KAYAKING WITH THE SEALS

The last couple of days we have been in Walvis Bay, Namibia.  What a wonderful time we have had!  

“Walvis Bay, a coastal gem on Namibia’s western coast is home to striking natural beauty.  Its saltwater lagoon hosts one of Africa’s largest concentrations of flamingos.  The Namib Desert, the world’s oldest, surrounds the city with stunning red sand dunes reaching to the coast.  Dune 7 is the region’s tallest and most spectacular, its peak measured at more than 1,256 feet tall.  Adventure seekers can sandboard, kitesurf and explore the desert’s wildlife before partaking in Walvis Bay’s vibrant culture and cuisine, highlighted by fresh seafood, including sought-after oysters.”

Day one in Walvis Bay was an included tour that Mark did by himself.  I wasn’t feeling well and decided to skip it.  It was a panoramic tour of the area.  He saw sand dunes galore, pink flamingos and houses along the “millionaires road”.  (We found out from our guide that the houses along this road would cost around $500k to 1 mil. in American dollars.  Not bad for an ocean front view!) 

Here are some photos that Mark took:

Mark got some stunning photos of the dunes!

He captured many different styles of homes along “millionaires road”.

That evening Viking sponsored a special event in the dunes!  It was a 45 minute bus ride to the dunes where there was a buffet dinner under the desert stars and entertainment.  Because I wasn’t feeling well, we elected not to go.  There are mixed reviews from our stateroom neighbors as to whether or not we made the right choice!  One neighbor said “it was the best experience of her life” and the neighbor on the other side (who fell while walking on the sand) said that “it was the worse thing she has ever done and what was Viking thinking?”   Hmmm…… we actually had a nice quiet dinner outside on one of the decks of the ship and enjoyed the Welcome Back Ceremony by the Viking Crew from our balcony.  Maybe we made the right decision after all!

What fun the crew had forming their welcome lane.  Loud music and lots of singing and dancing!

Another reason we decided not to go to the special event was because it got back late and we were scheduled for a 5 am excursion the following morning for a hot air balloon ride over the desert.  Last minute this was cancelled!!  We were so disappointed as this was the one excursion that we had looked forward to the most…..  It actually worked out fine, though, because we substituted a tour called “Kayak & Cruise at Pelican Point” and it was GREAT!  It was our favorite excursion, hands down, that we have done so far!

We departed early - 7:15 am and took an off road vehicle to meet a small boat.  As we motored on the bay a seal named Jonah jumped into our boat!  He just sat on the seat near us and ate fish treats!  Amazing!  

Well hello Jonah!

Our boat took us to a beach where there were hundreds of seals playing in the sand and in the water.  On the way, many seals frolicked along side of the boat.  We also saw a lot of buoys in the water that were attached to nets of oysters waiting to be harvested.  We learned that the seal population is getting to be a bit overwhelming because there are no predators in this area to be of a concern to them.

Once at the beach we donned waterproof jumpsuits and kayaked with the seals!  They were jumping beside us, diving under our kayak and biting at our paddle.  It was so fun!  We did this for about an hour and then had breakfast on the beach!

After our breakfast we got back in our off road vehicles and did a tour of the dunes.  Wow, just wow!  Going up and down the dunes was exhilarating!  We saw the magnetic stones in the dunes that cause the sand to turn pink.  We also saw the salt production site and the pink flamingos.  

These photos show the pink colored sand and a closeup that our guide took of the colored sand particles that gives it the pink color. 

Fun on the dunes!  

These photos show the beautiful flamingos, mounds of salt recovered from the dunes and an image showing where the desert meets the ocean!  Such a lovely part of our world!

On the way back to the ship we passed millionaires road so I could see it for myself!

What a FUN DAY in WALVIS BAY!