Walvis Bay, Namibia

Mar. 18, 2023

Namibia, officially Republic of Namibia, also called (internationally until 1968) South West Africa, Afrikaans Namibië or Suidwesafrica, is a country located on the southwestern coast of Africa. It is bordered by Angola to the north, Zambia to the northeast, Botswana to the east, South Africa to the southeast and south, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. It ranges from arid in the north to desert on the coast and in the east. The landscape is spectacular, but the desert, mountains, canyons, and savannas are perhaps better to see than to occupy.

The only permanent rivers are the Kunene (Cunene), the Okavango (Cubango), the Mashi (Kwando), and the Zambezi on the northern border and the Orange on the southern. Only the northern frontier—and not all of it—is readily passable. The coastal Namib desert, the treacherous reefs and shoals of the coast (half aptly named the “Skeleton Coast”), the near deserts along the Orange River, and the dry Kalahari region to the east explain the late conquest of Namibia and form a geographic frame around the country.

Roughly rectangular (600 by 300 to 450 miles), Namibia has a long, narrow eastern extension (the Caprivi Strip) based on a German misconception that access to the Zambezi meant access to the Indian Ocean.

After 106 years of German and South African rule, Namibia became independent on March 21, 1990, under a democratic multiparty constitution. The capital of the country is Windhoek.

Namibia is divided from west to east into three main topographic zones: the coastal Namib desert, the Central Plateau, and the Kalahari. The Namib is partly rocky and partly (in the central stretch) dunes. While having complex flora and fauna, it is a fragile and sparsely covered environment unsuitable for pastoral or agricultural activities. Diamonds and uranium are found at Oranjemund in the south and Arandis in the center. The Namib, 50 to 80 miles wide over most of its length, is constricted in the north where the Kaokoveld, the western mountain cliffs of the Central Plateau, abut on the sea.

Namibia is located on the southern margin of the tropics and has distinct seasons. The coast is cooled by the Benguela Current (which carries with it the country’s rich and recovering fish stocks) and averages less than 2 inches of rainfall annually. The Central Plateau and the Kalahari have wide temperature ranges, more than 86 °F on summer days and less than 20 °F in winter. Rainfall is highly variable, and multiyear droughts are common.

About 85 percent of Namibians are Black, 5 percent of European ancestry, and 10 percent Colored (Cape Colored, Nama, and Rehobother). Other ethnic groups have much smaller populations. Afrikaners and Germans constitute two-thirds and one-fifth of the European population, respectively. Most ethnic Europeans are Namibian citizens, though some have retained South African citizenship.

English is the national language, though it is the home language of only about 3 percent of the population. Many Namibians speak two or more indigenous languages and at least a little of two of the three European languages (English, Afrikaans, German) is in common use.

Janice decided to go cruising on the Walvis Bay Lagoon. I was feeling under the weather, so I did not join her. She took a short drive from the harbor to the jetty and boarded a catamaran for a two to three-hour cruise on the Walvis Bay Lagoon. The water here is usually very calm and abounds with bird and marine life. She set out in search of seals.

The boat cuts across the lagoon so it’s possible to see the moored Russian trawlers, where inquisitive seals swim up to the boat for something to eat. The passengers had an opportunity to feed fish to these playful animals.

Namibia has a Cape fur seal population of roughly 1.5 million individuals all along its coast. These seals are exposed to illegally abandoned fishing gear and other marine debris that entangle, torture and kill them. Here is a colony as viewed from the catamaran.

This female came aboard for some lunch.

Bird-lovers saw pelicans and cormorants, and even white-chinned and Wilson’s storm petrels, Cape gannets and black oystercatchers. This White Pelican knows a good thing when he sees it.

Here is an oyster farm. The oysters are imported in an attempt to develop a new Namibian industry.

To round off the trip, beer, sparkling wine and fresh oysters, soft drinks and a selection of open sandwiches was served.

After a lunch like this, Janice had no room for dinner! (Wish I had been there).

Then it was time to return to the jetty and transfer back to the ship for our next adventure.