Namibia - Sand, Sand and more Sand!!!!

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WALVIS BAY, NAMIBIA - 24th April
Our final port of call before heading North and crossing the Equator into the Northern Hemisphere.

Walvis Bay is the gateway to our destination Swaopmund for the day.

It is a curious blend of Ocean and desert, a little like I knew of Muscat, Oman in the early days before being 'touristified' ( if there's such a word)



The Natural Lagoon is just a short distance from the docks, it is the largest single area of shallow water on the West coast of Africa and part of the Walvis Bay Nature Reserve. A vast number of birds are attracted to the lagoon, particularly flamingos and pelicans.



This was our first stop (for a photo opportunity) before heading for Dune 7 which is the highest sand dune in the area and guess what another photo opportunity!!!!

Sand plays a big part in sports activities here, with off-roading, quad bikes etc being high on the younger visitors agendas when they visit here.



Before arriving at Swakopmund we called at the Karakulia Weavery where the wool of the Karakul sheep is spun, dyed and woven into rugs and wall hangings.



And then on to Swakopmund, built by the coast next to the sea, Swakopmund is a beautiful town situated at the mouth of the Swakop River and is often described as ‘a slice of Germany on the edge of the desert’.

Many buildings date back to the turn of the century and are now national monuments, reminding you of the town’s German colonial past.

We paid a visit to the Swakopmund Museum which showed the history of the area and it also had some interesting collections of model cars and cameras.





So that was Namibia and the Nabib desert OK so these are blogs to date - running a bit late but got there in the end



Our final passage up through the Atlantic is going to take us by St Helena (Napoleans exile island), the Ascension Islands (both these are cruise by only but some good photo opportunities) then onto Mindelo in the Cape Verdi Islands.



From there we head to Tenerife and our final port of call will be Madeira on 6th April.



We arrive back home on the 10th.

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