After our day in the Namib Desert we travelled west towards the town of Walvis Bay on the coast of Namibia. Along the way we saw more spectacular scenery and did some birding when we made stops.
On arriving in Walvis Bay we first went to the very impressive Esplanade, which offers great views across the bay and mutflats where many birds can easily be observed.
The highlight at The Esplanade is undoubtedly the hundreds of Lesser Flamingos that are present just a few tens of metres from the path, giving good photo opportunities.
In Walvis Bay we stayed two nights at the comfortable Swakopmund Guesthouse, which is in the centre of Swakopmund and handy for the amenities of this strongly German-influenced town. The German theme was evident when we had beer, pork knuckle and sauerkraut at Kuckli’s Pub in the centre of town.
During our full day in Walvis Bay (5 August) we first did more birding along The Esplanade before travelled south along the coast. Inevitable, we photographed more Lesser Flamingos at The Esplanade but there were other birds around, such as Cape Wagtail, Kelp Gull, African Oystercatchers, Grey Heron and Great and Crowned Cormorants.
As we moved south down the bay, fog and low cloud rolled in from the ocean making photography a bit more difficult but we still got reasonable shots of some good birds, including Chestnut-banded Plover, Curlew Sandpiper, Ruddy Turnstone, Pied Avocet, Eared Grebe, Great White Pelican and Black-bellied Plover.
