Swakopmund, Seals, Sand and Shiloh

After breakfast at Cape Cross Lodge on Thursday, November 16th, we set out south down Namibia’s Skeleton Coast to the coastal town of Swakopmund, making a brief stop to see the Cape Cross Seal Reserve. I found the Namibian coast striking due to the contrast between the rippling dunes of the desert on one side of the 2-lane coastal road and the crashing waves of the South Atlantic Ocean on the other side. “Skeleton Coast” was named as such after the ships and sailors that met their demise here because of the mixture of fog and strong Atlantic currents.

The Cape Cross Seal Reserve also was striking for the number of seals – averaging between 80,000 to 250,000 – as well as the smell. Those who know my gag reaction will be correct in assuming that it was going strong there; we could only stand it for about 10 minutes. Part of the strong stench is due to the dead seals left on shore, both young pups that have been crushed by the thousands of other seals and also older seals that have starved to death. We heard from several people that Namibia currently faces a “seal problem.” There are approximately 2 million seals around the coast, causing many to die by starvation, entanglement in fishing nets or being shot by fishermen. At the same time, those seals lucky enough to eat have decimated the local fish population. The government has set about killing some of the seals but, according to one local tour guide with whom I spoke, not in a sensible way. According to this man, the government could handle the seal population in a way that also benefits the people of Namibia. Seal meat, he said, could be an excellent food source. And, instead of shipping all the seal skins to Canada (as the government currently does) it could re-open all of the abandoned tanneries in Namibia (abandoned as a result of the diminishing cattle industry) and employ people to make leather goods. I’m not sure of the merit to any of this, but it is just the type of creative and multi-faceted solution to a problem that I hope to be able to help discover for Kisumu, Kenya, one of the Millennium Cities where I’ll be working beginning January.

After Cape Cross, we spent Thursday and Friday nights in the little picturesque coastal town of Swakopmund. The guidebooks do not over-exaggerate the beauty and uniqueness of this town and, as we said throughout our tour of Namibia, we found it hard to believe that we were in Africa. Swakopmund felt like a blend of old world Germany, with pastel-colored colonial buildings and beer gardens, and modern Santa Monica, with palm trees, boardwalks and contemporary, beachfront homes. We stayed at a little hotel, the Hansa Hotel, that also felt very European - it was easier to find a German newspaper there than a Namibian one! Although we did have bratwurst for lunch one day, we enjoyed great seafood for all of our other meals in Swakopmund, including crayfish, king clip and Walvis Bay oysters.

We spent Friday on the sea and in the sand dunes around Swakopmund. That morning, we went down the coast another 30 Km to Walvis Bay and took a boat ride to see oyster farms, dolphins, pelicans and more seals. The seals are so friendly around Walvis Bay, as a result of being fed from the tour boats, they would jump right up onto the stern of our boat as we cruised along (pictured above). Later that afternoon, we went out with a guide on 4-wheel motor bikes along the coastal sand dunes (pictured above). Although both Christy and I got stuck several times, going up and down the face of the gigantic sand dunes on these bikes was incredibly fun. Finally, on the way back into Swakopmund, of course, I could not help but do a drive-by of the little community called Long Beach, between Walvis Bay and Swakopmund, where Angelina and Brad holed-up and had Shiloh earlier this year. I find their choice of the Swakopmund area of Namibia fascinating because it is so un-African – its Malibu, but more quiet and isolated. Although I do think they helped bring some name recognition to this country back in the U.S., it seems to me that it still really needs to grow as a U.S. tourist destination - in 2 weeks, I have yet to come across another person from the U.S. here!

On Saturday, November 18th, we left Swakopmund and drove back to Windhoek. Christy left on Sunday and, since I had a few more days before I start my volunteer work in Cape Town, I decided to head back out of Windhoek and see the famous red sand dunes in southern Namibia.