NAMIBIA: Walvis Bay

Walvis Bay is a city in Namibia and the name of the bay on which it lies. The town has 100,000 inhabitants and covers a total area of 29 square kilometres (11 sq mi) of land.

The bay is a safe haven for sea vessels because of its natural deepwater harbour, protected by the Pelican Point sand spit, being the only natural harbour of any size along the country's coast. Being rich in plankton and marine life, these waters also drew large numbers of southern right whales, attracting whalers and fishing vessels.

The Dutch referred to it as Walvisch Baye and the English as Whale Bay. In its eventual formal incorporation, it was named Walfish Bay, which was changed to Walvish Bay, and ultimately to Walvis Bay. It has also been referred to as Walwich Bay or Walwisch Bay. The Herero people of the area called it Ezorongondo.

A succession of colonists developed the location and resources of this strategic harbour settlement. The harbour's value in relation to the sea route around the Cape of Good Hope had caught the attention of world powers since it was discovered by the outside world in 1485. This explains the complicated political status of Walvis Bay down the years.

The town is situated just north of the Tropic of Capricorn in the Kuiseb River delta and lies at the end of the TransNamib Railway to Windhoek, and on the B2 road.

Walvis Bay, with its large bay and sand dunes, is an important centre of tourism activity in Namibia. Attractions include the artificial Bird Island, centre of a guano collection industry, the Dune 7 sand dune, the salt works, the abundant birdlife, and a museum.

Kuisebmund Stadium, home to two clubs in the Namibia Premier League, is also located in the city. The beach resort of Langstrand lies just a few kilometres north. The Walvis Bay Export Processing Zone is an important facet of the local economy.

Little commercial development occurred on the site until the late 19th century. During the scramble for Africa, the British Empire occupied Walvis Bay with a small area surrounding the territory., They permitted the Cape Colony to complete the annexation of the territory in 1884, following initial steps which had been taken in 1878.

In 1910, Walvis Bay, as part of the Cape Colony, became part of the newly formed Union of South Africa. Subsequently, a dispute arose with Germany over the exclave's boundaries, which was eventually settled in 1911, with Walvis Bay being allocated an area of 1,124 square kilometres (434 sq mi).

The exclave was overrun by the Germans during the South West Africa Campaign early in the First World War, but South African Forces eventually ousted the Germans in 1915. Subsequently, Walvis Bay was quickly integrated into the new martial law regime established in South West Africa.

South Africa was later awarded control a Class "C" mandate over South West Africa by the League of Nations to administer the territory.Civilian rule was restored in South West Africa in 1921 and administration of Walvis Bay was transferred to South West Africa under the South West Africa Affairs Act of 1922.

Despite the territory never having been part of German South West Africa, the Act stated that: the port and settlement of Walvis Bay, which forms part of the Cape of Good Hope, shall for judicial and administrative purposes be regarded as if it were part of the mandated territory of South West Africa.

However, South Africa had also sought to annex South West Africa itself, and had presented such a proposal to the League of Nations.[Consequently, in 1949, the Act was amended to give representation in the Parliament of South Africa to whites in South West Africa.

In 1977, following increasing international pressure to relinquish its control over South West Africa, South Africa repealed the Act, but transferred control of Walvis Bay back to the Cape Province, thereby making it an exclave.From 1980, it was represented in both the Provincial Council and the House of Assembly as part of the Green Point constituency in Cape Town, before becoming a separate constituency in 1982.

In response, the United Nations Security Council passed Resolution 432 (1978), which declared that "the territorial integrity and unity of Namibia must be assured through the reintegration of Walvis Bay within its territory.

In 1990, South West Africa gained independence as Namibia, but Walvis Bay remained under South African sovereignty, with South Africa increasing the number of troops.However, in 1992, the two countries agreed to establish a transitional Joint Administrative Authority for Walvis Bay and the Offshore Islands.

The Authority was headed by two Chief Executive Officers, Nangolo Mbumba, then Secretary to the Namibian Cabinet, and Carl von Hirschberg, former South African Ambassador to the United Nations.

In August 1993, prior to the end of apartheid, the Multiparty Negotiating Forum in South Africa passed a resolution calling for the incorporation-reintegration of Walvis Bay and the Off-Shore Islands into Namibia. The Transfer of Walvis Bay to Namibia Act was passed by the Parliament of South Africa that year.

Following the signing of a treaty between the two countries, South Africa formally transferred sovereignty of Walvis Bay and the Penguin Islands to Namibia on 1 March 1994.
Education

Walvis Bay has a number of public (government-run) and private schools, among them Duinesig Primary School, International School of Walvis Bay, Kuisebmond Secondary School, Walvis Bay Private High School and others. A number of kindergartens cater for young children.

The Namibian Maritime and Fisheries Institute (NAMFI) is a tertiary education institution based in town. International University of Management (IUM) and Monitronics Success College both have branches in Walvis Bay.

In Walvis Bay there are different fishing companies like Hangana Seafood, Caroline Fishing, Benguella Fishing Company, Etale Fishing Company, Cadilu Fishing, Etosha Fisheries, Kuiseb Fishing Enterprises, Blue Ocean Products, Benguella Sea Products, Consortium Fisheries, Talanam Fish Processor.

