This information page courtesy of
https://www.walvisbaycc.org.na
ATTRACTIONS
Unique experience
Walvis Bay is well suited for the outdoor lifestyle,
boasting sports such as sandboarding, kiting, surfing,
swimming, angling, sailing, golf and other in- and
outdoor sport codes.
During
the December holidays Walvis Bay and its surrounding
resorts come to life as beach sports, events and
entertainment draw thousands of visitors, who want to
wind down and soak up the sun. During this time anglers
flock to the coast to catch some of the best quality and
largest edible fish in Africa. These include
steenbras, kabeljou, snoek and other delicious
varieties.
The
Dolphin Park and Long Beach resorts attract many
visitors who choose to stay close to the ocean with the
luxury of well-equipped accommodation and facilities.
Tour operators offer various tour packages whether by
quad-bike, off-road vehicles, sea excursions or scenic
flights by plane.
Undoubtedly amongst the most famous desert landmarks in
Namibia is Dune 7, one of the highest crests in
the dune belt along the coast. With picnic sites and
shaded with palm trees the dune is a popular
sand-boarding haunt, while simply climbing to the top to
see the view is an adventure on its own. The coastal
dunes are popular with para-gliding, sand-boarding and
quad biking enthusiasts.
The Walvis
Bay Lagoon and Aquatic Activities
The
dominant south-westerly winds create ideal conditions
for a variety of water-sports and regattas for hobbie
cats, fireballs and catamarans are organised by the
Walvis Bay Yacht Club. The Lagoon is an international
Ramsar sanctuary for birds. Estimated to be 3500 years
old it is one of the most important coastal wetlands in
Southern Africa.
As
a must-visit for bird lovers, it provides a feeding
ground for 200,000
birds of 50 species including flamingos, the
chestnut-banded plover, Damara terns, pelicans,
cormorants and sea gulls. A 3km long promenade ensures a
scenic stroll on its edges. Further south lie the red to
blue hues of the largest solar salt evaporation fields
in Africa.
Those
keen to explore the open sea can set off in a sea kayak
with an experienced guide. In addition to close-up views
of Cape fur seals and water birds, bottle-nosed dolphins
and occasionally leather-back turtles and whales are
also spotted.
Visible from the main road, a few kilometres North of
Walvis Bay visitors can see the Guano Platform.
The platform covers 17,000 square metres and rests on
1,000 free-standing wooden stilts. Today the platform is
home to thousands of birds as a nesting perch.
Kuiseb River
Delta
As
the Kuiseb River approaches the Atlantic coast south of
Walvis Bay it disappears in a maze at the foot of the
dunes.
The
area has been home to the Khoikhoi nomads for over 2,000
years. Their previous abodes are still found all over
the delta. The descendants of the Khoikhoi people, now
known as the Topnaars, still live in the area tending
sheep and goats in this harsh environment.
In
the dry riverbeds the Topnaars harvest the seeds of an
endemic melon called !nara as a source of income.
The seeds of this unique fruit are highly nutritious and
said to have medicinal properties. The Kuiseb River
Canyon, located about 135 km from Walvis Bay en route to
Windhoek is one of the many attractions in the area. It
is estimated that the canyon was formed about two
million years ago.
Occasionally the strong desert winds expose and rebury
remains of horse skeletons that were euthanised due to
glandular fever at the start of the 20th century. In the
delta elephant tracks from the 18th century have been
immortalized in the silt, along with the tracks of
zebra, ostrich and cattle tracks. Ox-wagon trails on the
"Bay road" built in 1844 for trade mission trips between
Windhoek and Walvis Bay are also visible in the delta.
Namib
Naukluft Park
The
Namib Naukluft Park lies south-east of Walvis Bay and is
home to one of the world’s strangest plants, the
Welwitschia. This unique plant can reach a venerable age
of more than a thousand years, surviving on the moist
air from the ocean. It only has two leaves which the
desert winds seperate in strands.
In
this area the landscape varies from expansive gravel
plains interspersed with granite island mountains north
of the Kuiseb River to the vast dune sea of the Namib
Desert to the south of the Kuiseb River. Herds of
gemsbok (oryx) and springbok, mountain zebra, baboons
and klipspringers as well as flocks of ostrich, roam the
plains.
Also
set in the park is the Gobabeb Training and Research
station. This important facility has been in existance
since 1961 and is involved in the promotion of suitable
lifestyles and practices through the management of
natural resources in arid environments.
Sandwich
Harbour
48
km south of Walvis Bay the imposing dunes of the Namib
desert spill down to a lagoon and virgin beaches to
create one of the most scenic spots along the Namib
coast, called Sandwich Harbour. Used as a deep-water
anchorage for sailing vessels in the 1800s, Sandwich
Harbour is also an important wetland.
The
area is part of the conservation area to allow bird
species and marine life to thrive. It supports more
than 180,000 birds, mainly migrant wading birds.
Back
in Walvis Bay, The Rhenish Mission Church, situated on
5th road in Walvis Bay, was built in Hamburg, Germany in
1879 and shipped to harbour town. Another national
monument is the Hope Locomotive. The locomotive was
brought into the Walvis Bay Harbour in 1899 and
initially used in the harbour before unsuccessful
attempts were made to run it on the narrow-gauge railway
line to Plum.
The
Civic Centre hosts the Town Hall, council offices, a
museum and a library. The Town Hall was built in 1967.
The massive hand carved teak carvings and the mohair
tapestry at the Council Chambers need to be seen to be
appreciated.
In
recent years Walvis Bay has also attracted cruise ships.
Some of the vessels include the "Queen Elizabeth II",
the "Europa" and the "Crystal Symphony".
|