I was not sure if it is worth to go to Cape Cross, which is famous for its massive seal colony but I was told that the babies already arrived so I could not resist and made my way up north the coast.
Inbetween Swakopmund and Cape Cross I pass two settlements, Wlotzkasbaken and Hentiesbaai.
Wlotzkasbaken really surprises me with its colourful houses that I instantly like, but there is something else about this place but I could not figure out immediately: no fences or other boundaries are found between the properties, which is a very unusual sighting for Namibia, where every square meter seem to be fenced.
Although already founded in the 1930s, the “village” only has about 6 permanent residents, hard to believe, and is mainly used a holiday settlement. On a first glance it looks like a peaceful and easy-going place, but I guess it is not as relaxed if you live here for a longer period, considering that there is no electricity and no connection to the public water system.
On the way further to Hentiesbaai, the Zeila Shipwreck is obviously easyly accessible from the road but unfortunately I did not know that in advance so missed it, how annoying ☹
Like Wlotzkasbaken, Hentiesbaai is mainly busy during the holiday season. Its rich fish population (for which it was formerly known as Praia das Sardinhas, Coast of Fish) is well-known and appreciated by locals and tourists. I just drove through to get to the seal colony in time.
There are seals everywhere and not only the view is overwhelming! The air is filled with loud barks, tonal honks, grunts, moans, and pup contact calls. But the smell … the smell is hard to describe … it is breath-taking in its literal meaning 😊
A pedestrian bridge allows visitors to safely walk in-between the thousands of animals, but the entrance is not easy to reach with all the seals around. They may seem cute but especially with the pups around, they can become a bit aggressive, so it is advised not to get too close to them.
Between 80.000 and 100.000 Cape fur seals breed here and to me it seems to be just a chaos. Females only suckle their own babies and would aggressively push away foreign ones and to me it is a miracle how they find each other in that mess! They communicate vocally and there are babies everywhere, screaming for their mom, but I can´t imagine they hear each other. But obviously it does!
These animals have an attitude!!
Especially cute of course are the pups. At least the ones that are still alive but unfortunately not all of them make it that long. Some of them might have lost their mother and starved, some of them came in-between moving adults and are simply overrun by them, too vulnerable to get out of the way in time.
The most emotional moment I had on the way back to the car, when I discovered the first touch between a mother and her newborn (I must have missed the birth by minutes only). Look, how proud she is 🥰
Life and death often lay side by side, and while I watched the new arrival, I noticed another mom just some metres away. It was heart-breaking when I realised that she carried her dead baby back home and although I tell myself that this is nature, but when I see her grief, I feel deeply touched and sad and leave the place with a heavy heart.
It got a bit late at Cape Cross so decided to change my plans and instead of driving further to Spitzkoppe, I stayed in Hentiesbaai. If you are not into fishing, there is not a lot to do here, but for an overnight stay it offers enough options and I spontaneously found a nice B&B directly at the beach.
Good night,
Sininho
Sininho´s World 
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