
But there are also dozens of comfortable guesthouses. One of the best is the stylish Villa Verdi, not far from the city center (4 Verdi Street; 264-61-221-994; www.leadinglodges.com/villaverdi.htm). A double room with breakfast starts at 810 local dollars.
Swakopmund's elegant accommodation is the Hansa Hotel downtown (264-64-414-200; www.hansahotel.com.na; 1400 Namibian dollars for a double).
But a wonderfully funky, comfortable alternative by the sea is the Stiltz (264-64-400-771; www.thestiltz.in.na) where the bungalows start at 510 local dollars a person).
The Sossus Dune Lodge (264-61-285-7200; www.nwr.com.na) is the best place for dune exploration because it is inside Namib-Naukluft Park. Its chalets are 1800 Namibian dollars a person, double, with dinner and breakfast. There is a bar and a pool.
A less expensive, if considerably less luxurious option, is the Sossusvlei Lodge just outside the park gates (264-63-693-223; www.sossusvleilodge.com), where a double in high season is 2400 Namibian dollars, with breakfast.
There are dozens of lodges, guesthouses and tented camps in and around Etosha National Park. The Okaukuejo resort (264-61-285-7200; www.nwr.com.na) is a terrific alternative, with lovely if small chalets directly by a watering hole for 700 Namibian dollars a person.
If you prefer a bit of pampering, you might try the Epacha Game Lodge and Spa (264-61-375-300; www.epacha.be; from 1630 Namibian dollars a person with two meals), in a private reserve on the edge of Etosha. It offers mud baths, salt and oil massages and anti-stress treatments.
In Damaraland, the Mowani Mountain Camp, on a hilltop near Twyfelfontein (264-61-232-009; www.mowani.com), has luxury tents starting at 1600 local dollars a person, with breakfast.
In Kunene, the Opuwo Country Hotel (264-61-374-750; www.namibialodges.com/opuwo.html; from 530 Namibian dollars a person for a double, with breakfast) is a lovely oasis in an unlovely, if fascinating, town.
WHERE TO EAT
In Windhoek, Joe's Beer House (160 Nelson Mandela Avenue; 264-61-232-457; www.joesbeerhouse.com/joesbeerhouse.htm) is famous more for its raucous, open-air atmosphere than for its food. Dinner was 320 Namibian dollars a person with drinks.
For lunch, the best prospect is the Cafe Zoo, in Zoo Park in the centre of town (264-61-223-479). A light lunch is about 80 local dollars each.
In Swakopmund, try the Tug (literally!), a seafood restaurant on the Jetty Promenade (264-64-402-356). Dinner runs about 320 local dollars a person, with wine.
The delightful old Fort Sesfontein Lodge (264-65-685-034; www.fort-sesfontein.com) serves affordable meals (dinner is 180 local dollars) and offers modern rooms (720 dollars a person in a double).
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