Ladell Cruise 2018: Namibia, Africa

Walvis Bay, Namibia

After a 4 day sail from Tristan da Cunha, we reached the west coast of Africa. Our first stop was in the port town of Walvis Bay in the country of Namibia. Namibia is about one and one-half times the size of Texas, but has a total population of only 2,500,000 people. It is very sparsely populated. It's bordered by South Africa to the south, Angola to the north and Zambia, Botswana and Zimbabwe to the east.

Cool National Flag

Map of Namibia

It was originally discovered by the Portuguese in the late 1400s , but the Germans colonized it in the 1800s. In 1908 diamonds were discovered, so the diamond and mining industry started to flourish here. It has only been an independent country since 1990, but there is still a heavy German influence here. English is the official language, but German is also spoken here a lot. In Walvis Bay ("Whale Bay"), many Germans have second homes along the waterfront. They vacation here to escape from the cold winters of Germany.

Along the coast of Namibia are amazing sand dunes rising as high as 1,256 feet. Beyond the sand dunes lies the Namib Desert and in the east are mountains. Namibia is a diverse and amazingly beautiful country.

For our visit to Walvis Bay we chose to take a 4x4 Jeep tour to an area called Sandwich Harbour so we could see the sand dunes, lagoons and some wildlife along the way. Our tour guide/driver was Andreas, a German. He told us he had lived in Namibia for 7 years. We had a great day out sharing our jeep with 3 other people.

View from the Port

Ships in Dry Dock for repairs and maintenance

The first thing we noticed as we left the port area were all the nice upscale homes along the "Sunset Strip" of the palm tree lined waterfront road. We were told that the beautiful, modern homes were mostly second homes owned by Germans. The area was immaculately clean and the roads were wide and modern. We did not expect to see this in Africa. Along the lagoon we spotted thousands of flamingoes feeding in the various ponds, lagoons and bays.

Our "Dune Buggy" Jeep and Driver

Flamingoes in the lagoon

After driving past the vast salt ponds in the area where tons of salt is produced for export, we headed along the beaches driving off-road on the sand enroute to the dunes. Along the way, we spotted seals and sea birds, but no people as we entered a huge national park area called Namib-Naukluft.

Entering the national park and driving on the sand beaches

Picturesque desert landscape

Old German beach house buried in the sand

Salt ponds and salt processing plant

Our driver took us for a thrilling ride up and down the sand dunes so we fastened our seat belts and grasped the handles to steady ourselves while bouncing around in the back of the Jeep. The tops of the dunes offered spectacular views of the beaches and the vast sand hills leading to the desert. It was a perfect blue sky day with a cooling breeze off the Atlantic Ocean. During our tour of the dunes we spotted springboks (antelopes), jackals, oryx (horse size antelopes) and ostriches.

At the Lagoon we met up with other Jeep tours for a chance to play in the sand. We enjoyed a tailgate party with beer, wine, champagne and snacks.

Pink salt ponds

Warming up on the small dunes

Springboks

Sand hills leading to the Namib Desert

More sand dunes

The Lagoon

Gathering at the Lagoon

Playing in the sand

Tailgate Party

Washing away the sand

Desert wildlife

Nothing But Sand

Our first day in Africa could not have been any better. We learned so much about this clean, safe, serene country. The best part of all is that it was nothing like what we perceived Africa to be like...THAT'S WHY WE TRAVEL!

Luderitz, Namibia

From Walvis Bay we sailed south overnight and stopped in the coastal town of Luderitz which is known for its German colonial buildings. The town is named after Adolf Luderitz, a German merchant who pulled off a somewhat shady deal in 1883 to buy the land from an indigenous chief who thought he was selling off only a small piece of the land. Turns out, a "German geographical mile" is 5 times longer than an English mile, so Luderitz made out real well on the deal. However, ol' Luderitz soon disappeared in a watery grave in the nearby coastal waters.

Entering the harbor at Luderitz

A town sign in the hills just like Hollywood

The diamond mining industry continued to thrive here for awhile so there was a boom to the area in the early 1900s. It was somewhat like the gold rush period in the US with Europeans traveling by wagon to prospect and file claims. Today, most of the diamond mining activity in this area is done off-shore using the tremendously large industrial ships that actually carry mining equipment out to sea and dig up the ocean floor to tap into the underwater volcanic "tunnels" that produce diamonds.

Massive diamond mining ship - no visitors allowed

We spent our day here walking freely around the small town exploring the area. We visited a rustic museum that turned out to be full of great artifacts and vintage pictures depicting the lifestyles of the original indigenous people of the area and the boom era of the mining industry.

Impressive German architecture situated in the sandstone

In the afternoon, we walked around the waterfront tourist area and stopped for beers at a restaurant overlooking the harbor. We sat there wondering what kind of tourists come to this off the path area and stay here. We struck up a conversation with a friendly couple that were having lunch at the table next to us. They were on a road trip around Namibia and were spending a couple of nights in Luderitz. They raved about how great the area is with its spectacular natural beauty, good roads with no crowds and inexpensive, delicious food and no crime to worry about. We marveled at how adventurous these 2 baby boomers were to drive around the country on their own. They assured us that Namibia is a safe, beautiful country for touring. Back onboard ship we heard from other passengers and crew members about their experiences here. Everyone talked about how great (and cheap) the food and drinks were. This "off the beaten path" town turned out to be something totally unexpected...THAT'S WHY WE TRAVEL!