Last Chance to Shop

At the dock this woman competed with the nearby stores to sell her wares. It was a last chance to shop before our boat took off for a half day cruise and champaigne luncheon in Walvis Bay, Namibia.

Seal Island in Walvis Bay

This is a tiny portion of one grouping of the seals in Walvis Bay and there are 16 of these settlements there. They are a constant frustration to the fisherman who compete with the seals for the same fish.

Dolphin Hello

The local dolphins aren't as outgoing as the ones in Florida (no jumps out of the water), but we did see over 20 swimming past the boat.

Coming in for a Landing

Pink Pelicans

In addition to the flamingos, the pelicans also turn pink when they have a steady diet of shrimp.

So Long and Thanks for the Fish

When he had enough petting and fish, Ottie climbed back on the platform and jumped back into the ocean. Pieter, the Captain said that there are 3 seals that will jump aboard the tour boats and that they have very different personalities.

Such a Face!

Ottie the Ham

Ottie kept getting up on this platform and posing before going back into the boat for more fish. He was a natural!

Surprise Visitor!

During a cruise to see the seal colonies this guy jumped aboard our boat. There are about 1.8 million seals in Namibia and the number continues to increase because they have very few natural preditors. The tour boats are now associated with fish treats and the seals know that "first come first served." This seal is named Ottie and he "can be a very naughty boy." He knows where the treats are kept and made off with the entire bucket of fish.

Flamingos of Walvis Bay, Namibia

1000s of flamingos live in Walvis (whale) bay year round because the weather doesn't vary much. They change colors based on what they eat. Lots of shrimp makes them turn a vivid shade of pink.