Day 113: Welvisbaii – Day 2
When we woke up in the morning and looked out our hotel window, we saw a thick blanket of fog covering the bay. We started to get really bummed out, as we were planning to spend the morning on the water kayaking. However, during breakfast we noticed the fog burning off really quickly, giving us perfect visibility by the time our tour picked us up in front of the guesthouse.
Igor arranged a kayaking tour with Pelican Point Kayaking, which allows you to get up close and personal with the 50K+ Cape Fur Seals which live on the peninsula. While the seals were very shy on land, once we were in the water, they were incredibly playful. Our guide encouraged us to interact with the seals, saying the more we engage with them – by rowing, talking and moving our paddles near them – the more they would engage with us. He even said we could go ahead a pet them if we liked! “Just use you good judgement – if they look bitey, don’t pet them.” Gotta love Africa!
Foggy morning in Welvis Bay
The mist quickly lifts off the water as time goes on
As we drive past the Pelican Point Lighthouse, we see a jackal eating a dead seal cub – since there are no Great Whites in these waters (the cold Bengula Current is too chilly for the sharks, which prefer the warmer waters of the Agulhas Current in South Africa) the seals have no natural predators so the bay is overpopulated, to the point where there isn’t enough fish to sustain the population. As a result, jackals pick off cubs that are too weak.
The seals are very shy on land, so they only way to get close to us in the water on kayak
Once we are on the water, the seals lose their fear and come over to meet us
Kayaking with Cape Fur Seals!
The seals are so friendly! Igor pets one, while another tries to jump onto the bow of our kayak!
Getting up close and personal with the seals
Playful Cape Fur Seals
Bitey, bitey! These seals would grab our paddles and play with us
Awesome morning on the water with Pelican Point Kayaking
Igor had jeep-envy – this guy had rebuilt a 1970s military vehicle, and had plans to deck it out as a camper van when his kids grew up. Nice.
After the kayaking trip, we headed north a mere 35KM to the next town of Swakopmund. Our guesthouse was a short walk into town, so we explored on foot a bit – checking out the beachside restaurants, craft market, and lighthouse – and watched the sunset on the pier. We’ve been wine-ing & dining almost every night in Africa so far, so we decided to pick up the car and grab some take-out to eat in our cozy hotel room.
Good thing I didn’t bring a huka to Africa, as they are not allowed on the beach! I guess we’ll just have to enjoy this sunset sober.
What an incredible experience you had with Pelican Point kayaking. The pictures of you both kayaking amidst the Cape Fur Seals and Igor petting a seal and seeing jackals and the sunset with the flying flamingos amazing.