It takes about 2 hours to walk the whole way around Luderitz, but we still managed to spend two days exploring the town. The main road in town is paved with the larger offshoots being made of brick. Everything else is hard packed sand. As we were soon to discover this sand could be quite treacherous for an unsuspecting 2wd VW Polo.
The Namib desert
The town itself is a historic German mining town with many of the buildings made of stone and brick.
After two days we had more or less run out of things to do in Luderitz, so we found a car rental place and rented a car for the day. We had hoped to get a 4wd, preferably the new Jimny, but alas they only had a VW polo on offer.
Our 2wd Polo on the road to Kolmanskop
Almost as soon as we were out of town we were fully in the desert. Large rocky outcroppings rose on either side and sand blew across the road. There was barely a living thing to be seen, with only an occasional grey shrub amongst the rocks and sand.
Fishing boat buried in the desert
Kolmanskop is an abandoned ghost town, now taken over by the sand.
One of the houses of Kolmanskop half buried in sand. Spot Callum in the window
We pulled into the parking area, and promptly sank up to the chassis in deep sand.
There was no way we were getting out on our own, so I set off to find some help.
I soon returned with two security guards and between the 4 of us we were able to lift the front of the car out of the sand and back to safety.
Things went much better after this graceful entrance.
We spent the next 4 hours exploring the town.
Kolmanskop was built at the beginning of the last century by the Germans when diamonds were discovered in the area. It was a wealthy town and offered every luxury of the time, including running water, showers and even a dentist. That is too say, every luxury so long as you were not one of the labourers.
Kolmanskop even had the first x-ray machine in southern Africa, though it was not there for medical purposes, but rather to scan the workers to make sure they hadn’t swallowed any of the diamonds.
The town was abandoned in the 1950s and the desert has slowly moved in. Many of the buildings are still standing, but the woodwork has been sandblasted over the years and large sand drifts fill many of the rooms and hallways.
It gave an eerie feeling walking through an abandoned hall, the wooden floors creaking under our feet and off in the distance a window banging in the wind.
After Kolmanskop, we drove the 15km down a sand road to Diaz point. Along the way we stopped off at a long trench that had been dug out of the shoreline. This was where many of the windsurfing world speed records have been set, with people reaching the incredible speed of 56 knots which is more than 100km/h.
Diaze point is a large rock sticking out into the ocean with stone steps up to the top. At one time there was a wooden walkway out to it, but all that remains now are some wood supports.
To the south of Diaz point is Halifax island and to the north is Luderitz. On the top of the island is a replica of the stone cross that placed there in 1488 by the Portuguese captain Diaze who stopped here on his voyage around South Africa.
Diaz Point
March 28th we paid our moorage fees and got the necessary paperwork to proceed up the coast to Walvis Bay the next day.
To our surprise the Picton castle showed up that evening and anchored out in the bay. Unfortunately we didn’t get a chance to talk to them as they didn’t clear customs till the next day after we had left. Our race to Halifax was on! Even though they still don’t know they are in a race…
It was only a 40 nm sail from Luderitz to Hottentot bay and we had good wind and a following sea.
Fog blanketed the coast for most of the 40 miles, but as we approached the bay it grew thicker and thicker.
We rounded the point with almost no visibility and suddenly found ourselves surrounded by floats.
Each float was connected to the one next to it with a floating line, making an unavoidable spiders web of floats and lines.
Luckily the lines passed under our keel without catching and as we entered the bay the fog cleared somewhat, revealing a large fleet of craywfish boats at anchor. Behind them were endless sand dunes as far as we could see.
The crawfish boats go out for a month at a time, so they were running pretty low on supplies. One of them offered to trade us two fish for a pack of cigarettes. Unfortunately we didn’t have any cigarettes to trade and it was potato’s for supper instead.
I wonder how different our welcome would have been if we’d been in a modern boat with a fin keel and had come in trailing all their crawfish pots behind us…
The next morning we arose to fog so thick we could barely see the bow, never mind the shore 1 mile away. Around noon the fog cleared enough for us to catch glimpses of shore and we headed in in the dinghy.
Moored in the fog Hottentot Bay
There were moderately large breakers to be negotiated at the beach, but we got on the back of a crest and rode it right in without mishap. Quite pleased with ourselves for this fine beaching, we pulled up the dinghy and headed into the dunes. They were still shrouded in fog and we could only see the nearest of them.
Hottentot Bay
Contemplating the deep valley between us and blue mountain. Hottentot bay behind us to the right
After a couple hours of climbing and sliding on the dunes we decided to head farther into the bay and see if we could find any whale skeletons.
Getting the dinghy back through the break proved much more challenging than coming in, but we pulled it off without to much trouble.
Farther into the bay we discovered two whale skulls as well as countless seal skeletons and an old shipwreck, the timbers of which were held together with treenails or wooden pegs.
Unfortunately our luck with the surf was not to last…
As we came into the beach a 3rd time to examine some wreckage, a rogue wave hit us. It was twice as big as the other waves and breaking much farther out.
By the time we saw it coming it was too late. It broke over our dinghy, tossing us in towards the beach. Somehow we managed to keep it upright, but my phone and one of the oars were never seen again.
