African Wings: Part 4 - Walvis Bay & Sandwich Harbour

AFRICAN WINGS: PART 4: WALVIS BAY & SANDWICH HARBOUR

Join us on a 6500km flying adventure through Namibia starting at Rundu on the Angolan border and ending at Oranjemund;  the quirky mining town of the Sperrgebiet

We decided to use Henties Bay as our base for the next few days to explore the fascinating coastline south to Sandwich Harbour.

We woke up early to drive the long desert road between Henties Bay and Walvis Bay and got there just in time to catch “Flipper” a little boat that was to take us out into the harbour of Walvis Bay.

We had booked a sea and sand safari with Mola Mola, www.mola-namibia.com a safari company based in Walvis Bay. We were enthusiastically greeted by Andreas, our guide, who immediately insisted that we have a glass of old brown sherry to warm us up. You got to love the Germans and their early morning drinking habits.

The water was pastel blue and as silver as a mirror. An ethereal morning mist rose from the water in little eddies like dancing sea sprites. As we left the shore we were immediately joined by Great White Pelicans that came in on their tremendous wing spans like enormous army carriers. Flying low over the water they landed next to the boat with a huge splash, feet forward for braking. Their numbers grew till we had about 15 of them alongside the boat catching the fish we threw them in mid-air.

The Skipper and the Gull

Next was the large Cape fur seal colony on the sand spit encircling the Walvis Bay Harbour. Seal watching is exceptionally entertaining; they porpoise past you with curious expressions and as soon as they have an audience start showing off with flipper flaps, wave riding and water handstands.

Jan taking photographs of the seal antics

Andreas still doling out sherry, made his cheerful way down to the back of the boat, opened the bottom gate and out of the sea appeared a seal with a rheumy expression. She promptly slithered up the stairs and onto the boat with an agility that belied her size. I don’t know about you but I have never been within patting distance of a Cape Fur Seal and had no idea how enormous they are.

Her beautiful wet coat gleamed in the morning sun like oil and was exceptionally soft to the touch. Apparently seals have over 7000 hairs per square cm which makes their pelts highly sought after.

Seals on the Namib coast are on the decline due to climate change, competition with fisherman for fish and the unregulated and the barbaric seal cull. The annual Namibian seal cull has created much controversy and has been called the bloodiest and most savage seal hunt the world has ever seen with as many as 85 000 suckling pups being clubbed each year. (see below links for more information)

After trawling around the sand spit we were dropped off at Pelican point and picked up by khaki clad Nico and his rugged looking Landrover and headed off into the desert with the remote Sandwich harbour as our next destination.

The Kuiseb river delta and the lagoons between Swakopmund and Sandwich Harbour are a birders paradise. These lagoons have been designated as wetlands of international importance and are key nesting and feeding sites for thousands of visiting and resident birds including Flamingo, Pelican, Plovers and Terns. Some 40 000 birds - 34 different species - were recorded in this area during recent surveys.

Travelling through flat lands dotted with vegetated hummock dunes we popped out onto the beach and suddenly found ourselves travelling on a narrow strip between dunes and sea. Seagulls rose in waves in front of us and the milky orange dunes swept down gracefully to the crashing waves.

Where the dunes meet the sea

Kelp Gulls fly along the dunes searching for clams in the surf

Rescuing a fellow adventurer en-route

We reached Sandwich harbour and set off to climb a dune so we could really get a sense of our surroundings. After many breathless breaks we made it to the top and the view that met us was gob smackingly beautiful. Behind us were endless dune fields, in front a turquoise and sapphire bay dotted with flamingo and pelican. The contrast of the dunes, the lagoon and the remoteness of it all took our breath away.

Climbing dunes requires calf muscles and sheer bloody mindedness



Jan on a dune at the rim of Sandwich harbour

A watercolour artists dream - the liquid lines of Sandwich Harbour



We ran and tumbled down the dune in a type of sun-kissed euphoria just in time for a champaign and oyster lunch. White table cloth and all was set out at the edge of the lagoon. The lovely salt air was a perfect accoutrement to our decadent lunch.

The drive back to Walvis Bay is not for the faint hearted and is better suited for roller coaster enthusiasts. We tore through the dunes in a way that felt more like gliding that driving. Up and down at impossible angles and curves, slipping down rumbling dunes we went, it was an example of superb driving by Nico and an awesome experience of what a Landrover can do.



The sapphire blue of the ocean contrasts spectacularly with the sensual dunes

There is nothing in this world quite as nice as hot sand between your toes



Riding the dunes between Sandwich harbour and Walvis Bay

Back in Henties Bay later that evening, we went back to our local hangout “Fishy Corner”, ordered another delicious meal and re-lived what we had experienced this magnificent Namibian day….

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For current information on what is being done on Namibian Seal culling please read the article "Bloody Thursday deals first blow to Namibian Seal Cull" on:
http://www.informante.web.na/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=6570&Itemid=100

or visit the Seal Alert website to find out how you can help:
http://sealalertsa.wordpress.com/

Visit YouTube to view videos of this senseless slaughter:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uzPcAvEARwI&feature=related