It’s time for my last Namibia post.
Sand meets sea near Walvis Bay, Namibia.
Deserts have always fascinated me, so spending time in the desert was my number-one priority in Namibia. After meeting up with my friend Michelle in Windhoek, we hopped into our rented hatchback and headed for Swakopmund, a popular Namibian holiday destination on Africa’s Atlantic coast.
Swakopmund is a surreal place. In town, we could have been in Delaware or New Jersey rather than Namibia — Swakopmund has the same coastal architecture, seafood joints, and ubiquitous (although not quite as tacky) souvenir shops that you’ll find in most American beach towns. (Side note: We really enjoyed our stay at the Namib Guesthouse. If you’re ever looking for a place to stay in Swakopmund, check it out.)
Swakopmund is much like the beach towns along the east coast of the United States where Michelle and I spent our summers as kids. We felt very at home there and enjoyed the fresh seafood. We also enjoyed our lunch at this cute Starbucks knock-off, the Stadmitte Café.
Kite-flying on the beach.
Ocean sunset.
Half a kilometer outside of Swakopmund, the scene changes dramatically. To the north lies a flat desert moonscape. To the south, mammoth sand dunes as far as the eye can see.
Michelle in the endless desert a few minutes north of Swakopmund.
Michelle on the dunes near Walvis Bay, 30 minutes south of Swakopmund.
Most of the time that we spent in and around Swakopmund involved sand. Lots of sand. In fact, I’ve been home from Namibia for a month and I’m still trying to get the sand out of my camera bag. Take a look at photos and you’ll understand why.
On Christmas Day, we drove 90 minutes north to Cape Cross Nature Reserve, home to the largest colony of Cape fur seals on earth.
Lots of seals and lots of sand.
Crosses in the sand. Portuguese explorer Diego Câo came here in 1486 and put up a cross. The crosses there now are replicas.
There are wooden walkways built around the nature reserve, allowing tourists to get up close to the seals without disturbing them. The seals don’t seem to care much about being disturbed though — one pup pushed himself up against the walkway and insisted that we scratch him on the head through the spokes of the railing.
The cutest seal at Cape Cross.
Cutest seal from a slightly different angle.
We really enjoyed our visit to Cape Cross, despite the mildly unpleasant smell and the fact that there are a lot of dead baby seals laying around. We had been warned about the smell but the dead babies were a bit of a shock. Part of nature, I guess. Cape Cross is an easy half-day trip from Swakopmund and doesn’t require a 4×4.
On Boxing Day, we headed south to Walvis Bay and took a 4×4 ride into the dunes with Sandwich Harbour Tours.
Trucks and sand.
Our guide, Herman, gives us a short sand lesson. This reddish sand is full of garnet — when we looked at it through binoculars we saw thousands of tiny red gems.
We cruised over the dunes in Herman’s 4×4, stomachs churning. Then we got out and walked around. It was beautiful. And sandy. The sand felt great under my feet.
Footprints in the sand.
We got champagne, too. (Photo: Random Sandwich Harour tour dude.)
Champagne in the desert.
Crazy salt flats in the middle of the desert, shot at a crazy angle.
This was a really fun tour.
After seven posts and God knows how many photos, my virtual Namibia tales are finished. I hope you enjoyed the ride.
I’ll miss you, Namibia, and I’ll miss your sand. Hope to see you again soon.
Wow! That sunset is amazing!!!
The dead seals you saw were the result of nightly beach raids by hyenas and (I think) desert foxes that nab the young and weaker seals. Hyenas eat seals eat fish eat shrimp eat krill eat algea, it’s the circle of life.
I loved the salt road north to the seal colony, absurd crusty landscape. You were lucky to have sun, we had 3 days of cool damp sea mist in a narrow strip along the coast. Just a few km inland it was sunny and baking hot.
These pups weren’t killed by predators — they were just laying there dead, not eaten at all. Herman (our desert guide) told us it’s the result of overpopulation at the colony. The females are getting so much food that they actually breed too often and there are too many pups. Also the male seals sometimes kill pups that aren’t theirs. Anyway, natural selection I guess.
Yes, the salt road is amazing. Loved it! I posted a pic of the salt in an earlier post. We got into the middle of that mist on the drive back to Swakop from Cape Cross — I think we just missed it in the morning. We were really lucky with the weather for most of this trip, actually.
Always been on my bucket list to visit Namibia, thanks for sharing and reminding me to start planning. Beautiful photo’s as always.
Thanks Gail. I hope you get there soon.
Oh my word yes there is a lot of sand in Namibia. I still have some spots on my camera somewhere on the inside from our dune buggy tour (which you so should also have done!). I thought I was so careful when changing lenses but there is no way to keep that sand out.
Yes, Swakopmund is very surreal. I hated the weather there. I joked in my diary (I still haven’t gotten around to blogging about any of that) that the Germans, when faced with an entire continent, had to go and pick the ONE spot that has the same dreary weather as home.
Ha! I guess we were lucky. The weather was pretty nice while we were there. Just one foggy/rainy day out of three.
Heather great post as usual.I have great memories of Namibia from a few shoots that I did up there.A TV advert for Windhoek lager beer.A corporate video for Namco (a deep sea diamond dredging company) & a personal still shoot with two models in the restricted diamond area near the coast (Spergebied I think) had to travel with a security guard to make sure we stole no diamonds.I really want to go back there one day (it’s on my bucket list) regards rossG
Wow Ross, that sounds exciting! Thanks for the comment.
The landscapes are breathtaking, with your usual skill at composition. I too love deserts. I’ve lived in Nevada and southern CA. Now Namibia is on my bucket list.
Thanks! I happy to have lengthened your bucket list.
Brilliant shots =)
Brilliant photos Heather! And Yup – that’s a lot of sand! I’d love to go back some day.