Walvis Bay Flamingos

Walvis Bay is a short 30 minute drive south from Swakopmund on a narrow salt road that hugs the coast on the West and the red sand dunes on the East.  You have to pay attention driving South as there is a long line of big trucks coming out of Walvis Bay bringing all sorts of supplies to the other Namibian cities and any mistake could mean you are road kill.

Along the way, you pass a number of beach parking spots where the surf is gentle and the water is shallow for a long distance off shore.  Coming into Walvis Bay, you find a collection of luxury vacation homes and apartments, then a palm growve greets you on either side of the road.  Walvis Bay is West Africa's deepest port and it is an English town, the way that Swakopmund is German and Henties Bay is Afrikans.  Where Henties Bay is only vacation homes and a golf course, and Swakopmund has a german charm and ralaxed way about it, Walvis Bay is busy and active.  Along the shore you can see massive cranes, storage containers, and the harbor is full of tankers and freighters.  The wealth generated by this activity is evident in the copious homes, green lawns, palm trees, parks, and gardens that line the upscale parts of town.  Even the township is made of stone houses with nice yards and paved roads.

I drove to Walvis to find the Flamingos, who live in a lagoon just south of the commercial harbor.  The tide was low and there were about 500 Flamingos searching for things to eat in the tidal pools.  They moved back and forth from shore as people came to watch them and moved off.

I sat on the lagoon, which is really a wide shallow bay, and watched these beautiful birds for about an hour, then tanked up my car and drove off to find Gobobad.  It's temperate on the coast, and I love the water.  Inland, the days are very hot and I'll miss the three nights and four days I had near the sea.