In the footsteps of the Jolie Pitts

April 11- 12 Walvis Bay, Namibia

What an exciting first day we had in Namibia!  We took a tour our friend arranged in the Namib Desert in 4x4s.   The 4 of us joined our friend, Tauna with a driver- Naude.  Naude is the owner of the tour company we used today for our tour, Sandwich Harbor tours.  There were 8 vehicles in total and we stayed in a caravan with radio communications the whole day.  We also had a sat phone with us as Naude’s wife was in town due with their 3^rd child in a week or so.  During some of the more harrowing times it was very good to know we had that communication available. 

greater flamingos in lagoon

Our first stop was to the lagoon to see the flamingoes.  Are there ever a lot of them there.  In total, Walvis Bay has some 300,000 migratory birds during the year.  Of these, there are about 70,000 flamingoes.  There are 2 types, the greater and the lesser flamingoes.  Usually, the greater flamingos would have headed on to Botswana, but due to the drought like conditions they hadn’t migrated.   The greater are taller with longer legs and have bright pink wings on the underside.  This is visible when they fly.  The lesser flamingos have black wings that are visible in flight.

 

Yes, flamingos do fly.  It was an amazing sight to see.  If you had asked me a week ago, I would have said they didn’t fly, similar to ostriches and emus.  We were fortunate enough to see flocks of them take off in flight. 

There is a mix of white and pink flamingoes of varying shades.  This is because flamingos start out white and as they eat the shrimp krill, they gain the pink color.  It was cool to see them eating.  It looks like they are dancing in the water- tapping there feet, but this is them stirring up the krill.  They have a filter system in their beaks that captures the krill for them to eat. 

 

Our next stop from here was to see the salt mining operation.  They mine 700,000 tons of salt per year in this area.  The take the salt from the ocean and desert and move it through a series of salt retaining areas to process it.  It takes 22 months in total to harvest the salt, but they have different ponds at different stages all the time so they can continuously harvest.  This salt is of such good quality that it is mainly used for industrial purposes such as chlorine and only a small amount is used for consumption.

driving thru tallest grass in world

The highlight of the day was driving through the Namib Desert in the national park.  This area is soon to be a Unesco World Heritage Site.  Our driver, Naude, felt they will be able to continue to operate as he is very aware of the dangers to the desert and truly wants to preserve and share it.  It will be named the Namib Sand Sea and will be 500km by 100km wide. 

 

 

amazing dune formations



Sandwich harbor

We drove out to an area known as Sandwich Harbor.  This is truly where the desert and the ocean meet.  Some days you are able to drive along the oceanfront but today the waves were too high and thus unpredictable.  The last they you want is to get stuck in the tide area.  We did see huge dolphins from the top of the dunes while we were looking out over the Harbor.

see "C" on the dune

Along the way we stopped to see some of the amazing dune formations.  “C” had a great time running up and down among them.  It was the world’s largest sandbox.  He had quickly followed the guides’ lead and removed his sandals at the first stop.  We all did the same over time. 



desert gecko

lone desert ostrich

They showed us geckos that live under the sand.  Their coloring is amazing to adapt to their environment.  We also so a Nara melon, which is a plant that has adapted and lives in the desert.  It is the lifeblood of the animals and indigenous who live in this giant desert. 

driving near river bed

 

 

 

We saw the areas where the Qusip River used to run through the desert.  It no longer reaches this area but the plants are still surviving.  These are the plants that the elephants in Skeleton Park use to get their water.  We also saw springbock among them eating from them as well.  We also saw 1 lone wild ostrich wandering the desert.  The river runs in the desert approximately every 5 years.  This is what provides the water source for the town of Walvis Bay.  There is an underground spring that is formed after that has a well attached to it.

dried river bed area

 

 

 

desert picnic

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After lunch in the desert, which consisted of lots of wonderful food including oysters on the half shell and beer and champagne, we headed back over the dunes.  This is where some of the more exciting driving occurred. 

We went down some very steep inclines, straight down.  Naude explained that the dunes cannot get to be more than 34degrees because the sand won’t hold at that point.  So they know the maximum incline is 34 and their vehicles are capable of handling 49 degree inclines.  Thus they don’t worry about tipping on the straight down runs.  Well, he certainly put it to the test.  The ultimate rush was when he pretended to back up to look at something on a plateau and then proceeded to head downhill in reverse.  We were the only ones to do this since we were with the boss.  It was quite thrilling, the only thing more scary during the day for me were some of the climbs where we went up on an angle- I was a bit paranoid about rolling. 



 

Fortunately the only vehicle mishaps that day were some engine issues they fixed after towing the car behind another and a flat tire.  The ship’s tour the next day had a few more tire issues than we did but then they had twice as many vehicles. 

jackal tracks in the dune




me by Sandwich Harbor

 

All in all it was a wonderful day.  We followed it up with a much more sedate day of shopping on our second day in Walvis Bay.  The town is absolutely beautiful and it is no wonder Brad and Angelina had a home here at one point.  The town sits right on the edge of the ocean and the desert.  In fact, the desert is kept at bay by wetting the sands on the side of town from which the winds blow.  I would love to visit here again and travel throughout the country on a safari as well.