The Seals and the Skeleton Coast

As I made my way from Cairo at the top of Africa to Cape Town at the bottom, today I ticked another milestone. I had crossed from the east coast to the west coast of Africa! From the powdered sandy beaches and warm water of Zanzibar I now reached the salt plains and icy waves of the Skeleton Coast in Namibia. Palm trees and spice plantations were replaced with salt sand deserts and a stark white landscape - and it was absolutely beautiful.

As were were running ahead of time to reach destination Swakopmund, our guides took a surprise detour towards Cape Cross. A quick reference of the lalapalooza (codename for the Lonely Planet) told us we were heading to a massive seal colony and we couldn't have been more excited. We rugged up against the chilly ocean breeze and got off the truck in excited anticipation.

As warned we smelt the seals before we saw them - though it was not nearly as bad as the scaremongers would have you believe. Nothing could have tainted the sight before us when we came over that ridge and were greeted by over 100,000 great huge seals huddled together on an small stretch of beach. And once again my guardian angel delivered - it was baby season!

Every second seal was flanked by a tiny pup. Some were days old, some only hours, as testified by the fresh placentas all over the beach. These tiny pups clung close to their mothers, squealing desperately if they became detached, and the mothers tussled with each other to protect these fragile babies. The ruthlessness of nature was evidenced by the tiny lifeless carcasses dotted all over the sand too, unwittingly crushed by their 3 tone fathers in the commotion.

The sheer number of seals was incredible, and we watched awestruck as they enjoyed every inch of the coastline. Hundreds were body surfing in the waves, thousands sat sunning themselves on the sand, mothers growled and defended every inch of turf they could for their pups, while the fathers shuffled along with their heads held high and mighty. I have never seen such a massive number of creatures concentrated in such a small space in my life, except for human beings!

A few girls from our group who had opted out of the smell had instead walked the beach further up and were amazed by the thousands of bones that littered the sand. Their photos of the whalebones, seal bones, and goodness knows what else were amazing. The Skeleton Coast by name and nature!

As we reboarded the truck and peeled of the clothes that had stolen the stench as a souvenir, we were all a little bit quiet. There's something quite profound about leaving the bustle of cities and human activity and coming to the edge of the world to see creatures thriving in the harshest environments on earth. The brutal and beautiful display of nature takes your breath away and really brings home how fragile we really are.

A decaying shipwreck further up the coast was a graphic reminder of our own fragility, but there was something comforting and almost poetic about the thought that some of the bones on the beach might be human. This graveyard of the sea also reserved a spot for us.

The Skeleton Coast is simply stunning. When you pare back the decoration that the lusciousness of nature of affords most coastlines, you appreciate nature in it's rawest and harshest form.

Life is cyclical for all creatures and we all go from babies to bones in the end.

Big cuddle for my special pup - from his mama seal

Xxx