The Skeleton Coast

Monday 15 april 2019

Leaving Swakopmund, we made a long drive straight up the coast, mostly on paved roads or surfaces sprayed with salt water that crystallizes, creating a salt road.

We stopped first to see the wreck of a ship that foundered on the beach in 2008; apparently wind, fog, and waves are stronger than 21st-century technology.

We thought we had seen a lot of seals on Walvis Bay, but the Cape Cross seal colony was something else. For one thing, we could walk among the seals, including many pups. It’svery smelly and noisy. The seals mate and raise young here year after year. Swimming lessons are conducted constantly.

There is no commercially exploitable oil in Namibia, but drilling was attempted at some time. We stopped to see a rig that may have been out to sea, but is now (to me) a stunning decomposition on the sand.

Eventually we arrived at Terrace Bay, a collection of bungalows with a bar and restaurant. The wind blew constantly. The room was spare but comfortable and the kingklip (fish) was good.