Up & Down, Then Up & Down The Namibian Dunes

Our short stay in Namibia is nearing its end. I’m writing from Windhoek where we arrived a couple of hours ago. The last few days have been spectacular, particularly Wednesday’s adventure drive to Sandwich Harbour, south of Swakopmund.

Everywhere we drive in this area, the impact of the dunes is evident, the sand constantly pushing out into the Atlantic as well as the various harbours along the coast around and south of Swakopmund. This town of 45,000 people has a German heritage, with many of the buildings built in the early-mid 1900s still standing. South of Swakopmund is Walvis Bay, a large port as well as a jumping off point for adventures and tours. Unfortunately there is little evidence of the original inhabitants of these areas, including the San, Damara and Nama people.

Wednesday 8 June – From Walvis Bay

After a 30 minute drive south, we arrived at a little blue building that is the starting point for the various tours from Walvis Bay. We met Mike, our driver-guide for the day, and climbed into his Toyota Hilux – Nick in the front, with T and me in the rear.

We drove along the waterfront, stopping to take photos of groups of flamingo quietly standing in the water, and on we went. Further south we turned left (inland) and meandered over the sandy roadways that surround the huge salt pans we’d seen from the air two days earlier. Further along, the sandy trails had low scrub on either side – a group of oryx paid little attention to us – and on we went.

Soon after I’d commented on the tracks and how helpful they must be to find your way back, we left them, and were now amongst the dunes. No tracks and trails here – the fun was about to begin!

We climbed up and over dune after dune, turning back from time to time because the way forward wasn’t going to work, and another approach was needed. Now the only “markers” were the beach/ocean, when they were visible and not hidden by dunes, and old tracks from the day before – and with the wind blowing hard, these were getting covered rapidly. We had another car “shadowing” us; Mike and the other were frequently communicating in Afrikaans to agree on the way forward.

The further south we went, the steeper the dunes became. We’d roar up a steep side, stop at the top, and then meander down the next steep slope. From skiing I know that an angle that looks & feels like 45° is really about 30° – but there were some dunes that were definitely in the high 30’s. I admit that I had my eyes closed for a few of these!

At one point T asked Mike if he ever “hears the dunes sing”. The answer was a definite “yes”, and on the next downward slope we indeed heard them sing! Amazing!

A little technical explanation: the sand is very fine, and when you face the car downhill, the wheels sink into this fine sand. You then allow the car to make its way downhill at its own pace – no accelerator, absolutely no braking, just gravity. The sand acts as a brake, and as the weight of the car shifts the grains of sand in the dune rub against each other, creating a deep creaky type of noise. It is remarkable.

From time to time it was good to stop, get out and take photos of this amazing area from a high vantage point, the beach stretching out to the north and south along the Atlantic Coast. Some springbok munching on bushes amongst the dunes, were oblivious to us and the surf behind them.

We were getting closer to Sandwich Harbour. Mike showed us photos from the 1900’s so that we could see how it was once a wide-open harbour - as the sand has moved into the ocean, the harbour has disappeared. It has apparently been noticeably changing even in the last 20 years.

Soon we were down at sea level driving along the narrow beach between the dunes and the Atlantic. We stopped at a lagoon in Sandwich Harbour – this is “home” to a massive flock of flamingos. It was good to stretch our legs and enjoy the wildlife with just the seven of us and the flamingos.

I was photographing two flamingos that seemed to be “posturing”, their long necks stretching up towards the sky, when one of the people from the other car shouted to me to turn around.

Flying towards us from the horizon was a flock of pelicans. They came right over us – what a sight!

They then flew along the beach, landing well away. So we were soon back in our cars, turning north (towards Walvis Bay) and climbing up & down the dunes once more. We stopped at a high point overlooking the beach. Looking south we could see the pelicans still sitting on the beach – but as we watched they took off, flying towards us.

I can’t describe the feeling as I watched these magnificent animals moving en masse, wheeling to their right, then spreading out, then coming close together – clearly communicating in some way. I still feel shivers up and down my spine when I think back to this, and when I look at my photos of pelicans flying by at eye height!

Mike suggested we move on to find a nice spot to have some lunch. So back in the 4WD, a quick tug to pull the other 4WD out of some overly soft sand, and down we went to the beach. What a great place – with the 4WD facing the water, Mike soon had a table (with tablecloth) and chairs set up, with yummy food and local champagne. The other vehicle had gone elsewhere, so we were alone – well almost.

I looked out to the right (towards Walvis Bay) and way off in the distance, coming rapidly towards us were three 4WDs. No, it’s seven. Well actually 12. They ignored us (other than one that knew Mike and stopped to say hi), and kept driving south, out of sight and sound.

All too soon it was time to pack up the picnic and start the drive back – up and over the dunes, around the salt pans and back on the paved road.

Our adventure was over, but will not be forgotten! What an amazing day.

Thursday, 9 June: Catamaran – Walvis Bay

After yesterday, it was very nice to climb onto a large catamaran that was to take us for a sail around Walvis Bay. The weather was perfect – little breeze, no waves and a very gentle swell when we were out beyond the sandy spit that shelters the Bay.

This is a very active port, with big ships on both sides of the container area. We headed towards the spit and saw hundreds and hundreds of seals on the beach and in the water – always great to see. This is an area where Heaviside dolphins live. They’re relatively small, and apparently shy – I managed to see a few fins pop up, and have a couple of “ok” photos. No whales were to be seen, but it was a really nice way to spend a sunny morning.

The only downside was the crew encouraging a seal to come onto the cat as we were leaving the dock, and once it was lured off into the water, encouraging a pelican to do the same. The pelican was then lured away, but returned while we were out at sea. Unfortunately many people love this close encounter, and continue to reinforce this behaviour. Ah well.

Thursday, 9 June: Foodie Tour - Swakopmund

This evening walk, eat, learn Foodie Tour with Courtney was interesting, a good way to learn a little about Swakopmund, and to eat some delicious food. We started at a great café, Café Anton – yummy pastries, apple strudel (Nick said it was the best he’d ever had). From there we went to “The Tug”, a seafood restaurant we’d eaten at earlier in the week. We had delicious gnocchi and pizza (without cheese) from a great Italian place, and then called it a night despite two other options being on offer!

So now we’re back in Windhoek, and tomorrow morning we’ll be flying to Maun, Botswana and then on to Splash Camp in the Okavango Delta! After 3 nights there, we’ll be flying to the Makgadikgadi Salt Pans.

So there’ll be “radio silence” from me until next weekend when we’ll be at Victoria Falls.

Location on Map: LINK


Update re photos. I’ve set up a page in elanezphotography.com and will continue to add photos there when I can. Please check: https://www.elanezphotography.com/ and click on “Namibia” or go straight to: https://www.elanezphotography.com/CollectionsbyType/Namibia/

Elane Zelcer