Walfis Bay

This little fellow remained remarkably calm as we paparazzi‘s snap our photos. But I am getting ahead of myself. 

We cruise overnight in calm water along the Namibian coast to Walvis Bay. 

Fog lies thick as we approach the pier. The antarctic current brings cold water north along Africa‘s western coast. Winds blowing from the east move the warmer surface waters away, allowing the colder water to surface. And fog often develops here. But it very seldom rains. 

Our excursion today is a trip into the desert. Much of the desert is protected area. As we are to learn, much more life exists here than one expects. 

Chantelle, our native guide, speaks fluid German and keeps us entertained. She finds her first creature, a sort of cricket, fairly quickly.

Her friend, Chicken, shows up. Chantelle feeds him a worm or two (after placing the cricket back in his hole) and shows off his tricks. 

The desert sand is complicated. Chantelle collects some of the metallic iron oxide particles with a magnet. Water (from condensed fog) causes the wind blown sand to deposit in stratified layers, allow the small animals to create hollows. 

Chantelle‘s next find is our friend, the palmetto gecko. Very photogenic. 

Chicken, not to be photogenically outdown, hitches a ride as Chantelle looks for our next target. 

And she finds him. This sidewinder snake makes his way fairly quickly along the dunes, leaving a  recognizable trail. Then he buries his body and head completely in the sand. His eyes, protruding from the top of his head, remain exposed. These dudes poison their prey with venom from their fangs.

Another relaxed little fellow. 

We drive to a group of high dunes. “Climb to the top” says Chantelle. Eve needs no further invitation. With a little wind, all traces of our presence will have disappeared by the end of the day. 

We pack ourselves back into the trucks and drive back to the ship.  Walvis Bay, with 130,000 inhabitants, is a major seaport on the Atlantic coast, not just for Namibia but for much of south Africa. The nearby offshore energy business is also supported from here. We drive past the offices and shops of the firm I once worked for. Brings back memories. 

In closing, the Gospel according to Chantelle: 

“We respect animals that are bigger than us. We respect and care for small cuddly animals. We should also respect and care for those that are small and not so cuddly.”