Namibia was a first visit for us. Fascinating to see the sand dunes almost up to the sea as we sailed into the harbour at Walvis Bay.
Namibia was originally a German colony which Germany lost in World War I. They then became administrated by South Africa until their independence on March 21, 1990.
It is the driest country in sub-Saharan Africa and relies on ground water for drinking water. Namibia’s land surface covers more than 820,000 km2 – that's four times the size of Great Britain. With only 3 million people living in Namibia – the same number as people living in Greater Manchester- Namibia is therefore one of the least populated countries in the world.
Poverty and inequality remain significant in the country. 40.9% of the population is affected by multidimensional poverty while an additional 19.2 percent is classified as vulnerable to multidimensional poverty. Income disparity in the country remains one of the world's highest with a Gini coefficient of 59.1 in 2015. The country’s unemployment rate in 2018 was 33%. Mining makes up 25% of the country’s revenue while tourism makes up 15%.
The Namib desert is considered one of the oldest deserts in the world. Geologists assume it is at least 15 million years old.
We bought the Sandwich Harbour tour for day one.
We had a 4-wheel drive vehicle with 4 of us plus a driver in a caravan of 5 trucks to take us out into the desert. (Booked through the ship, Photo Ventures was the vendor).
As we left the harbour we saw many nice homes. Interesting all were tastefully painted, clean and with limited security.
On our tour we stopped by to see Walvis Bay Salt Holdings operations. Through its various subsidiaries it is the largest producer of solar sea salt in sub-Saharan Africa. The Company processes 100 million m3 (cubic meter) of seawater per annum to produce in excess of 1,000,000 mt of high-quality salt per annum. The total operation covers an area of 5000ha.
Here they have 26 salt pans where sea water is dried naturally for over a year before being processed into industrial salt. When the salt content is high in the salt trays the algae grows and turns the water pink. The flamingos fly in and eat the algae which turns them pink. Here they have Greater Flamingos (there are white) and the Lesser Flamingos (pink) but there were fewer pink flamingos this year as they had sufficient rain in the interior so that the birds didn’t need to migrate for food. All a symbiotic relationship.
We then entered Namib Naukluft Park. We drove out and along the beach, almost up to the water line. Here we saw the pink sand which is naturally developed by the sea and winds and is made up of semi-precious jewels (unfortunately too small to be useful).
The beach ride was pleasant but then we turned into the dunes. This was great fun navigating the ups and downs of the dunes. David said he had absolutely no interest in taking control of the wheel as he was sure he would turn the vehicle over. Fortunately our driver was experienced and we successfully glided through hills and valleys.
The dunes were majestic. Moving, changing, rippling. So beautiful. Photos really don’t do the beauty justice, nor do they capture the perspective and height of the dunes. Each dune is truly unique and awesome. What a blast.
Then we stopped and they prepared a picnic in the dunes with champagne and a huge variety of good food.
This was truly an experience and we loved it.
That night The National Youth Choir of Namibia came on board and did a fantastic folkloric show for us. It really was special to watch the youth perform.
Day two was a visit to the Moonscape.
First we drove along a joint venture highway that the Chinese built, mainly to transport ore from the Uranium mines to the port. It was in great condition, but then we moved onto packed sand roads and it provided us with complimentary “African massages” as we traversed the roads.
Our first stop was a desolate spot in the desert to view a couple of desert plants.
Welwitschia is a monotypic genus of gnetophytes. It is named after the Austrian botanist Friedrich Welwitsch, who documented the plant in the 1850s. In common use, it is sometimes referred to as the tree Tumbo. It is native to Angola and Namibia, where it grows in the extreme conditions of the Namib desert, tolerating high heat and low precipitation.
Welwitschia is well known for its unique morphology. The plant has only two leaves that grow out of a large woody stem, known as a crown, and continue to grow throughout the plant's life. Welwitschia is one of the longest-living plants on Earth, with some individuals being thousands of years old. Because of the long lifespan the leaves can become quite large, often reaching several meters in length.
As a gymnosperm, Welwitschia uses cones to reproduce. Both male and female plants produce nectar from their cones that attract insects that then carry the pollen to other plants.
The other plant we saw we believe were called Dollar plants due to the shape of the leaves. Both plants collect moisture from the frequent fogs that cover the land. Locals used to squeeze the leaves of the Dollar plants to find drinking water. The flower falls off the plant and dries, but if rehydrated it will become a seed to create a new bush.
We also went to the Moonscape. Formed over two million years ago through the erosion of a once-mighty mountain range by the Swakop River. In short, it resembles the surface of the moon. Apparently this location is often used for movie sets.
We also stopped at a desert resort for a quick restroom break at Goanikontes Oasis Camp (apparently some large events from cruise ships are held here in the desert).. Each stop was only 10 minutes while the tour was about four hours. Not an efficient use of time but still worth the experience. Next time we need to visit the north to see the wildlife.