Blogs from Walvis Bay, Namibia, Africa

After two days we left the Spitzkoppe Lodge with its unique setting amidst boulders and sand, heading for the Atlantic Coast. Passing the desert of the Dorob National Park we thought for a minute to be in Arabia. The sand structure changed from red into the commonly known yellowish tint. The shape of the dunes reminded us of our Arabic Emirates excursion, we had in 2018. Dorob, means 'dry land', which indeed it is. Nothing this time, really nothing, grows here. No more acacia trees, no more welwitschia flower bushes. The park was established in 1975 and covers over 100'000 km2. It includes also the wetlands of the Atlantic coast, the habitat of numerous bird species, including flamingos and pelicans. This stretch of coast is also famous for seal colonies and dolphins. One of our objectives ... read more

Notre dernier safari matinal à Erindi n’a pas été un grand succès. On avait encore comme guide l’équivalent sud-africain de notre cousin Miguel. On a fait la gaffe de lui dire qu’on n’était pas très intéressé à voir des lions ce matin, et il a alors cherché d’autres animaux qui ne se sont jamais pointés. Avec une demi-heure à faire, il a eu pitié et nous a donc emmenés voir des chiens sauvages en semi-captivité. L’un des animaux les plus laids de la savane. Nous sommes ensuite retournés au lodge pour un délicieux déjeuner et une dernière observation des hippos et des crocodiles dans le petit lac. On reprend ensuite la route vers Henties Bay, une petite station balnéaire perdue dans le brouillard au bord de l’Atlantique. En deux heures et 150km, la température passe de ... read more

It had been blowing a gale all night so it was no surprise when we went down for breakfast that the terrace where we had breakfasted the previous two days was closed and all the residents were enjoying their repast inside. This freak of nature is what is referred to as the sou'wester. The phenomenon is that the winds are not constant. There is calm before a gust of wind suddenly catches you off guard and it's then a case of 'hold on to your toupee!!' These gusts can be anything up to 50 or 60 mph. We settled the hotel bill and ordered a taxi to take us to the cruise terminal. 15 minutes later and £3.80 paid to the taxi driver we arrived at the departure lounge. The wind was still coming and going. ... read more

Today was a day of rest. As such, I slept in until 07h00, washed, dressed and headed off for breakfast. Whilst there were some other tourists in the room, I was the only one from our group. Taking coffee, bacon and eggs, I dined slowly ensuring that I finished at 08h00, the time at which my free day would start. Pieter arrived exactly on schedule. We shook hands and he let me to his car. Five minutes later, we were at another hotel where he collected six Germans. It appeared that I was going to spend my entire time in Southern Africa having to speak anything but English! Swakopmund was cold when we set off across the desert road to Walvis Bay. The entire journey was shrouded in mist, which is not uncommon in an area ... read more

The Namib Desert is said to be the world’s oldest living desert and is what a real desert should look like. Some of the dunes rise over 1,000 feet above the surrounding desert plains. There are crescent shaped dunes that migrate up to 2 or 3 yards a year, covering and uncovering whatever crosses its path. There are fossil dunes that consist of ancient sand that solidified millions of years ago. Then there are the star-shaped dunes, formed by the multi-directional winds that tumble the sand back and forth. Today we chose the Swakopmund Sightseeing tour that left the ship at 8:30am. We drove along the coastal road and stopped for some fabulous flamingo photos. We then headed inland into the Namib Desert and stopped at Dune 7, the highest sand dune in the Walvis Bay ... read more