Hentiesbaai & Seals at the Cape Cross

From Sakopmund we drove up the coast on very good salt roads, coming past a funny settlement called Wlotzkasbaken. When we reached Henties Bay, we filled up with Diesel, bought some firewood along the road and by chance walked into a local bar where everybody was busy enjoying the long weekend.

Endless coastline – good for fishing

We stopped at the ship wreck of the Zeila, stranded here in 2008. It was one of the many ships, which are towed all the way to India to get recycled. When the steel cable broke, the ships was washed ashore and left there.

Zeila – one of the many ship wrecks along that coast

Damara men were waiting at the ship wreck to sell some stones. As we don’t want to buy stones, we took some photos in exchange of money and a bottle of water.

In Henties Bay, the long weekend had brought many Namibian’s to their holiday houses, and fishing tournaments and live music was going on. We found a bar where many happy locals enjoyed the afternoon.

We drove further up the coast until we found a spot for the night near Cape Cross. The next morning we visited one of the largest Cape fur seal colonies in the world.

The number of seals at Cape Cross varies during the year, as the seals come here mainly for breeding and giving birth, otherwise they live in the sea. At this time there were many mothers with their plump pubs, still suckling.

Reconstructed cross of Diogo Cão

The first recorded visit to Cape Cross was that of Portuguese explorer Diogo Cão, who landed here in 1486 on his second expedition south of the equator in search of a sea route around Africa to India and the Spice Islands. Cão staked his claim for Portugal with the construction of a padrão, or stone cross, which also marked the southernmost boundary of his adventures south.

Salt crystals sold along the road
Visit to the Cape Cross Lodge

At the Cape Cross Lodge, we asked for some Diesel and got a jerry can to fill up our tank to full again. As we knew, there was no fuel station for a long time coming, it was good to have this 20 litres, extending our range. The Cape Cross Lodge is very nice, located directly at the sea, so we had a second breakfast there, enjoying the hospitality before we will disappear into the wilderness.

Driving through the lichen fields

We will next leave the coast for a detour inland to the Messum Crater – more on our next post!

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