A month in Walvis Bay

So, I didn't keep you updated at all but now it is time to catch up. I went off with hopes of sunshine and desert warmth... but, in the first couple of weeks there it was colder than I had hoped. I might be imagining it, but it definitely felt like there was only about a half hour of sun a day. Thankfully, in the second part of my month, there were many glorious weather days, and even when it was misty at the coast, the sun was shining in the desert. Besides, being really close to Humpback whales and dolphins and lots of rad wildlife and cheap wine can cheer me up even on a misty day! 

The lagoon and The PUB

I have mentioned that I have worked with the dolphin project before, but only in lovely Luderitz. (I was sure that Luderitz was warmer and sunnier but my colleagues told me that I was always cold in Luderitz too... oops, I  am clearly a whiner). It is difficult not to compare the two places, just like it was difficult not to compare the first trip to Luderitz with the second. A good and bad thing about Luderitz is that we were pretty isolated from the public while doing field work, meanwhile, in Walvis Bay, there are dozens of tour boat operators and we would launch at the waterfront to the ABBA soundtrack being played at the coffee shop next door. Thus, all the embarrassing, completely ungraceful jumps on and off the boat are in the public eye and I was less excited about wearing scruffy field work clothes but there were coffee shops that played ABBA and had with free WiFi so that made up for it (and my scruffiest field work clothes are in Cape Town). It still felt like there was only one pub (there were more I am sure but who knows where) and that didn't have the same great atmosphere as Barrels, in Luderitz, but it did have R11 wine!

The pretty Namibian Dolphin Project office
at the Walvis Bay Waterfront.
Note the cool baleen sample from a 
Sei whale that stranded in WVB.

The other fabulous thing about WVB is that sea conditions are amazing (in the mornings anyway) which is important for someone like me (how unfair to suffer from sea sickness when you are a marine biologist?). We also had a much nicer office set up where members of the public could come chat to us about whales and dolphins and tell us what an awesome job we are doing... Well... that happened sometimes at least. 

This poor shark was rescued in Henties Bay, Swakopmund
and Walvis Bay - but he kept up his friendly grin.
(There were no dolphins in stock)

Seriously though, the Namibian Dolphin Project is doing an awesome job. OK, I know that sounds like I am bragging, but I was only there for a month so I can't take any credit for the awesome stuff they are doing so it really is sincere praise. They are pretty much the only people doing work on cetaceans in Namibia and have done some great novel research. They are the point of call for the strandings network too, and during my month there now we held a number of workshops trying to get the public aware of what to do and who to call in the event of a dolphin/whale stranding. They are also the people that speak up for dolphins when Environmental Impact Assessments might otherwise ignore them. Check out their webpage for more information - but if you don't have time just trust me that they are awesome.

The two common dolphins species that are fairly resident in WVB are the Heaviside's and Bottlenose dolphins. The Heaviside's dolphin only occurs in the Benguela region (west coast of South Africa and in Namibia) and my highly scientific opinion, they are adorable! The ones in Luderitz were particularly playful and awesome to watch. In WVB they are less acrobatic but that's OK because the Bottlenose dolphins make up for it.

This is a Bottlenose dolphin fin. You can use them to ID
individuals and estimate population size.
This is just taken with my normal camera from a tour boat.

Bottlenose dolphins occur around the world, but the different populations are not necessarily mixing with each other. They are also highly social animals, and each population could have unique cultures. This makes the fact that there are fewer than 100 individuals in the Namibian population really scary. The great thing is, we saw at least 2 calves this trip and some dolphins mating. I had been hoping to do a post doc on their population genetics to see if there was any mixing with the other populations in southern Africa, but unfortunately haven't been able to secure funding yet (which is crazy because obviously I am awesome, but more importantly, these dolphins deserve some attention and protection!) 

Ruddy Turnstone

The best thing about Walvis Bay is definitely the wildlife. From the cottage we could look out on the lagoon which is home to thousands of flamingos as well as pelicans and dozens of wader species. I actually fell for a new bird species, the Ruddy Turnstone. I am not sure why in a sea of pink flamingos these LBJs caught my eye, but they are really just so cute and, AND, they actually turn stones (got to love the people that name birds).







