Romancing the Skeleton Coast

The romance of the Skeleton Coast’s stormy seas, shipwrecks and seafaring tales make exploring this forbidding and notorious Namibian coastline an intriguing adventure.

And if you only find a shipwreck or two rusting away in the salty water or on the desert shore, don’t despair, there are many more treasures to dazzle and enchant on the route from Swakopmund northwards to the swaying makalani palms of Palmwag.

The route always elicits excitement for its unusual attractions and the untold surprises of a desert country.

And no matter how many times I drive it, I always find myself smiling and looking forward to the out-of-the-ordinary extraordinary day.

I woke to coastal mist, the precious moisture from the sea that nourishes desert life, anointing the Swakopmund streets and floating in the air like confetti from heaven.

Breakfast at The Delight, if you’re fortunate enough to be delighting at this innovative hotel, includes fresh oysters and a glass of champagne.

I was one of the lucky travellers and headed north with a full belly, the sea on my left and the tawny desert sand on my right.

These would be my bearings for the next few hours until the road veers eastward from the coast, 300 kilometres on.

The temperature rises as you leave the cool of the coast and the road to Torra and Terrace Bay behind you to head inland.

The bright colours of the fishing settlement of Wlotskasbaken (translated from German as Wlotskas’s Beacon) come first, the houses flanked by water tanks.

The name stems from the early 1900s when Paul Hermann Wlotzka transported supplies to prospectors and surveyors along the coast.

He built a small shed next to one of the surveying beacons to store water and feed for his animals.

The bay proved to be a good fishing spot and attracted fishermen and holidaymakers over the years, becoming known as ‘Wlotska’s Baken’.

Before you even reach Henties Bay, a popular ‘hengel’ (angling) town, you find the turnoff to the Zeila shipwreck lying in the shallows.

The fishing trawler came to grief on 24 August 2008 on its way to the Mumbai scrapyard.

Its towing line came loose near Walvis Bay and strong seas swept it northwards, spitting it out south of Henties.

Stone sellers with their trays of semi-precious stones surround you as you climb out of your car to brave the chilly wind.

Although the Skeleton Coast is thought to be dotted with shipwrecks of old, this is not the case.

The wrecks break up or rust away very quickly, are swept away by the strong currents and buried under the sand or are salvaged. Only the more recent wrecks remain.
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