You might not have heard of the Sossusvlei but its iconic landscape is often seen in film. It lies in Namibia in the southern Namib Desert a region of dry lake clay pan and orange and red sand dunes. Its name combines the Afrikaans word 'vlei' meaning 'marsh' and the local Nama word meaning 'of-no-return'. The area has a remarkably spare clean beauty dead acacia trees the deep blue of the sky and the shifting burnished red of the sands make for a stunning vision.