Day 8 & 9: Swakopmund

Day 8 & 9 : Swakopmund 

Civilization! Not sure if we should be allowed out in civilization :S lol It is a very touristy town mainly known for all of the different adventures you can do. Everything from quading through the sand dunes, sand boarding, skydiving. I did a more relaxed but just as much fun harbour dolphin tour.

Township tour was done with a local tour group with local guides, some of which who live in the townships. It was really interesting to meet a few different members from different Namibian tribes. We met a local traditional medicine woman and learned about the different herbs she uses. A local Herrero woman.... We drove through the poorest part of the township which is where people who immigrate to the area looking for work live. They have no running water or electricity and generally live in small metal one room shacks. But what has surprised me is that everyone is dressed well. I really haven’t seen anyone dressed in dirty worn out clothing. Everyone is dressed in nice clean clothes and look put together. They may not have much but still want to look nice. 

(couple tour pics)

Probably the funnest part of the tour was going to a little craft center. Bought a nice locally made necklace  and then over to a local pub. And then tasting a some local food aka fried catapillars! The catipillars actually weren’t half bad. Bit salty and did get a few legs stuck in teeth but taste wise not bad. 

(fried catapillar pic)

I was a little concerned about the weather on the dolphin tour since it started out pretty chilly and looked like it was going to storm and I had sent my rain coat in with my laundry. But luckily it was just a morning mist that burned off half way through the tour. The tour guides said they perfer misty morning since that means that they won’t have strong hot winds first thing in the morning. 

There are close to 2.5 million seals in Namibia and there is a colony of 40 000 in Walvis Bay ( close to Swakapmund). The guides over the years have made friends with a few and allow a few of the nice ones to come on board for fish and picture time. I do like this ( makes good pictures!) but the one that came aboard was Diggy a year old male. Yes he’s very cute right now but I can only imagine what he’s going to be like when he’s full grown at 400Kilos! They let him walk all over the deck including up the front window to the top deck as well. They also encouraged some of the pelicans to land, so we had Pinky the Pelican. Loved the views of the pelicans as they flew in next to the boat. Got some really cool pics of them as they landed in the water. So fun to watch. 

(seal, pelican pic)

And the dolphins. They are Benguela dolphins which are black, grey and white and are named after the Benguela current which runs along that coast. Since it was a pretty calm day the dolphins didn’t feel like playing in the waves from the boat but since the boat is a catermeran we had an awesome view from over top of them. 

(dolphin pic)