Pelican Point, Walvis Bay
Pelican Point is the name of the peninsula that forms the bay of Walvis Bay.
It’s pretty close to Walvis Bay at 25 km, but only reachable with an offroad vehicle due to soft sand in places. Especially at the Lighthouse the sand is very, very soft. This is the destination for Awesome Chapter’s very popular Precious Pelican Point tour, lasting at least 3 hours.
As you will see from the photos below, this place has some very photogenic locations.
The Cape Fur seal colony here is growing at a steady rate through the years, and it is believed to be over 100,000 strong now. Each seal has to eat 25% of it’s body weight in fish every day, and this growing colony is putting more strain on the fish stocks every day.
The sand spit that the lighthouse is built upon is also constantly growing, with most of the sand and mud coming from the area near Sandwich Harbor which is being worn away.
After particularly bad weather and high tides co-inciding, the lower lying areas of the peninsula floods, making access a little more tricky than usual. This picture above was taken just after dropping some very happy clients after a Sandwich Harbour tour.
The sunsets at this location is amazing, and usually it’s only the guests at the Pelican Point Lodge boutique hotel that get to see them.
Whaling used to be a large industry in Namibia, with remnants of this trade still visible in Luderitz and Walvis Bay. Large whale bones can be seen in both towns, and some of the structures still remain after being abandoned after the practice was stopped. This smallish shipwreck close to the lighthouse is that of a whaler.
The light in the lighthouse was powered by diesel generators. The fuel for these generators were landed at this jetty, loaded on to that cart in the picture, and then dragged by horse over to the lighthouse. The sand around the jetty is getting washed away at the moment, and it’s nearly completely seperate from the beach at the moment.
Near the ship wreck is the remnants of another jetty. This beach is very well protected, and the water here is very, very calm. This makes it the perfect picnic spot, and where you can have a snack when on tour to this lovely destination.
Walvis Bay is truly an unlikely town. Initially started on the wealth of the fishing waters and it’s natural deep water port, it has outgrown it’s roots. Now powered by transport, manufacturing and tourism, the city of Walvis Bay is still growing from strength to strength.
This view you can see the sand dunes and open desert behind Walvis Bay.
Seagulls. They are really assholes, fighting, kicking and biting each other all the time, for a safe place to rest their wings a little.
