of the many ships that sank and met an
untimely end. It is here, where the
scorching desert meets the frigid waters
of the South Atlantic Ocean, that the icy
waters of the Benguela current interact
with the warm air, creating dense fog in
the early morning that rolls far inland,
pushed by the southwestern winds. The
fog can last for hours and brings live-
saving moisture to the sparse plants and
creatures living in the desert.
Even though the desert seems void of
life, it has a surprisingly diverse animal
population such as the palmato gecko,
the namaqua chameleon, the side winder
snake, the shovel-snouted lizard, the
golden mole, large scorpions, beetles,
ants, spiders. These creatures tend to
hide during the day in crevices, small
holes, or burying themselves in the sand,
to escape the brutal daytime heat. They
surface in the evening to hunt for food,
and the early morning fog provides all
the moisture they need.
By nature, large desert animals - oryx or
gemsbok, ostrich, wildebeest, and others
- can only live where they have access to
water holes.
About a quarter of a mile inland, we saw
the old shipwreck of the cargo ship Ed-
uard Bohlen, stranded in September of
1909, now nearly buried in the sand. So
far inland, I could only imagine what the
landscape must have been back then.
Over time, the desert must have en-
croached on the ocean.
Between Conception Bay and Sandwich
Bay, we saw another shipwreck on the
shore, just touching the desert. One of
many relics of stormy nights.
Further north, we flew over Walvis Bay,
meaning "Whale Bay", only about 35 km.
/ 22 miles from Swakopmund. If we had
had another day in Swakopmund, we
would have visited this town as it is a
heaven for flamingos, pelicans, and seals
that make their home in the surrounding
inlets. But we did get to see two large
flocks of flamingos huddled together in
shallow waters. Interestingly, Walvis
Bay's coat of arms shows two flamingos,
one pelican, and one whale.
Walvis Bay is a large industrial and com-
mercial town of approx. 100,000 inhab-
itants. The Walvis Port, a large
deepwater port with access to the main
shipping routes, has become the gate-
way for landlocked countries in Africa,
giving them easy access to the rest of
the world.
Just outside of town is the Walvis Bay
Salt Holding site, the largest producer ofsolar sea salt south of the Sahara. Be-
sides industrial salt, they provide south-
ern Africa with high-quality table salt.
The evaporating sea water in the delim-
ited lagoons created a spectacular kalei-
doscope of colours, from aquamarine to
purple to yellow with every nuance in
between. Visible next to them were
white salt hills in various stages of pro-
duction/refinement.
Landing at the Swakopmund airport, it
seemed we had been in the air for no
more than an hour, while it was two
hours and 10 minutes. The airfare was
$300/person, and worth every cent.
Swakopmund, on the South Atlantic
coast, is a modern resort town with a
population of over 44,000 people. It has
excellent hotels and restaurants, wide
streets, and upscale boutiques. Namib-
ians, especially from the capital Wind-
hoek, flock to this city. A reservation well
in advance is recommended for Christ-Issue 11 | ...Celebrating the world’s richest continent | http://www.nomadafricamag.com | 31Above: Myself boarding plane Cessna in
Swakopmund, Namibia. Swakopmund was founded
in 1892 as the main port of German South West
Africa, bringing wide-ranging commercial activities
and prosperity to the region.
Left: Shipwreck of the Eduard Bohlen. Stranded
since 1909.