Walvis Bay means "Whale Bay". With its large bay
and sand dunes, it is an important center of tourism in Namibia.
Walvis Bay is a small port on the Skeleton Coast of Namibia
and the gateway to the Namib Desert.
It was our first time here. We were joined today by Harriet
& Charley, Stacey & Wally, Cathy & Tom, Andrea, Allison, Horst,
Mark and Paula & Don. Again, we were missing Bob & Phyllis since she is
still in the hospital in Cape Town. Get well soon and we do miss you!
I had booked a Private Walvis Bay Cruise Ship Full Day
Guided Tour with www.namibia-tours-safaris.com
Our guide was waiting for us and instead of 2 cars for us
they brought 3. That was quite nice of them.
So, our seating arrangements went out the window with the
addition of the 3rd car. We were making our payments which took a
bit of time. Then, we got a surprise when the tour operator asked me right in
front of someone that wanted to join the tour if it was OK with me. We had
already told 2 other people walking by that asked no. She is the Staff
Captain’s wife and we agreed it was no problem. There was plenty of room,
especially if she didn’t mind sitting in a middle seat. Of course, I don’t
think the tour operator should have even considered it, much less ask me right
in front of her. She was very nice and was no problem, so no worries.
There was a lot of drama on who got the front seats. One
guy insisted on having the one in our car. (the other 2 were taken and we were
aware of one of them that needed to have it so that was fine) We were to be
only 4 in our vehicle, so we could spread out. I said no we already have
someone in our front seat. So, he goes and wines to the tour operator who told
him he could sit there. (I was told he threatened to cancel the tour if he
couldn’t have a front seat) Then, his wife thinks she also needs to be in our
car and didn’t want to sit in a middle seat. There was no reason to have 6 in
our car and only 4 and 5 in the other cars. When they signed on there were only
2 cars so not sure what he would have done about not getting the front seat. If
there was a “special need”, it should have been communicated up front. If
people have such needs, perhaps they should set up their own tours. They didn’t
book with the tour operator they joined MY tour.
Anyway, we finally got in our vehicles and headed off into
the desert. As the day went on it seemed that we weren’t following our
itinerary. We got more of a Living Namib Desert tour in the morning. It was
very good, but it seemed we hadn’t gotten to the 2 main things we were to do on
the tour. We were supposed to have lunch and a city tour of Swakopmund, but we
just drove through it to get to the Moon Valley. We were in the Dorob National
Park.
We made a lot of stops for photos and to see various
plants. Then, we climbed a small hill and were given rocks to hit the larger
rocks with (the rocks were Dolerite). They rang like a bell. Very cool. We all
took turns doing that. Cathy made music by hitting the rocks in different
places. I got a short video of that.
Along the way we did see a few small lizards, insects and
some Springboks. We were shown the lichen fields. The area looked brown, but
the least little bit of water turned it green. They demonstrated by pouring
some water on lichen on a rock and we watched it turn colors. They have more
than 125 different kinds of lichen.
We stopped for a very nice lunch at Goanikontes Oasis. It
was a beautiful setting and we had a choice of Toasties or the buffet. Greg and
& I did the buffet and everyone else at our table got the toasties.
(various types of grilled cheese with different added things) The buffet had
sausages, grilled chicken, goat curry, pork chop with a sweet sauce, cheesy
potatoes and a couple of dessert choices. All was quite tasty.
Allison ordered a cream soda and it was green. Made for a
great photo op.
Then it was back to the desert. We stopped to see the
oldest plant which was called Welwitschia. We also saw the beautiful Edelweiss
plant.
Greg spotted a Klipspringer high up on the rock formations,
and Ilsa backed up the car for us to get photos.
Ilsa asked if we wanted a stop at a craft market and we
said we did. This led to a discussion of the rest of our day’s schedule. The
other guide said that we couldn’t do the one she suggested since we would have
to skip Dune 7 which was one of the main reasons for the tour. So, he suggested
one right by the port. I said then we would go to Walvis Bay Lagoon and the
answer was yes.
So, we headed for Dune 7 which is the largest sand dune in
Namibia. For those that wanted to climb it they could. Greg and & of course
took off to do that. Mark was behind us and then we were joined by Cathy &
Tom. Everyone else stayed at the bottom.
We lost Mark early on and then Cathy & Tom turned
around. We made it to the top of the ridge. It wasn’t an easy hike up there,
but once you got past that one hard spot where they turned back it was much
easier. At the top we got an amazing 360-degree view of the dunes, the desert
and the Atlantic Ocean.
I was worried about coming down, but that part was easy.
The sand was so soft that you sunk in very deep, so it was slow going not a
fast slide down as it seemed it might be. I made it most of the way down and
then thought sliding down on my butt would be easier. It wasn’t. In order to
move I have to use my hands to propel me down. When we got to the bottom, we
both dumped out pounds of sand out of our shoes. (even more in our socks when
we got back to the ship and took them off) We did see a couple of lizards on
the way down.
We then went to the craft area. We were told we only had a
short time there and then we would be taken back to the ship. When I found out
that we weren’t going to see the flamingoes in the RAMSAR wetlands of Walvis
Bay Lagoon, I blew a gasket. We were supposed to not just take a quick look at the
Flamingoes, but have a tour of the lagoon where there were salt flats and lots
of other water birds. (that and Dune 7 were the 2 highlights)
They finally realized that we hadn’t gotten the tour we
signed up for and then went all out to get us to see the flamingoes. So, we had
5 to 10 minutes to shop. Then, we found out the big rush was that they couldn’t
get into the port after a certain time and we would have to walk to the ship.
It wasn’t far and most of us could have done that. Our guide Ilsa read my tour
description and then went out of her way to make sure we saw the flamingoes and
got some rushed shopping.
We got to see some flamingoes (both Greater & Lesser) and
then were driven back to the ship. If they were going to do that, they could
have let us shop then and drive the others back to the ship. It was walkable
for all but a few of us. We should have seen the flamingoes first and then
those that wanted to shop could take their time and then walk back to the ship.
Besides not being able to get in after a certain time, the tour guides also
could only go in and out twice in a day.
Anyway, it was a great day despite the confusion and the
rushing at the end. I figured the reason we skipped the town of Swakopmund was
because it was Sunday, and everything was closed. We were supposed to have a
walking tour there and lunch. No complaints with what we did see and do and where
we had lunch was great.
Back on board we grabbed a quick dinner upstairs after we
showered and got all of the sand off of us. There was no show again tonight
since we had to clear immigration for our exit out of Africa.
We went back to the cabin and I started updating the blog.
Whoo Hoo, I can sleep in tomorrow! We also got to set our clocks back an hour
tonight.
Walvis Bay, Namibia https://photos.app.goo.gl/xYWGd8M1GHMDSSUR7
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