Flamingoes and dunes (Walvis Bay)

Member Name: Otjiwarotji

Product:	Walvis Bay
Date:	05/12/01 (389 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Good road access, wonderful for ornithologists, Set in spectacular surroundings

Disadvantages: None as far as I'm concerned

Walvis Bay in Namibia, pronounced Walfish bay by locals, probably because of its fishing industry background, is about 30km from the seaside resort of Swakopmund. Populated with around 30,000 inhabitants, less touristy and a bit smaller it is, however well worth a visit. Especially if you are keen on birdwatching.

We visited Walvis Bay on a day trip out of Swakopmund with our hosts and friends Heila (also known to many as B-DISE on Dooyoo) and Gundi and young Vaughn who will be familiar to many readers by now. It was of course a beautiful hot and sunny Namibian morning with the sun burning through the morning sea mist which rolls in off the Atlantic each morning to provide life giving moisture to the hardy inhabitants of the Namib desert which surrounds Walvis Bay, which is situated on the edge of the Namib-Naukluft national Park.

The road from Swakopmund is a good tar road and it is only about a 30 minute drive. On the way we drove along the Atlantic coast with the blue sea on our right and the dunes on our left, perhaps whoever coined the phrase “between the devil and the deep blue sea” actually meant .... “between the desert and the deep blue sea” and if so, he must have driven along this route!

We drove into Walvis bay and first we went to a very nice German bakery, which are prevalent in Namibia and were spoilt for choice with their amazing selection of freshly made to order sandwiches or brotchen with a great choice of fillings of every variety imaginable and the biggest array of home made cakes and pastries to tempt even the most die hard dieter to break the rules.I must admit they were amused at the way I dithered about what filling to choose and then procrastinated even more over all the gooey cakes, finally giving in to temptation and buying a selection.

Then with our large bags of picnic fodder in the coolbox/fridge in the back of the car we drove further into Walvis heading towards the harbour
which the town is built around. It is the only deepwater port on this stretch of coast and the town has sprung up around the harbour and is sheltered by the Pelican point peninsula in the North West. Until recently fish processing and canning were the main industries and the port has been used by the military and is the centre of Namibias export trade for Uranium and other produce.

The industrial aspect of the port with cranes and factories does not however detract from it’s beauty and importance as an ornithologists paradise with around 80 different species of water birds. We headed South of the town to the sea front lagoon along a road with the most beautiful houses overlooking the sea, many of these large and substantial, upmarket dwellings have lovely thatched roofs, swimming pools and large gardens and are the holiday homes of wealthy locals. I fell in love with one such house and vowed that when I win the lottery ( see how positive I am that I will win despite not having scooped more than a tenner so far?) I will retire here in my dream home overlooking the lagoon.

We parked the car in a small free car park and walked to the shore, where we could see out to sea and were confronted by thousands of stunning pink flamingoes wading in the shallow water, catching fish and standing contemplating on one leg. The sight was so stunning it is yet another memory of Namibia which will stay with me forever. Imagine if you will, a vast stretch of sand with shallow water under a vivid blue sky and when you look at the water it appears to be pale pink with splashes of the deepest rose amongst it, and then it separates in your vision and becomes thousands and thousands of flamingoes.... amazing!

We wanted to get even closer to these beautiful birds, sharing their territory with pelicans, Damara terns and migrant Arctic terns, so we walked along the beach. We were alone there apart from the birds and it was peaceful and relaxing after a few v
ery hectic days since our arrival. As we walked along the flat, damp sands we noticed that the beach was covered in huge pink jellyfish and our friends warned us “ DON’T TOUCH” Good job there were no bathers here, these massive gelatinous invertebrates have a deadly sting! We retreated to the promenade to watch in safety with our binoculars.

As keen wildlife and nature watchers we had done what we had come to do, see the flamingoes and although Walvis Bay has a lot more to offer the visitor our hosts had another treat in store and reluctantly we bid the birds farewell. If you are staying longer you will find there are a number of good and unusual restaurants including the Raft, which is built on stilts in the middle of the lagoon, several steak and pasta restaurants and a train parked between the sea and the road which was closed when we passed due to a recent fire but may by now be open again.

