Swakopmund on the coast

Trip Start Jul 12, 2006
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Trip End Jul 30, 2006


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Friday, July 21, 2006

We were up early as per usual as we had booked a trip to do a catamaran trip out of Walvis Bay to see the dolphins and the seals. The trip was lovely, the day was warm and the water incredibly calm - thank goodness as the males on this trip were not the best sailors. The harbour itself is protected by a sand bar which is continually growing. The lighthouse was originally at the end but now it is no where near. The very end of the bar is known as Pelican Point and it is here that there is a large colony of Cape Fur Seals. It is great to see them and a few hitch a ride on the boat tempted by a few free fish. Others swim alongside, so you get to see these animals really close-up. There is a much larger colony at Cape Cross Seal Reserve 100km or so North of Swakopmund. Here,there can be up to a quarter of a million or so seals but it is a long drive and apparently the smell of fish and seal urine is overpowering.

The bird life was also very good with pelicans, flamingos, cormorants and many different types of terns and gulls
Cormorant
Cormorant
. We were even able to make them take fish from our hands as the boat went along. We also saw a couple of bottle-nosed dolphin and plenty of jelly fish. If you are lucky you might even see whales in the area. On board we were served with sparkling wine, oysters and other delicious snacks. The oysters were particularly nice particularly with Tabasco sauce - yummy!

The staff were very informative and friendly. It is worth putting on the suntan lotion even though it is winter as we did end up a little red.

Before we left Walvis Bay we wanted to take a closer look at the flamingos on the lagoon. There were quite a few but it must be incredible to see these birds en-masse up on Etosha Pan in the summer.

Our afternoon was to be spent shopping. The boys went straight to the Internet cafe to catch up with friends and also more importantly to check the cricket test scores. They also located their favourite shop - 'Mr Price' a really cheap clothes shop that can be found around Southern Africa.

That evening we ate at 'Oceans Basket' a really nice fish chain. The platters we ordered were lovely with king prawns, princess prawns, kings clip, calamari and mussels. However far too big a meal to finish.
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