You are pretty much guaranteed (I base this on my 2 out of 2 experiences) to see black-backed jackal near the salt works. Even the dolphins came right into the lagoon which is a much cheaper way of seeing them. Of course, if you want to have luxury encounters (i.e. they include Old Brown Sherry, delicious snacks and champagne), WVB offers a bunch of tour boat options for wild life encounters with informative guides that are a great experience but might be just a little too up close for some (fancy a seal on your lap?)

This trip was also the closest that I have even gotten (or hope to get) to a Humback whale. Unfortunately I almost never take me camera or phone on the research boat but you will have to trust me that it got VERY close. It feels a little bit unreal to think that that happened last week and now I am back in Johannesburg loving the fantastic autumnal weather and on the job hunt again.

Yip, many, many people -
it was so crowded
I didn't bother going to the top -
nothing to do with the
super soft sand and steep slope. 

PS For those of you that are thinking of going to Namibia as tourists, I highly recommend Swakopmund and a day trip or two down to Walvis Bay. Swakopmund is a beautiful little town whereas Walvis Bay is only beautiful near the lagoon and at sea. Obviously you would go to Dune 7 anyway, EVERYONE does... I suggest going during the week because then it might be a little quieter.

I have entirely failed to mention all the seals, which is
unfair because they are so much fun to watch as they
play in the waves. This is one of MANY at Cape Cross
(He had the coolest hair!).
Seriously, the tour guide comment is there is one seal for
every person in Namibia.

The big smoke

"The big smoke" - That's a common enough description for the city of gold, red and orange (and not what I would be calling Cape Town because that would be insensitive after all the huge fires they have had). Of course Johannesburg is a city of many colours, from bright green in the Summer time to gold, red and orange in autumn, distinctly brown in Winter and just about purple in Spring. It is a city I love. And I have loved being here for the last two and a bit months. I have mentioned that one of the secrets to being happy is to love being where you are, wherever that happens to be (unless it is Pretoria - didn't manage that) so I am very ready to fall in love with Walvis Bay next week. 

I will be sure to tell you all about it but I am not sure that I will be able to post pictures until I get back - internet is very expensive there and last time I was in Luderitz my computer ate my R50 data bundle almost instantly with automatic updates. (I have hopefully switched those off). But, before I head off into the desert I thought I would post some photos of beautiful green Johannesburg (taken by my brother-in-law but with my camera and at my insistence so I have some claim to them - I just didn't want to miss out on the Easter Egg hunt we were having a week early). 

This post isn't really to say anything other than HAPPY PUBLIC HOLIDAYS and hot cross bun eating, I will hopefully see you soon. 

P.S. If someone could please find me a job for when I get back - that would be GREAT! Or if you know someone to help me try publish my little children's book - also rad! (I feel this is an overly-ambitious hope but hope is good, right?!)

Globetrotting in Claremont*

Oribi Gorge - KZN

I have had itchy feet for a while (metaphorically - I literally have had itchy hands since Monday when I volunteered at SANCCOB, it would be tragic if I was allergic to penguins, but I suspect it is more likely the cleaning product they use**) but with no funding for the last two years I spent more time in one place (my home, in Claremont, funnily enough) than I have in a number of years. There was one year during my PhD that I took 13 flights - I almost wish that I hadn't counted them until after the 13th flight, but obviously (by virtue of me writing this) despite a superstitious moment, the 13th flight was still fine. During the early years I had calculated that I hadn't been in more than one place for more than 3 consecutive months.  

Dullstroom - Mpumalanga

Crazy to think of now, since I haven't left town since a sponsored (I have UNBELIEVABLY awesome friends) trip to KwaZulu-Natal in February and a sponsored trip to JHB and Dullstroom in May and am looking forward to a KZN Christmas (I have UNBELIEVABLY awesome family too).

OK, OK, so when put like that, it's not actually all that bad... And I have actually been really spoilt. For ten years (2002 - 2012) I tried to go to a new country every year - and almost succeeded, but was too busy having fun in my own country during the 2010 World Cup to go somewhere else. 

And now, having not stamped my passport for the last couple of years, I have found another way to "globe trot" and all from convenience of my own home. In 2012 I signed up for this AWESOME adventure by joining the "Couchsurfing"community. And while I have only actually surfed on other people's couches twice (both times in Oslo, Norway, and the second time it was actually a spare bed) I have hosted many lovely people on my couch. 

