March 17 - Walvis Bay, Namibia

We have a very busy day today in Walvis Bay, our second port of call in Namibia.  This morning we caught a boat for a cruise around the bay.  Before we were even away from the dock we had a sea lion on board.  The crew had a bucket of fish for him - no wonder he boarded the boat.

We also had two pelicans joining us for breakfast.

The bay is pretty massive and it took a while to get out to the the lighthouse...

and Pelican Point at the end of a long sand spit that creates the bay.  There were massive numbers of sea lions on the spit.

At the very tip of the spit was a flock of cormorants. 

There were a number of boats parked in the bay...

and a giant oil rig platform in the bay.  It was in for repairs…no idea how they move such a massive structure around.

One of the really exciting points of the cruise was when Mary spotted a giant Mola Mola or Ocean Sunfish.  

It was just under the water surface and we were able to drift alongside it for a while.  Apparently they like to lay on their sides and "sunbath" in the water.  The guide said his wild estimate is that it weighs 300 – 500 kilograms (600 to 1102 pounds).  They have really large dorsal and pectoral fins and have a REALLY stubby tail.  It basically looks like a fish head with a couple of large fins.  They are one of the heaviest bony fishes in the world.  Really exciting to see.  They are rarely seen by the cruise boats. So we were very lucky.

We also saw a very small jellyfish, one of the major foods of the mola mola.

We had lunch on board and were joined by another sea lion that was quickly shooed off the boat.  However, as we were coming back to dock the pelicans and another sea lion joined us again.

After getting back to shore we boarded a 4X4 jeep for our trip to the sand dunes.  We stopped to see a flock of lesser and greater flamencos (the lesser flamencos are the pink ones). 

We then drove by the gigantic salt pans.  Namibia and Walvis Bay produce nearly 1 million tons of salt a year.

We then headed out along the coastline

and into Namib Naukluft National Park, the home of the Namib Desert and the Naukluft mountain range.  It is the largest game park in Africa and the fourth largest in the world.  As we got into the park we passed over some very large and very flat sandy areas.

The Namib Desert is the oldest in the world and has the largest sand dunes in the world, some rising to 1000 feet.  The older the dune the more orange it is due to the oxidation  of the iron (rust)  in the sand.

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Watch video of sand dunes.
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Watch video of driving on the sand dunes.
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The desert is home of some interesting animals (so we are told).  We saw a springbok…

and the guide found a very small Palmato gecko (also web-footed gecko or Namib dune gecko).  The skin looks almost translucent.

The dunes are absolutely spectacular.  Namibia has the largest sand dunes in the world and we didn't even see the largest ones. They were amazing and gigantic and the mystical and jaw dropping and awe inspiring.   The guides took us up and down many dunes with a stop at the top of one of the tall dunes overlooking the ocean.  Very dramatic with fog rolling in and out.  The fog provides moisture for many of the plants and animals in the desert, including our little gecko friend.

We had a snack at the dune and then headed back.  On the way back the jeeps (we were a convoy of two jeeps) went down an extreeeeeemely steep dune, as in it looked almost straight down.  After heading up to another hill they dropped us off and circled around so that we could get photos of them going down the dune.  Crazy.

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More Photos of Namib Desert
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We were back at the ship late afternoon, just in time to catch the buses for our World Cruise Shoreside Event, by special invitation to all of the World Cruisers.  The buses took us into the desert to a large flat area between some large dunes.  

There we were greeted by local staff with lots of drinks, local Herero women in their colorful dresses and fanciful hats,

Ovahimba women (they had done really interesting things to their hair)...

and selling wares,

and man with a rather decent size boa constrictor.

There was also a group of camels for photos but since we have ridden then more than once we opted for forgo this opportunity.

We had a pretty decent sunset.

After snacking on appetizers we adjourned to a very large tent where we were served canapes while we listened to a marimba band and the Swakopmund youth choir. 

They were followed by some dancers with illuminated fans and capes.

After the performances we adjourned to the nearby seats where we were treated to a light saber dual (Star Wars was the theme for tonight’s performance…except for all the things that weren’t Star Wars related).  

There was also a group of dancers who danced in the dark while wearing costumes with lighting strips. 

The highlight was a short concert by Emily Dangwa, a Namibian Opera Soprano. She was superb and the staging was magical…lots of spotlights crossing the skies behind her.

The evening’s entertainment ended with some Star Wars projections on the giant dunes beyond the stage.  Very fun indeed.