Walvis Bay

Today we arrived in Walvis Bay about 3 pm, so our planned excursions are not going to happen. Viking arranged for an excursion for everyone to visit the national park. We had to clear customs and that went very quickly.
Walvis Bay actually means Whale Bay due to the large number of whales and the water that has a lot of plankton in it. We did not see any whales. Maybe it's just not whale season here.
Our excursion was to the national park and Namib Desert. We stopped in the harbor to see the flocks of pink flamingos. We had not seen such a large number of these ever.
Along the way we saw the huge sand dunes that are the size of hills and mountains in other places of the world. We were lucky and got into a 4x4 vehicle instead of one of the buses. Our private driver explained all about the education system, the 4 Uranium mines owned by the Chinese, the sand dunes and how they are shaped by the winds and after strong winds the landscape will be different due to sand being shifted around by the winds. Along the way we could see the dunes and the daily fog that rolls in every night. This fog is their water for the plants since it only rains about 3 inches a year.
Then to Dune 7 which is the largest of all the sand dunes. Unfortunately we did not have enough time to hike up it or go 'dune surfing' where you lie on a board and surf, or slide down the sand dune.
Along the way we stopped at a quirky restaurant, hotel, bar for a break. We had a local beer for about $2 each. What a bargain.
Our next stop was the Valley of the Moon in the Namib Desert. The hills are made of sand, just packed down over the millennia and eroded by the winds to resemble the surface of the moon. We had wine, cheese and beer and hiked to the top of the hills or great views and also the sunset over the huge hills in the distance. The roads were packed sand and it looked like going through a snow storm because the vehicle in front is kicking up all the sand.
Then back to the ship for our 7 sea days on our way to Senegal...Read more