This is stolen from the couch surfing website. 

OK, so when I mention couch surfing to people they are frequently surprised that I willing let a stranger into my house. Because I was away so often in the earlier part of my PhD, if someone was visiting the department and needed a place to stay, I would let them stay at mine. It wasn't a big leap from "an academic in the department" to "random foreigner" but what really got me hooked was my trip to Norway. 

Sharing my favourite place with couch surfers

I was only there for three nights, and I was searching online for a hotel or hostel that was centrally placed and reasonable. Only while I was searching, I realised that I know NOTHING about Oslo, and have no idea where "centrally placed" is. I didn't want to stay in a backpackers with drunk Eurotripping 20 year olds and I was worried that if I stayed in a hotel I would wuss out of exploring and spend the evenings alone feeling like I was missing out. Couch surfing to the rescue, and I couldn't have had a better experience. 

My two hosts were so kind, generous (they bought me wine) and accommodating, they showed me around the city and we went to a rock concert (Norwegian band - The Carburetors - that would never in a million years have happened if I had been alone) and picnicked on the grass during the air-force display. This would just never have happened if I had been alone in the city. My host even gave me a lift to the airport at 3am! More than that, I made friends, with two Norwegians that I would have been unlikely to meet in any other way. That's pretty amazing. 

After my private tour of the Italian navy vessel... 

So, obviously, I decided to pay the kindness that these two awesome humans had shown me forward. To be honest though, it is something I really enjoy doing. I love getting to meet people from all over the world and hearing their stories. I marvel at some of the adventures they have which inspire me to have some of my own. I am taken out of my comfort zone and end up partying until 4am (after thesis was finished) on Halloween. I am reminded how beautiful Cape Town is while I see people appreciate it for the very first time. I have an excuse to visit the wine farms and cheesy tourist spots. I get supper made for me by a Frenchman and a cake made by a Brazilian, sung to by an Argentian and had dinner with three members of the Italian Navy. I am constantly reminded about how many nice, interesting people there are in the world. (And they say nice things about me on my profile.) 

I am hoping this is anonymous enough to go on the web?

It does get a bit exhausting (all that socialising) so I don't host when I am super busy with work (i.e. a large part of the last two years). And, I am not going to lie, some of the couch surfers have been easier than others. There are some that have come and gone and others that I am still in touch with (or pretend to be in touch with by being Facebook friends) and consider friends. Recently I have had the absolute pleasure to meet up with my Norwegian host in Cape Town and hopefully repay him a little for the kindness he showed me in Oslo (and score with a private tour by one of the owners at Delheim because he was renting their air b'nb). I have also had a repeat visit from a German couch surfer friend. 

There is also the option of just meeting people that are new to the country or staying in a hotel but wanting to meet locals (I got to see inside my first 5* hotel because of this). It is also interesting to meet people from completely different backgrounds and cultures and aren't studying biology, or don't automatically believe that eating shark-fin soup and whale meat is bad (this was a difficult conversation for me to have, but I think it is an important reminder that people have different beliefs and values and that's OK - although not if they are eating sharks and whales...)  It is also interesting to see what people find weird about South Africa and their perspective on penguins (crazy frenchman said squirrels were cooler than penguins? HUH!) car guards, four-way stops, crime, the use of the term "robot" and affirmative action (yes, there are serious discussions in between the wine sipping).

So, if you are feeling a little isolated from the world during your PhD.... Give it a try.... you never know what it is going to be like, or what the next adventure will be... 

(IF I had known that this would be the topic of my blog today I would have made an effort to figure out the number of surfers I have had and where they were all from. I didn't. So, off the top of my head, I have met up with or hosted people from: Puerto Rico, Germany, Brazil, Argentina, USA, France, Singapore, India, Netherlands, England, Italy, Sweden, Norway, Belgium, Austria and Switzerland... but I am possibly missing some.) 

* Again, not my title but a comment a friend made that I have stolen!
** OOOO just realised that you might think that SANCCOB isn't a good place to volunteer, it is!!! The staff at SANCCOB work so hard trying to get every single penguin they can back in to the wild which is so important given how much the penguin population is struggling! SANCCOB is awesome!!! And so are penguins! I just have silly skin!