An aerial view over the Sossusvlei salt pan. Sossusvlei is located in the Namib-Naukluft National Park towards the south of the Namib Desert, Namibia. The salt pan is surrounded by huge dunes and has been shaped over millennia by the Tsauchab river. As I approached the area by helicopter, I was completely awestruck by the barren and unforgiving landscape. One could almost imagine a picture such a this having been taken on Mars rather than anywhere on this planet.