On Saturday (13 January) Reinhard and myself hired a car and driver (the lovely Zane) and went to Cape Cross. I'd met Reinhard on the catamaran earlier that week and he'd quickly sussed that I was a bit of a sucker for marine life. He'd been to Cape Cross before, I think this was his 14th visit to Namibia, but thought I'd enjoy the trip. Wow. And I did.
Cape Cross is about 1.5 hours drive north of Swakopmund on tar roads so a very easy journey. It consists of a fur seal colony of around 80,000 to 100,000 seals. It was first 'discovered' by Portuguese explorer Diego Can in 1486. He erected a wooden cross which has since been replaced by a stone one, and added to by a German cross.
Windy!
The shoreline is just covered in seals.
There is a dedicated walkway. This works fine until you realise that the seals have fathomed out how to join the visitors - and they are snappy things so best given a wide berth.
The pups are very cute.
A pup nursery.
It's a hard life being a seal.
It was lovely just to stand and watch (and smell) the wildlife.
On the journey home we passed typical dwellings.
And a salt factory.
And, at my request, we stopped to see this abandoned trawler.
Reinhard, left, and Zane, right.
After an early dinner with Reinhard - in the German restaurant Kucki's - and the promise to myself of a prompt night, I fell in with some bad company back at the hostel from the UK who shared their wine with me then dragged me (not that I needed much dragging) to a quirky local bar. I just loved the soap dispensers in the bathroom!
And that was my last night in Swakopmund. Staying up far too late talking absolute nonsense with a two Brits (Hull and Newcastle) plus two Germans. Memorable.
Cape Cross is about 1.5 hours drive north of Swakopmund on tar roads so a very easy journey. It consists of a fur seal colony of around 80,000 to 100,000 seals. It was first 'discovered' by Portuguese explorer Diego Can in 1486. He erected a wooden cross which has since been replaced by a stone one, and added to by a German cross.
Windy!
The shoreline is just covered in seals.
There is a dedicated walkway. This works fine until you realise that the seals have fathomed out how to join the visitors - and they are snappy things so best given a wide berth.
The pups are very cute.
A pup nursery.
It's a hard life being a seal.
It was lovely just to stand and watch (and smell) the wildlife.
On the journey home we passed typical dwellings.
And a salt factory.
And, at my request, we stopped to see this abandoned trawler.
Reinhard, left, and Zane, right.
After an early dinner with Reinhard - in the German restaurant Kucki's - and the promise to myself of a prompt night, I fell in with some bad company back at the hostel from the UK who shared their wine with me then dragged me (not that I needed much dragging) to a quirky local bar. I just loved the soap dispensers in the bathroom!
And that was my last night in Swakopmund. Staying up far too late talking absolute nonsense with a two Brits (Hull and Newcastle) plus two Germans. Memorable.
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