There are lots of places to stay too including several caravan parks, campsites and self catering chalets which looked very nice quality and a few good hotels. From here you can enjoy boat trips to view dolphins and seals at play, so don’t be fooled into thinking this is just an industrious place, there is plenty of scope for fun here too.

But where we were headed was to the famous Dune 7, one of the highest and most famous sand dunes in the area, much photographed and featured in many a calendar and brochure as the typical desert dune. We were going Dune climbing! Drive a short way out of Walvis Bay along the C14 towards the airport and you will see the signposts for Dune 7, though a sign is not necessary as it dominates the skyline for miles around. It is everyones idea of a typical desert scene, the huge dunes of deep golden sand rising up in front of you with a few palm trees beneath.

Admittedly when one gets closer and sees the carefully set out picnic area, toilet block and car park the illusion that you are L
awrence of Arabia ( or Namibia) is shattered just a little but it is well thought out and not intrusive and allows the visitor to sit and relax in the very welcome shade of the few trees, under the searingly hot midday desert sun and marvel at the scenery. We piled out of the car bearing our brotchen and cakes and a few bottles of cold beer and a juice for Vaughn and had our delightful picnic at a table at the foot of dune 7.

Now it may have been a mistake to partake of our hearty repast BEFORE attempting the climb, but we eventually rose to our feet and staggered towards the looming mountain of smooth sand which grew larger and ever larger as we drew closer until by the time we actually reached the base it had assumed the proportions of Everest! Heila was ready with her trusty camcorder waiting to film us climbing it.

Now I admit, I am a wooss, I am a coward and I have a very handy excuse for getting out of anything I feel might be a bit too strenuous, my bad back! Which came in very handy when I wanted to get out of this carefully planned event. Heila and Gundi had climbed it before (or so they TOLD us!) But Vaughn hadn’t, and he wanted to have a go. Now Vaughn greatly admired his new “Uncle” Brian, who, not wanting to let the little fella down, as we couldn’t let him go alone ( it is actually quite dangerous) was keen to have a go and bravely set off at a fast pace.

“Hold on” Heila cried, and advised both the blokes to take off their shoes and socks first! If you attempt to climb in soft sand wearing trainers they will soon fill with sand and weigh you down. She then asked “Are you going to RUN up?” and off they ran ... Well Vaughn scampered a bit like a desert dwelling lizard, lifting his feet higher and higher as he leapt forward and upward, and Brian, being quite a bit bigger sort of lolloped, his feet sinking in the soft sand and slowing him down, they did really well, they were almos
t half way up when Vaughn sat down in the sand, his mouth was opening though we couldn’t hear him and he was saying something to Brian who was several feet behind him. Brian opened his mouth to reply and we heard him .... Well, actually we heard him scream!

He screamed “MY FEET ..... OWW, OUCH”

What on earth was the matter? Had he been bitten by some terrible desert dwelling scorpion? Had he fallen? No the red hot sand was too hot to handle and his feet were practically on fire, so were Vaughns, and they both sat there on their bottoms in the sand waving their feet in the air, and complaining as Heila fell about laughing and the film rolled on and she focussed on them and panned out to focus on their shoes at the bottom of the dune. She’s a bit of a practical joker is our chum!

Unknown to us the ground temperature of desert sand can reach an astounding 60 degrees under the midday sun, you may have seen on tv documentaries those tiny desert lizards who appear to “dance” as they constantly lift their feet high to avoid burning them. Well thats what our two bold adventurers looked like!

The last laugh was on Brian though. He flatly refused to budge an inch, without his footwear to protect his sore and burning feet! I wasn’t attempting to take their shoes up. Gundi wasn’t feeling too well and that only left Heila to climb up the sand with a pair of shoes in each hand, so they could put them on to come back down. I noticed she didn’t take her shoes off! I wonder why?

So if you are ever watching a documentary on tv about deserts and it shows a massive dune, chances are it may be Dune 7. So look very carefully and in the sand if you see a small creature waving it’s legs aloft, don’t assume it is a lizard ... it might just be Brian cooling his feet!

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