Africa – 24th Sept 2008 – Day 23

The alarm woke us up at 6.15am. Breakfast was a rapid affair. We jumped in the car and headed for Walvis Bay about 30 minutes drive along the coast.

The weather was calm but very foggy. This town has morning fog for almost 9 months of the year. The car heater was on full to start as the air is damp and chilly in the morning.

As we snaked our way along the skeleton coast, the fog lifted slightly, before coming in again at Walvis Bay.

We met our Kayaking guides at the Mola Mola Eco Kayaking hut, Jean and Barbara. We also met another couple of Brits from Manchester. Tim and his wife. We jumped into the 4x4 and began our journey to the launching beach.

At the beach, we could already see the odd seal face popping out of the cold Atlantic to take a look at us. We donned our kayaking kit, settled into the kayak and launched off into a mixture of sun and hazy fog on a very calm sea.

Immediately the younger seals began leaping around our Kayak, jumping and diving like small torpedoes. We turned right and headed up the coast to the seal colony. Once there the seals came to meet us in their droves. They are so inquisitive and up for fun. Fiona was in the front of the Kayak so received most of the splashes from the seals. They came up to sides of our craft and nibbled the oars. Some just chilled out whilst floating in the sea. The clasp a front and back flipper together and just float like a piece of drift wood.

After some time, we turned out to sea to find the local dolphins. They look quite different from your typical bottle nose.

After half an hour we found them, but they were shy. We managed to get in amongst a pod and had some swimming very close to us. Some other boats came near which excited them for a while. They were great to see in the open sea.

On the way back we were visited by hundreds of seals, both small and very large. They kept us entertained for almost an hour, coming right up to our hands and jumping just inches from the kayak. Suddenly, we looed up to see thousands of Cormorants heading our way in a huge flock. They fly just inches from the sea.

Once back on dry land, we took off our kit and supped some hot drinks. Somehow, Fiona had managed to get a very wet bottom! Just behind us a German couple got stuck in the sand in their vehicle. After much our effort our team managed to get them out. You have to let the air out of your tires and rev the engine in a high gear. Getting stuck out here in sand is not a good idea.

On the drive back, we came across some salt pans, but they were bright pink. The pans contain an algae that secretes a kind of natural dye. The pink water against the white salt and the blue sky looked amazing.

As we drove back to our lodge the fog closed in again as we decided not to quad bike here but to wait until we reach our next destination, Dessert Homestead where they also do horse riding in the dunes.

The kayaking had been great fun but exhausting. So we had a wee rest in our huge bed which we have named Bear, as it has a giant bear like fur top to it which is great to snuggle down into.

We then went into town for a coffee and a wander. We came across a few good shops where we purchased our African memento, a ceramic leopard called Lucy. We then walked back to The Stilts via the sea front where we picked up some lovely smooth pebbles for our earth collection. On the way back we stopped to watch a lone surfer, kite surfing in the strong winds.

After our rest, we showered and dressed in readiness for tonight’s restaurant at The Tug. As we sat in our hut, the sun began to set and wow, what a sun set. We have seen so many wonderful sunsets this year but this one was amazing. After the sun fell into the sea, we jumped into Winston and drove to the tug. However, when we reached The Tug the sunset was even more dramatic but we had left our camera’s at home. It looked as if someone had slapped some bright orange and pink sandy paint onto the sky. The edges looked like neon white paint.

We had the best table in the house, over looking the lapping waves. A great meal was had. A bottle of Brut bubbles in a top restaurant here is only £8.

Tim and Freda joined us later in The Tug. Luckily, they had stopped to photograph the whole sunset, so they will email them when they get back to the UK.