Saying goodbye to Mile 108 Camp, we continued to journey south down the Skeleton Coast. After a brief stop at another of the ship wrecks, and retracing our steps after missing a junction (most sightseeing spots are signposted for drivers heading north!), we arrived at Cape Cross, just 115km north of Swakopmund. Named after the cross erected in honour of John I by Portuguese explorer Diego Cao in 1486, this area of coastline is also home to a huge breeding colony of Cape Fur Seals.
From 2km, we could see the colony sprawled across the coastline, and very soon, this sight was matched by smell. The colony gets as large as 100,000 animals, and we arrived at a particularly busy time, as the pups had been born in late November and early December. Leaving the car, we were greeted by a cacophony of sound, as seal pups called for their mothers, temporarily out at sea replenishing stocks, and returning mothers called for their single pups. How pups and mothers are able to reconnect in such a mass of bodies is miraculous. We made our way onto the boardwalk which overlooks the colony, picking our way through the expectant pups and protective mothers - who bite apparently! This perspective revealed the colony in all its wonder. On the outskirts of the colony, pups huddled together, some calling for their mothers, some asleep, some not to wake. Closer to the shoreline, what looked like chaos. A mass of seals, slipping and sliding over each other as they entered and exited the freezing ocean. Every now and then, a pup became embroiled in the mass of hungry adults, having to fight its way to the surface.
Unsurprisingly, fights broke out between the packed seals as they battled up and down the shoreline. Once in the water, they joined the thousands of seals which packed the first few hundred metres of ocean, flippers and tails surfacing repeatedly as they went about their catch. At the closest point to the bulging colony, the oily, fishy smell was quite overwhelming. The picnic spot had also been taken over - the morning coffee wouldn’t have been so pleasant from here. Nevertheless, visiting the colony in such close quarters was a fantastic hour or so, and certainly an experience for all the senses.
Unsurprisingly, fights broke out between the packed seals as they battled up and down the shoreline. Once in the water, they joined the thousands of seals which packed the first few hundred metres of ocean, flippers and tails surfacing repeatedly as they went about their catch. At the closest point to the bulging colony, the oily, fishy smell was quite overwhelming. The picnic spot had also been taken over - the morning coffee wouldn’t have been so pleasant from here. Nevertheless, visiting the colony in such close quarters was a fantastic hour or so, and certainly an experience for all the senses.
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