3 September 2025
We have another relatively early start as we head out to Walvis Bay again, this time for a marine excursion. The sand dunes come right down so we have sand dunes on one side of the road and beach on the other. On the way we pass Langstrand (Long Beach) – a popular holiday home spot.
The bay is very shallow because of sand and they dredge the channel for ships. We pass a guano platform – guano for fertiliser is an important export. There is also an oil refinery; we learn that they have recently discovered oil and gas offshore but it is very deep. There are salt ponds and processing as well.
As we discovered yesterday, there is mist caused by warm air coming from South America meeting the cool Atlantic current that comes up the coast. This mist is very important for desert plants and animals and many are adapted to catch this precious source of moisture. We learn that there is a beetle that straightens its front legs and sticks its back legs in air to catch the mist: droplets roll down its body to the mouth. Other animals get moisture through their diet, eating the succulent plants that also capture the moisture from the mist.
As we come into the town of Walvis Bay we drive along the longest avenue of palms in world – wild date palms. There are many fish factories and lots of shacks for the workers. Walvis bay is part of a lagoon so it is very marshy land. It used to be owned by South Africa once Germans left – even after Namibian independence. Nelson Mandela gifted back to Namibia on South African independence.
Down at the wharf area we board our catamaran and meet our guide Bartie. We sail out from Walvis Bay Harbour to the lighthouse at Pelican Point (so called because from the air it looks like a pelican head). The lighthouse is now over a kilometre inland due to accumulating sand. Several Cape Fur Seal colonies (over 60,000 seals in total) – you can smell and hear them from well away. There are pups at this time of year and they are all calling for their mothers. Seals are swimming all around us. As we get closer we get a really good view of all the happening in the colony. It is hard to know where to look as there is so much happening.
We get a few tentative glimpses of humpback whale backs and sit around in hope they would come up properly. Eventually we got lucky as one rose up and showed us its tail – right in front of where I was sitting. When they show their tail it means that they are diving deep so there is no point hanging around. If we just see a back then they are still near the surface.
The most entertainment we get is from the pelicans. There are 4 that were hand reared after being rescued as youngsters from the guano platform. These 4 have taught the others that there will be fish if you turn up on the catamarans. First of all we have an elderly male (Dodo) entertain us: flying in, being fed, following Bartie around the boat. On the way back Lady Gaga brings a surprise visit, especially for the unwitting Kym as Lady Gaga lands on her back. At one stage we have Dodo, Lady Gaga and 2 unnamed females all hoping that Bartie has more fish in his bucket. When he is not obliging, they head off to the back of the boat where they know he stores the fish. It is hilarious to see them waddle off there and then come back following Bartie in a line as he brings a bucket of fish back.
On board we are treated to all sorts of different drinks and snacks, and finish up with a delicious lunch complete with some sparkling wine and local oysters (for those that like them).
Wian meets us as we come a shore and we head back to Swakopmund and a brief city tour before being dropped back at the hotel for a free afternoon.
Anne and I walk down to the Strand along the waterfront, stopping to look at the Krystal Gallery on the way. We are amazed by how many different precious stones there are that we haven’t heard off. We see a huge geode with amethyst crystals, the largest quartz crystal on display in the world, and a lot of beautiful jewellery pieces.
Then we stroll along the waterfront, passing through the various handcraft markets but are deterred by very persistent salespeople. We explore the jetty, getting photos both out to sea and back to shore. We stop for afternoon tea at German Donut Bar on the jetty (dating back to 1877) and indulge in iced chocolate with a sweet treat (wishing we hadn’t afterwards, although it was good). It was very strange to have waves breaking underneath you as you sat in the café.
Then we stroll the streets photographing examples of German architecture, browsing craft stores (being left in peace so we each bought a few things) and visited a Fine Art Gallery that had an exhibition by Paul Dixon, a Scottish-born, award-winning artist with Namibian connections who is celebrated for his realistic and detailed wildlife art.
After that we head back to the hotel to sort some photos and write up some notes before dinner on our own. We decide that we don’t need a full meal so go to the bar to get a snack. It takes a very long time because the staff seem to disappear completely for considerable periods – but we get to watch some tennis on the big screen while we wait.
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