Walvis Bay

We arrived at Walvis Bay around 2:30 PM. Bob and Dale decided to not go on the excursion in Walvis Bay. Jenni and I went to the Star Theatre to be processed through Namibian immigration.

Jenni and I were the first people off the ship. We quickly walked to the end of the pier and were shown to a 4 X 4 vehicle. We have been trying to get on the same excursion with Jeffrey and Lin since mid-cruise. Today, we were lucky enough to have them join us in our vehicle.

Jenni was very disappointed with not being able have our full excursion to the dunes. She asked the driver/guide what the exact program was going to be. He indicated that we would just be driving to the Valley of the Moon at Namib-Naukluft National Park and enjoy a local band and appetizers. Jenni asked if there was any way for us to see the dunes where the sand falls like a waterfall. He said that the location of those dunes was too far away. Next thing we know, He is exiting our vehicle and having a discussion with some other drivers. When he comes back, he says that his company had 3 vehicles and since we were there early, they were going to try to show us a bit more of Namibia. Jenni was ecstactic!

We exited the port area and drove to a location where we were able to see flamingos. Our guide said that Namibia has 80% of the world's flamingo population.

Next we drove past the salt beds. These beds are a beautiful pink due to the algae in the water that produces keratinide. This is what gives the flamingos in the area their pink colour.

We then went to a dune and had a bit of a roller-coaster ride as we swiftly drove up the dune and then plunged down a the very steep face. This gave us flashbacks to the fun we had on the 2019 WC.

While we were at the top of the dune, got out of the vehicles and were able to collect a sample of the beautiful sand.

Our drive continued through a very prosperous looking neighborhood. We were told about how many natural resources Namibia has. These resources include diamonds, copper, uranium, and marble.

We stopped at the world famous Dune 7 for pictures before we continued to the Valley of the Moon with a couple of more photos stops along the way.

When we reached the venue, we were greeted with a beautiful setting with appetizers, a full bar, a band and dancers.

We climbed a couple of small hills to get better photos.

I decided to risk a trip to another public restroom. While I was in line, Jenni asked a local woman where one could see a Welwitschia Mirabilis. She told Jenni that there was a location where they may be able to be seen on our way back to the ship. She recommended that we ask our driver if they could show us one. Well, that was all Jenni needed. She was on a mission. (I lovingly call Jenni a water-bug because she is always busily darting from one location to the next. I wish I had her energy). She went to our guide and asked if he could show us a Welwitschia Mirabilis plant. He said yes, but it would take 45 minutes. Jenni quickly asked other if they wanted to join us.

While Jenni was organizing our next adventure, I was having another adventure in the portable restrooms. As I tried to exit the restroom, guess what??? The door would unlock but would not open! What is it with me and restrooms? One of the attendants came to my rescue and forcefully yanked the door open as I, once again, flew out of the stall counting my lucky stars to be free.

I quickly ran to the 4 X 4 and jumped in the back seat. Our original guide and another Namibian gentleman got in the front seats as we waited for Jenni to collect others to join us. She returns to the vehicle and says that no one else wants to join us so let's hurry and go.

My thoughts are, wait, is this wise? Afterall, public restrooms have proven to be a danger for me. And yet, we are driving off into the desert with two men and just Jenni and myself. I had flashes of us not returning to the ship and our bodies being buried in the Namibian National Park.

Luckily, just as we were about to drive away, Ron and Carol came to our rescue and said they wanted to go. So they jumped in another vehicle and we were off.

We had a very long off-road drive through creek beds and very rough trails to the location of the Welwitschia Mirabilis. This reminded us of our off-road trips in Arizona.

According to Jenni's research, the Welwitschia plants are native only to the coastal area of Namibia and a bit of Angola. They are an ancient plant and a long-living one, living for between four and fifteen hundred years. They have only two leaves (but because they split with age, look like they are many), which grow continually, up to 13 feet long. The male and female plants get moisture from the fog and from underground water and produce seeds which are apparently easy to propagate in controlled conditions but in the wild not so much because they need an unusual amount of rain which seldom ever comes. We saw one plant which was about a thousand years old and several more about 4 or 5 hundred years old.

These plants also have unique bugs that live on them. The red bugs are nymphs and the lighter bugs are the adults.

The guides also showed us that the rocks in this part of Namibia, have so much metal content, if they are struck, music can be played on them.

We then jumped back in our vehicles for an even faster drive back to the venue.

At the venue, we picked up two more passengers. They were one of the speakers, Russel Lee and Gail, his wife. It made for an interesting drive back to the ship as we were able to ask many questions about what it is like to be a speaker on a Viking Cruise.

As Jenni and I walked back to the ship, we discussed what a great adventure we had! It was wonderful to be able to see the Welwitschia Mirabilis plant, flamingos, dunes but most importantly, we were not murdered in the desert!Read more