We awoke to temperatures in the lower 50’s – We definitely
have to layer clothing today as it will be warm when in the sun.
Our schedule activity of the morning is to see the living
dunes – in other words, we are going to explore what appears to be barren dunes
for life. The tour picked us up at 8:30
and off we went into the mountains of sand.
Two vehicles were together with a group of 6 tourists and 2 guides. Today they hope to show us the “small five” –
in comparison to the “big five” in Game Parks. This coastal desert is
completely different from in-land deserts.
Due to the fog which is present most mornings of the year over this
coastal desert, the plants and some animals obtain moisture from this fog. Other animals obtain their moisture because
they eat other creatures who are full of water.
During the day the sand is hot on the surface but within a few inched
under the top it is cool. The few plants
that are there, shade the sand which keeps moisture at its roots. While the one guide was explaining the habitat
to us, the other one was off looking for life.
The first one they found was the “sand-diving lizard”, which
looks like a very small snake, but is not a snake. He can be on top of the sand and in a split second
he can be hiding under the sand where it is cool. They found a “Sidewinder
snake” – very interesting – he was not very large, but he could move. He hinds under desert plants – his body is totally
buried in the sand and only his two little eyes are exposed. They can see he
tracks in the sand and follow him to the bush where he is buried. The “Palmato Gecko” was interesting. It’s web feet are like sand shovels. It burrows tunnels under the sand. The poisonous
“white lady spider” was not easy to find, but our guides knew just what to look
for and where to look. If any sand was
disturbed in anyway, or if they saw the smallest of tracks, they knew what to
find. These guys were good!!
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| Swakopmund from the Dunes |
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| Blind Sand-Diving Lizard |
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| Location of Palmato Gecko Hiding in the sand |
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| Palmato Gecko |
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| Returning to the sand |
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| Dollar Shrub |
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| Notice the Dollar shaped leaves |
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| Poisonous White Lady Spider |
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| Notice her eight eyes |
The “tok-tokkie beetle” which is shaped so they catch water
as it runs off its back, is full of water, so this is a great source of water
for the chameleon who does not get moisture in any other way. You would see the beetles running on the sand
and the guides caught 3 beetles and kept them in a jar until we found the
chameleon disguised in the bushes. The
guide took one beetle at a time out of the jar and held it in front of the
chameleon. After the chameleon felt
comfortable with this arrangement he stuck out his looong tongue and grabbed
the beetle from the fingers of the guide.
They fed all three beetles to the chameleon.
They looked for a scorpion, but did not find one this
morning. These tours always go in the
morning, as by afternoon the winds are blowing the sand. After finding the animals, off we went on a
4x4 drive across the dunes. We noted the
tires on the vehicle were somewhat deflated.
The route we chose to walk on our way back to the Guesthouse
was by the beach. Interestingly there
are no sea shells – no beach combing! The water is indeed very cold – you can
tell by the wind coming off the water – you do not need to touch it!! After you walk several blocks away from the
beach, you already notice how much warmer it is. This temperature difference is
amazing!!
Tonight we have reservations at the Brauhaus – it will be a
good German meal. The number of German tourist in the area is also
amazing. You can hear them speaking
German or if they speak English you can tell by the accent.
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