Walvis Bay lagoon
Tens of thousands of flamingos on a lagoon, twenty miles south.
Duration
1 hr – 2 hrs
Best time
Early morning
Open
Every day
Entry price
Free
The Walvis Bay lagoon is a wetland of international importance, listed under the Ramsar convention. Depending on the season it holds between forty and a hundred and twenty thousand waterbirds, including the largest concentration of flamingos in southern Africa.
Two species share the resource: the greater flamingo, larger, filters crustaceans from the bottom, and the lesser flamingo, smaller, filters microscopic algae at the surface. That division is what lets tens of thousands of birds live on one lagoon. The pink colour comes from their food.
Getting there
Thirty kilometres south of Swakopmund. The coast road runs along the lagoon, and watching is done from the shore.
What to bring
- Board
Rules on site
Watch from the road or the shore: approaching puts the whole flock up and costs it energy. Numbers vary enormously with the season and the water level.