Namibia: Walvis Bay

April 20, 2023

Friday, March 31, 2023, Walvis Bay, Namibia

Friday, March 31, 2023

The ship arrived in Walvis Bay, Namibia at about 10 am. We were signed up for a ship sponsored “Seal & Pelican” tour, and caught a bus to the marina area. Our handsome young tour guide spoke English very well. With our travel companions we were a relatively small group of about 15. A good-sized catamaran waited for us on the dock. Most of us chose to sit outside on the bow for the best view. It was brisk and windy and we were each given a shot of whiskey to get the party started.

Our guide began feeding fish to seagulls. They would hover above him and take them from his hand or catch them out of the air. This was fun, but became less charming when one customer got pooped on. I wandered off to look for the head indoors, and when I came back out I was astonished to see a large seal cavorting about on deck!

Getting felt up by a seal!

It turned out that our guide was an animal lover and expert handler. He had been involved in many animal rescues, including the seal who had just freely climbed on board from the sea. Adding to the unreality of this scene, a giant pelican flew out of the sky onto our boat and made the rounds. All were generously rewarded, of course, and the loving relationship he had with these animals was evident. A smaller, female pelican also joined the party. The seal took off at some point down a special ladder off of the stern.

Obviously not afraid of us

Male & female giant white pelicans

We had a wonderful lunch inside the catamaran, along with champagne. A nice crew and fun time.

Another interesting sight (and site) we saw was a partially sunken boat that was left in the harbor because cormorants had taken it over with many nesting pairs living there. It had become a tourist attraction.

Cormorant central on this abandoned ship

The other thing that bears mentioning are the many seal colonies that are alive and well in Walvis Bay. We were told there are more seals that people in Namibia and I believe it. Many, many seals in this one area. Young seals had just learned to swim and were leaping out of the water and generally having a wonderful time together. We were told baby seals must learn to swim, and most don’t survive. It is obvious that many do, however.

Seals hanging out in the sun on the stern of this boat anchored out in the bay.

Part of one seal colony in Walvis Bay.

On the way back to the ship, a large contingency of vendors were lining the road selling their wares. The vendors were aggressive and obviously not from Walvis Bay. Some of the women were bare-breasted. I spoke to one woman with a small child who told me they had spent the night on their tarps in anticipation of the ship arriving this morning. I was remembering it was cold at night. We bought some items and went back to our small but cushy digs on the ship, realizing they were again spending the night on tarps.

Walvis Bay, Namibia, Saturday, April 1, 2023

We were ready at 9 am sharp for our ship tour to the Namibian desert. There were 2 buses full of tourists and we were in the first bus. Our tour guide was reasonably good and our first stop was at some large dunes. We decided we had time to climb one of them, and started climbing, quickly realizing it would go faster if we took our shoes off. Charlie made it to the top. We only had 15 minutes, and I was too slow.

Charlie’s “Rocky” pose at the top

Next stop in the desert was for a close up view of the welwitschia plant. This plant only has 2-3 leaves in its lifetime, but can live up to 500 years. The leaves split over time, so it looks like more. It is an extremely unattractive plant, but fascinating to see. Small red beetles live on it.

Welwitschia plant.

We then went to an area aptly named Moon Landscape. The photos don’t do it justice. The last Mad Max movie was filmed here. We had a photo op, and then things got interesting when the second bus wouldn’t start. It was determined that our bus would continue on to an oasis, then the bus would come back for the people on the second bus.

The oasis (Namib Naukluft Park) was as described, an area with water and lush greenery in the desert. There was a restaurant selling food & drinks, and a funky but interesting museum. Also a random animals (maybe rescues?). Fortunately another bus came for the stranded people. Our bus didn’t have to go back for them.

Funky museum minerals

The oasis dining area

Charlie in Mad Max type play car

After this, we headed for my most anticipated site—Dune 7. Why I was so excited about that, I can’t say, but my anticipation soon turned into outrage when we were not able to leave the bus. Dune 7 had been privatized and it cost too much to enter. We couldn’t even do a photo op. I got over it. One huge desert dune looks pretty much like another.