As we spun around in the surf the water flooded into the engine, filling the cylinder and hydrolocking it.
We were now stranded on the beach with a dead outboard and one oar 2 miles from where Saumure was anchored.
We waited the set of large waves to pass then we dragged the dinghy out through the surf. I hopped in the bow and started paddling with the oar while Callum bailed with one of our shoes.
It took us about an hour and a half to reach Saumure where we changed into dry clothes.
The water here is very cold, much like it is in British Columbia and we were glad to get warm again.
Moorage Hottentot Bay
I pulled the spark plug on the outboard and turned it over. A large jet of water came out of the cylinder. Once all the water was out, we tore apart the carburettor and cleaned it, changed the oil and put everything back together.
That night a storm rolled in and we sat on deck watching the lightning flash out over the desert.
Next morning the outboard was running better than ever and we headed ashore once more. This time being very careful of the surf.
Down the beach to the north of us was a large tidal pond at the base of a large dune, it was filled with 50 or so pink flamingos. We sat and watched them for awhile, before heading deeper into the desert.
As we left the coast behind the dunes grew and soon we were surrounded on all sides by nothing but sand.
This had an interesting effect. Since all the dunes where the same colour it becomes challenging to decipher where one ended and the next began. Also since there are no trees or other reference points, it was next to impossible to tell scale.
It is easy to see how people get lost out there.
As the noonday sun beat down on us, it heated the sand to the point that it scalded our bare feet a bright pink with every step. This lead to some very comical moments as we danced about trying to keep our feet off the hot sand.
We covered about 12 kilometres through the dunes, all the time keeping a lookout for skeletons and other bones.
Our only truely exciting discovery of that line was a complete dog skeleton. The skull was in perfect condition and even had all the teeth!
Around 4pm we turned back for the beach.
We were tired and footsore, but immensely happy with our days discoveries.
Next morning we upped anchor and made our way 27 nautical miles north to Spencer Bay and the wreck of the Otavi.
Coming into spencers bay in 30knots of wind
Callum looking pleased with himself. Cianan helming
We dropped anchor close in to shore with 40 knots of wind blowing over the headland from the south.
Spencer’s bay is open to the west, with a large rocky headland protecting it from the south.
In a little bay on the headland, surounded on all sides by rocky cliffs is the wreck of the Otavi.
At the northern side of the bay is mercury island with an old abandoned looking structure on it. The air in the bay is thick with the stench of seabirds.
Next morning the wind was much calmer, but had shifted around to the west and 3-5 foot swells were rolling into the bay.
This made landing the dinghy at the wreck impossible,
So we went into the next bay along. The surf was still big, but manageable if we waited for the larger sets to pass.
After landing the dinghy, we were faced with another challenge. Between us and the wreck bay was a vertical wall of rock rising 80 feet out of the sand.
Armed with a backpack of camera gear and our trusty climbing crocks, we started our ascent.
The rocks were worn smooth by blowing sand but the climbing was not hard and soon we heaved ourselves over the top.
What we saw on the other side took our breath away. Though perhaps the vile stench that asualted our nostrils did the breath taking. Either way, stretched out in front of us was a bay, protected on 3 sides by tall rocky cliffs. The beach was covered in hundreds of seals and hundreds more were playing in the surf.
Wreck of the Otavi behind us
In amongst the seals foraged small reddish brown dogs.
In the centre of the beach, and completely surrounded by seals, lay the wreck of the Otavi.
The Otavi was a steamer loaded with a cargo of guano that was wrecked there in 1945. The hull and superstructure are in remarkably good condition with even the davits still standing. The only serious damage is where the bow has separated from the rest of the hull.
The Otavi. A steamship carrying guano wrecked here in 1945
Back at the dinghy we noticed that the beach was strewn with skulls. Mostly seal, but also some penguin.
Getting the dinghy back through the surf was a challenge, but luckily the waves were spaced far apart and we were able to weave our way around the breaking crests.
We arrived back at the boat soaked through and decided it would be wise to head out due to the swell.
We brought the dinghy aboard, pulled up the anchor, and we were off to Walvis bay, 180 miles to the north and our last stop in Africa.
The winds were calm and the large waves continually tried to push us into the rocky shore for the rest of the day.
Hand steering and taking advantage of every puff we broke even with the force of the swells and we’re able to hold off the beach until the wind built from the south and we were able to put 30 miles between us and shore.
This leg was plagued with light wind and fogs so thick you could barely see the bow of the boat.
The crossing of 180 nautical miles took is a whopping 4 days.
It was not without it’s upsides however. Every night we had extraordinarily bright bioluminescent which lit up the sides of the boat in an eerie glow. Seals played around us, leaving glowing serpentine trails shooting through the water.
Twice the water all around the boat lit up as a whale swam under us.
On the 4th day we entered Walvis bay in another thick fog. It was a busy harbour, but we could not see any of the boats around us, or the lighthouse half a mile away on the point.
Luckily the fog lifted all at once as we came through the anchored cargo ships.
Soon we were lying at anchor near the Walvis Bay Yacht Club.
Anchored in Walvis Bay
Next morning one of the club members drove us into town to clear customs and resupply on some fresh food.
We plan to spend a week in Walvis Bay exploring around before heading heading off for St Helena.