Safari - Cape Cross Seal Colony & Swakopmund

Lots of driving today with a quick stop at Cape Cross Seal Colony. There are seals here...probably a million seals here. Its unbelievable as is the smell. I love the seals, but honestly there were so many of them and they were so loud and noisy that it was overwhelming. We spent around an hour here, moving about the seals and taking pictures. I kept looking for sharks in the horizen as the obvious shark friendly all you can eat buffet covered the best part of a mile of beach and many were in the water. I didn’t see any though and when i talked with a tour guide at my lodging (we are staying in a hostel and I’m in a real bed and have a read mattress and I’m stealing extra pillows) told me that there is no great white activity around here...which I expected there to be. Experts aren’t really sure why that is, thinking its a combination of the currents and well feed sharks feeding on the seals that move away from the group into deeper waters. Personally, I think the great whites are repealed by the smell. And you know if I can smell it, its bad.

We showed up about 30 minutes before the Reserve opened and were unfortunate enough to see a truck leave before opening full of dead seals. There were seal products available for purchase at the registration office. We discussed whether it was standard cleaning of natural death, or if they are culled for population control or product. I did a little research after we arrived at the hostel and it appears that the seals are culled regularly. The population isn’t sustainable and the long term impact on fish is disasterous. So they keep the population down by culling. This makes me sad but I do understand the need for balance and if I had to guess I would say there are millinos of seals there. It was unlike anything I expected.

Onto the city of Swakopmund, a fairly large tourist city on the coast of Namibia. We aren’t camping here, we have 3 nights here on thick mattresses and lots of power outlets and a bar with cheap cider. It also has an activity booker on site. I’d planned on just spending a few days on the computer and getting caught up with laundry and not spend extra money on extra stuff. I’d gone down the list that was provided on the safari list and I wasn’t super interested. But they book more than just that list and I’ve signed myself up for two activities. A dolphin/seal cruise with booze and snacks, followed by a Living Desert tour where the guides take you out in the dunes and look for lizards and snakes and such. Should be fun!