Thu Jul 30 2026
Cape Crosss seal reserve and Spitzkoppe
Viewing and smelling cape fur seals.
We got all our things together and checked out ay 09:45. Today was expected to be a long day on the road, firstly heading directly North up the coast to the Cape Cross seal reserve, then doubling back on ourselves before heading in land and up to Spitzkoppe.
Much of the journey to see the seals was sealed road (no pun intended!). That made the first part of the journey to Henties Bay fairly easy. Then we hit the gravel for the rest of the day.
We got to the seal reserve, not really knowing what to expect other than people had told us the smell has to be experienced to be be believed. That was true! After paying the park fees (which, like other park fees, seemed at bit extortionate) we made our way down a 3km track and parked up. There was an area of the coast that had been fenced off 9to keep the humans out rather than the seals in, and over the fence were literally thousands of seals with many pups climbing all over each other, yelling for their parents, fighting and feeding. It was quite a sight to behold. A walkway had been constructed so you could walk right out into the middle of the colony and get up close to the action.
Once we had our fill of seals, we headed back down to Henties Bay and turned East inland, stopping in the middle of the desert for a picnic lunch, then proceeding to Spitzkoppe, a rocky escarpment about 1000m above sea level.
When we arrived at Spitzkoppe Tented camp, I was surprised that i had booked a family safari tent rather than a campsite, so this was more like glamping! We had a hot water donkey which tye lit at 18:00 for a bewautiful hot shower.
The campsite itself was lovely, with a small pool (pretty murky and extremely cold, so not that appealing), a small bar/restaurant and friendly staff and guests. We decided not to do a guided tour of the nearby rock paintings (yet again inside a national park) and instead chilled by the pool with a few drinks, before heading back to the tent for a braii. Louise and i went exploring and made it as far as the rocky escarpment before sunset, but headed back quickly as it would have been easy to lose track of where the camp was!
Overall, another varied and fun day in Namibia!