Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
the following year. Because of machinery sprawl in the harbour area, it was relocated to
its present site in the mid-20th century, and functioned as a church until 1966.
TRAIN
The Railway
During the winter, rail services between Swakopmund and Walvis Bay are often lagued by
windblown sand, which covers the tracks and undermines the track bed and sleepers. This
isn't a new problem - 5km east of town on the C14, notice the embankment, which has
buried a section of narrow-gauge track from the last century. In front of the train station
are the remains of the
Hope,
an old locomotive that once ran on the original narrow-gauge
railway. Both were abandoned after the line was repeatedly buried beneath 10m sand
drifts. The
Hope
is now a national monument and stands on 6th St in front of the train sta-
tion.
FLAMINGOS AT WALVIS
Lesser and greater flamingos flock in large numbers to pools along the Namib Desert coast, particularly around
Walvis Bay and Lüderitz. They're excellent fliers, and have been known to migrate up to 500km overnight in
search of proliferations of algae and crustaceans.
The lesser flamingo filters algae and diatoms (microscopic organisms) from the water by sucking in, and vigor-
ously expelling water from its bill. The minute particles are caught on fine hairlike protrusions, which line the in-
side of the mandibles. The suction is created by the thick fleshy tongue, which rests in a groove in the lower
mandible and pumps back and forth like a piston. It has been estimated that a million lesser flamingos can con-
sume over 180 tonnes of algae and diatoms daily.
While lesser flamingos obtain food by filtration, the greater flamingo supplements its algae diet with small mol-
luscs, crustaceans and other organic particles from the mud. When feeding, it will rotate in a circle while stamping
its feet in an effort to scare up a tasty potential meal.
The greater and lesser flamingos are best distinguished by their colouration. Greater flamingos are white to
light pink, and their beaks are whitish with a black tip. Lesser flamingos are a deeper pink - often reddish - col-
our, with dark-red beaks.
Located near Walvis Bay are three diverse wetland areas; the lagoon, the salt works and the Bird Paradise at the
sewage works. Together they form Southern Africa's single most important coastal wetland for migratory birds,
with up to 150,000 transient avian visitors stopping by annually, including massive flocks of both lesser and great-
er flamingos. The three wetland areas are as follows:
»
The Lagoon
This shallow and sheltered 45,000-hectare lagoon, southwest of Walvis Bay and west of the
Kuiseb River mouth, attracts a range of coastal water birds in addition to enormous flocks of lesser and greater
flamingos. It also supports chestnut banded plovers and curlew sandpipers, as well as the rare Damara tern.