These companies catch different types of fish like snoek, horse mackerel, anchovy, steenbras, kabeljou, kingklip, hake, catfish, tuna and sardines. Hangana Seafood are processors and exporters of fish and fish products. As such, the fishing enterprise accounts for a major part of Walvis Bay's economy.

Walvis Bay contains open spaces, scenic beauty and unique marine and plant life. It is well suited for the outdoor lifestyle, boasting sports such as sandboarding, kiting, surfing, swimming, angling, sailing, golf and other indoor and outdoor sport codes. There is Walvis Bay Lagoon and Aquatic Activities, Kuiseb River Delta and the beach itself where people enjoy swimming and catching fish.

The 2-kilometre (1.2-mile) sand spit allows the adjacent water to remain smooth in very strong winds, ideal for record attempting vessels like Vestas Sailrocket.

The ocean-facing side of the sand spit includes a world-famous surf spot known in the international surf media as "Skeleton Bay.

It is home to Eleven Arrows F.C. and Blue Waters F.C., local football clubs that compete in the Namibia Premier League. The Sparta Cricket Club Ground is also located in Walvis Bay.

Walvis Bay features the very rare mild variation of the desert climate (BWn) according to the Köppen climate classification. It is caused by the rain shadow of the Naukluft Mountains and the cooling effect of the coastal sea temperature by the Benguela Current.

Walvis Bay receives only 13.2 millimetres (0.52 in) average precipitation per year, making it one of the driest cities on earth. Despite its dry climate, the city is relatively humid. Average relative humidity throughout the year remains above 80%. The warmest month is February with average temperature 17.9 °C (64.2 °F), while the coolest months are August and September with average temperature 13.2 °C (55.8 °F).

The diurnal temperature range is also low, averaging only 5.7 °C (10.2 °F). There has also been considerable warming at the airport in recent years, in 1980 the mean temperature was 17.0 °C, rising to 25.1 °C in 2014. On 17 May 2015, the temperature at Rooikop near Walvis Bay International Airport reached 37.4 °C.

NAMIBIA: Skeleton Coast

The Skeleton Coast is the northern part of the Atlantic Ocean coast of Namibia and south of Angola from the Kunene River south to the Swakop River, although the name is sometimes used to describe the entire Namib Desert coast. The Bushmen of the Namibian interior called the region "The Land God Made in Anger", while Portuguese sailors once referred to it as "The Gates of Hell".

On the coast the upwelling of the cold Benguela current gives rise to dense ocean fogs (called "cassimbo" by the Angolans) for much of the year. The winds blow from land to sea, rainfall rarely exceeds 10 millimetres (0.39 in) annually and the climate is highly inhospitable. There is a constant, heavy surf on the beaches. In the days of human-powered boats it was possible to get ashore through the surf but impossible to launch from the shore. The only way out was by going through a marsh hundreds of miles long and only accessible via a hot and arid desert.

The coast is largely soft sand occasionally interrupted by rocky outcrops. The southern section consists of gravel plains while north of Terrace Bay the landscape is dominated by high sand dunes. Skeleton Bay is now known as a great location for surfing.

The area's name derives from the whale and seal bones that once littered the shore from the whaling industry, although in modern times the coast harbours the skeletal remains of the shipwrecks caught by offshore rocks and fog.[citation needed] More than a thousand such vessels of various sizes litter the coast, notably the Eduard Bohlen, Benguela Eagle, Otavi, Dunedin Star and Tong Taw.

Past human occupation by Strandlopers is shown by shell middens of white mussels found along parts of the Skeleton Coast.

Namibia has declared the 16,000 square kilometres (6,200 sq mi) Skeleton Coast National Park over much of the area, from the Ugab River to the Kunene. The northern half of the park is a designated wilderness area. Notable features are the clay castles of the Hoarisib, the Agate Mountain salt pans and the large seal colony at Cape Fria. The remainder of the coast is the National West Coast Recreation Area.

The coast has been the subject of a number of wildlife documentaries, particularly concerning adaptations to extreme aridity. There is a 1965 National Geographic documentary "Survivors Of The Skeleton Coast" . Many of the plant and insect species of the sand dune systems depend on the thick sea fogs which engulf the coast for their moisture and windblown detritus from the interior as food. The desert bird assemblages have been studied in terms of their thermoregulation, coloration, breeding strategies and nomadism.

The riverbeds further inland are home to baboons, giraffes, lions, black rhinoceros and springbok. The animals get most of their water from wells dug by the baboons or elephants. The black rhinoceros population was the main reason why the CBBC show Serious Desert was filmed in the region.

Skeleton Coast is a book by John Henry Marsh. The true story of the wrecking of the British refrigerated cargo liner Dunedin Star and the eventual rescue of all her 106 passengers and crew, at the cost of a tug, an SAAF aircraft and the lives of two rescuers.

The fictional plot of the 1968 movie A Twist of Sand involves diamonds hidden in a shipwreck buried in the sand dunes of the Skeleton Coast.