在世界之丘看日出：攀登纳米比亚４５号沙丘|纳米比亚旅游
时间：2019-01-08 03:21:50 来源：柠檬阅读网 本文已影响 人 
翻译：Darren The world’s tallest sand 1)dunes are in the Namibian desert � and it was here, at Dune 45, that I would see heaven and earth 2)collide with the rising sun. The Namib-Naukluft National Park is the largest ecological 3)preserve in Africa, measuring about 50,000 square kilometers. It is a picture of beauty and 4)elegance: golden-red sands shining down upon the 5)barren earth below. In its center there is a magical 6)oasis: Sossusvlei.
Vlei means “shallow 7)depression filled with water” in the 8)Afrikaans language. But the Sossusvlei pan is only wet during a good rainy season, when the Tsauchab River manages to 9)infiltrate the dune belt from the west, then is stopped by a 10)barrier of dunes, preventing it from flowing any further.
The highest dune in Sossusvlei is called Big Daddy. It rises more than 300 meters high, at a 45-degree angle. The desert’s most popular dune is known as Dune 45, which reaches more than 170 meters.
I was on a guided 21-day overland 11)safari from Cape Town, South Africa, to Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe. There were 23 people in our group, and we were just four days into our journey when we were told that we would be seeing the sunrise over the desert the next morning. We had no idea what we were about to experience.
We were staying at Solitaire注, 12)appropriately named since the “village” 13)consists merely of a gas station with store and is run by only one man. Solitaire exists only to service those heading to the dunes.
After an hour’s drive, we arrived at Dune 45 for a 5 a.m. start to our climb. We needed to reach the top by sunrise…and looking at the dune’s height and curves from ground level, this seemed almost impossible.
To walk up the dune you have to go along the edge. One wrong step and you could slide with the sand. The path is about 30 centimeters wide, and your feet sink into the ground, making it hard to continue.
It’s an even bigger problem when you meet with traffic � people on their way back down to the ground or those with more energy passing you by. Half the time it feels like you are stepping in the same place over and over again. Perhaps this is why it takes so long.
The 14)ascent is extreme, and you have to have some level of fitness if you want to make it. At 6 a.m., I was still about 50 meters from the top, but couldn’t go any further.
My breathing was rapid, my heart felt as though it was trying to break through my chest, and the muscles in my legs were aching. Though it was freezing cold, I was covered in sweat. I stopped and sat on cold sand to wait half an hour for the sun to rise.
My breathing and heart slowed. The cold dried my sweat, leaving me shaking. But it wasn’t for long.
The view of the desert was filled with shadows, and the sun was just beginning to light up the sky in a 15)faint orange 16)tinge. The sun began to rise over the golden-red sands, and 17)my breath was taken away. Then the dark shadows disappeared, and I was faced with a fire-like beauty as the sun shone on the red sands.
The sunrise turned the shadowed sands into a 18)mirage of orange, red and 19)mauve. More dunes 20)towered below, lighting up with the new day. The ground seemed miles away, and the 21)desolate surface was 22)concealed by the beauty 23)unfolding at this height. I could only sit and stare with fascination at the amazing landscape before me.
I felt as though I could lose myself in this moment, but as the sun continued to rise I was faced with a 24)harsh reality. Within an hour, the sand would be too hot to stand on and possible wind storms could 25)blast me with 26)grains. It was time to leave and return to reality.
Coming down from the top of Dune 45 is much easier on the legs, and the lungs. It’s possible to run if you have the energy, to 27)toboggan down the sides if you have a towel or jacket you don’t mind getting dirty, or to 28)leisurely retrace your footsteps along the edge.
It took me 10 minutes to go back to the ground. At the bottom, our tour guides greeted us with a treat of bacon and eggs for breakfast.
Although it wasn’t five star, it was one of the best meals I have ever eaten. After we left Dune 45, my muscles were aching for days, but my mind was filled with memories that will last a lifetime.
