Wednesday, Day 95 - Apr 11 - 9AM to overnight, Walvis Bay, Namibia

Walvis Bay, unspoiled and interesting, a natural lagoon and the only deep-sea harbor on the Namibian coast, offers something for everyone, with spectacular bird-watching being a keynote, as thousands of migrating species make their way here annually to join the local flamingos and pelicans. “Dune 7,” at the outskirts of town, towers over the scenic bay, and offers excellent photo opportunities. The city is also a good starting point for a number of exciting day trips into the timeless beauty of the desert region, including off-road explorations, or boat trips for dolphin and whale sighting.

We were here in 2015 on the Queen Mary 2 and did a jeep trip to the old whaling station, Sandwich Bay, and a dune ride in the fabulous dunes along the coast south of Walvis Bay. Over the next two days we are exploring in the other direction along the coast and into the Namibian Desert on ship’s tours.

Docking in the very unattractive, very busy commercial harbor about 9AM, you have to take a harbor shuttle bus to get to the port gate where you change to another shuttle bus to get to the city. Fortunately we are doing tours each day and don’t have to mess with that.

Our tour meets a 9:15AM so we are in the dining room shortly after it opens. We go to the theater at 9AM and pick up our bus tickets for bus #1 for "Swakopmund Sightseeing" which is a five hour free tour. For once we luck out and get the nice, new tour bus!  The other bus is old and has terrible steps to climb.

The tour starts with a visit to the Walvis Bay Lagoon and tidal flood plains, a RAMSAR Natural Heritage Site and one of the most important wetlands along southern Africa's west coast. The Walvis Bay Lagoon is renowned for its abundance of marine life, pelicans and other bird species.

From there we drive down the main highway for a photo stop at Dune 7, the highest sand dune in the Walvis Bay area. We don't spend very long and just a few people venture up a little ways.

Dune 7

 Dunes along the road to Swakopmund

Then we drive on to Swakopmund, located 19 miles north of Walvis Bay at the mouth of the Swakop River. Once at this seaside resort, which resembles a Bavarian village without the mountains, we see Swakopmund’s colonial past reflected in the early 19th-century Art Nouveau architecture; many of the charming buildings have been declared National Monuments. We pass by the local Hansa Brewery and jetty. We visit the Kristal Gallery, a center displaying a crystal weighing up to 14 tons and considered the world's largest on display.

Then we drive over to the lighthouse and boardwalk area. The bus lets us out for an hour and a half free time. We are right on the beach and in front of a native market. We head for the boardwalk to find a place to eat; stopping at the market to check it out. Carolyn finds a handmade cloth doll in native dress (330R) and adds that to the collection. She also spots a fabric piece, but the price quoted in Namibian dollars is too high. She tells the vendor she will come back after lunch.

We pick the Lighthouse Restaurant for lunch as it seems very popular. A cute, young lady waits on us bringing us a plate of some kind of fried cheese, chips and calamari to share and a local beer for Dick. It is good and very filling.

Our adopted granddaughter!

Over lunch Carolyn decides she wants the fabric; it is hand printed on a heavy cloth and the edges are hemmed. She also decides on a fair price and as we walk back to the bus we stop and she makes the deal. The vendor is happy and so is Carolyn.

On the way back to Walvis Bay we see a herd of camels grazing in the river bed, a camel safari and  have magnificent views of sand dunes on one side, and the Atlantic Ocean on the other as we travel the scenic coastal road. 

It is almost 4PM when we get back to the ship. By the time we get cleaned up it is cocktail time somewhere. We head to the Galileo Lounge. The snacks are really good tonight and we stuff ourselves as we enjoy the view and the cocktails.

There is a pool deck dinner tonight, “Jimbo’s Truck Stop Diner.” It has a Route 66 theme and they are serving all the classic American diner food. We check it out and it looks great, but we are really stuffed. The fried chicken calls to Carolyn, but Dick passes. So she gets just a small plate with some chicken and corn on the cob. It is good....!! The dinner is a lot of fun and the weather is very pleasant for the first time for one of these dinners.

We have an early tour tomorrow. So the lights are out by 9:30PM. We are such party animals!