Page 96 - WINE DINE AND TRAVEL SPRING 2025 GRAND VOYAGE

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WALVIS BAY, NAMIBIAALVIS BAY, NAMIBIA

Flamingos, Dunes, and Coastal Contrasts

amed after the Namib Desert, this
relatively unknown country, once
N part of South Africa, revealed its
compelling beauty during our shore excur-
sion from Walvis Bay, a working-class port,
into the country’s arid landscapes.
Safari-style 4x4s carried us to Walvis
Bay Lagoon, a vital wetland habitat and
important birding site. Thousands of
flamingos took flight in unison, a breath-
taking spectacle of pink and white wings
against the navy waters. We drove on over
washboard dirt roads into the Namib
Desert, stopping amidst towering dunes of
gold, red, and black. We learned how the
dunes maintain their shape through wind-
driven movement of sand grains, which
form a stable crust. Our footprints would
soon disappear, a reminder of our fleeting

96 WINE DINE & TRAVEL MAGAZINE SPRING 2025