世界最高的沙丘位于纳米比亚沙漠――就是在这里，45号沙丘，我看到天地与冉冉升起的太阳相接。纳米布-诺克路福国家公园占地面积约五万平方公里，是非洲最大的生态保护区。在这里，华美的景象随处可寻：金红色的沙漠映照着贫瘠的大地，熠熠发光。它的中央是一个神奇的绿洲：苏丝斯黎。
Vlei（黎）在阿非利堪斯语（南非荷兰语）中指的是“水流汇聚的浅洼地”。不过苏丝斯黎盆地只有在雨水充足的雨季才会有水，这时察奥恰伯河（音译）会从西面流过，滋润这一带的沙丘。在重重沙丘的阻隔下，察奥恰伯河最后在沙漠中止步，无法继续前进。
苏丝斯黎最高的沙丘被亲切地叫做“老爹”，它有300多米高，呈45度角。而沙漠里最受欢迎的是45号沙丘，有170多米高。
我参加了一个横越大陆的游猎旅行队，从南非的好望角到津巴布韦的维多利亚瀑布。旅行队共有23人，为期21天，有专人给我们带队。旅程第四天，我们被告知第二天早上会在沙漠里观看日出。我们完全不知道这将会是怎样的经历。
我们在索利塔代尔住下。起这么个名字大概是因为这个“村子”只有一个加油站兼商店，仅由一个人打理。索利塔代尔是专门供去沙丘的旅行者歇脚的。
坐了一个小时的车，我们于早上五点抵达45号沙丘，开始攀登。我们要在日出前爬到沙丘顶部……抬头看看高高的沙丘和蜿蜒的沙背，这几乎是不可能的事情。
爬上沙丘一定要沿着它的边缘走，不然稍有不慎就会随着流沙向旁边滑去。（沙丘上的）小径大概有30厘米宽，脚踏上去就会往下陷，令你举步难行。
如果遇上人多的时候――有人从沙丘上下来，或者体力好的人要超过你――那就更麻烦了。大部分时间你会觉得好像在原地踏步。这大概就是攀爬会如此费时的原因。
攀登的过程尤其困难。如果想爬到顶，你必须有相当的体力。到了六点，我离顶峰还有50米，但我再也爬不动了。
我呼吸急促，心脏猛烈地跳动，仿佛要跳出我的胸膛，腿上的肌肉也开始隐隐作痛。尽管那里非常寒冷，我还是汗流浃背。我停下来坐在冰凉的沙子上，打算等上半个小时看太阳升起。
我的呼吸和心跳逐渐缓和下来。这里的低温把我身上的汗吹干，我开始瑟瑟发抖。幸亏这没有持续太久。
沙漠笼罩在一片阴影当中，此时，太阳开始给它抹上一层淡淡的橘黄色。须臾，太阳在金红色的沙漠中冉冉升起，这一刻，我震惊得目瞪口呆。沙漠上的阴影消失了，太阳照在红色的沙漠上，展现在我面前的是一副火焰般的绝美景象。
日出令刚才还处在黑影中的沙漠变成一个充满橘黄、红和紫红色的海市蜃楼。四周更多的沙丘从黑暗中耸立起来，照亮崭新的一天。从这个高度看去，地面仿佛有几英里远，荒凉的地表也消失了，取而代之的是一片壮丽的景色。我坐在沙丘上，一动不动地望着眼前令人惊叹的景色。
我觉得自己可以一直沉浸在这个奇妙的时刻中，但持续上升的太阳使我面临一个残酷的现实：不到一个小时，脚下的沙子就会烫得无法站立；说不定还会有沙暴来袭，沙粒会把我击伤。是时候离开沙丘，回到现实了。
从45号沙丘下来对脚和部来说都容易得多。体力够的话，你可以跑下来；或者用毛巾或夹克衫――如果你不怕弄脏的话――沿着斜坡滑下来；当然，你还可以沿沙丘边缘顺着来时的足迹悠闲地走下去。
我花了10分钟回到地面。在那里，向导招待我们享用熏肉和鸡蛋的早餐。
尽管这一顿不是五星级大餐，却是我吃过的最好的早餐之一。离开45号沙丘后，我的肌肉酸痛持续了好几天，然而在那里的经历将一辈子留在我的记忆当中。
1) dune [dju:n] n. 沙丘
2) collide [kE5laId] v. 互撞，碰撞
3) preserve [prI5z\:v] n. 禁猎地，禁区
4) elegance [5elI^Ens] n. 优雅，雅致
5) barren [5bArEn] a. 贫瘠的
6) oasis [EJ5eIsIs] n.（沙漠中的）绿洲
7) depression [dI5preFn] n. 洼地，凹陷，盆地
8) Afrikaans [AfrI5kB:ns] n. 阿非利堪斯语，南非荷兰语
9) infiltrate [5InfIltreIt] v. 渗入，渗进
10) barrier [5bArIE] n. 障碍
11) safari [sE5fB:rI] n.（在非洲的）旅行，狩猎旅行
12) appropriately [E5prEJprIEtlI] ad. 适当地
13) consist of 由……组成
14) ascent [E5sent] n. 上升，向上走，攀登
15) faint [feInt] a. 暗淡的，微弱的
16) tinge [tIndV] n. 轻微的色泽，色度
17) take someone’s breath away 使某人目瞪口呆
18) mirage [5mIrB:V] n. 海市蜃楼，幻景
19) mauve [mEJv] a. 紫红色的，淡紫色的
20) tower [5taJE] v. 高耸，屹立
21) desolate [5desElEt] a. 无人烟的，荒凉的
22) conceal [kEn5si:l] v. 隐藏，隐瞒
23) unfold [Qn5fEJld] v. 逐渐表露，展开
24) harsh [hB:F] a. 无情的；刺眼的
25) blast [blB:st] v. 使枯萎，摧毁
26) grain [^reIn] n. 细粒，颗粒
27) toboggan [tE5bɒ^En] v. 乘雪橇或雪车滑下
28) leisurely [5leVElI] ad. 悠闲地
