Here are the blog's youngest followers! Thank you to Caitlin who is sharing it with them. Now that I know they are interested I will include some fun facts for them. This is grand-nephews Saxon pointing, Conor behind him and cousin Freddie looking on.
Last night we went to a talk at the Museum on 'Namibia - Hydrogen opportunity or not?' Nikola had suggested we might enjoy it, and we did. (This was definitely not for young people.)
Damian, our presenter, explored green hydrogen as a potential climate solution in Namibia. Hydrogen is the most abundant element in the universe and can be produced by splitting water with renewable electricity to produce hydrogen and oxygen. Hydrogen is not an energy source itself but an energy carrier, allowing renewable energy to be stored and transported. It can provide backup power when the sun is not shining and the wind is not blowing, and is already widely used in industry.
Different types of hydrogen were discussed, including:
Grey hydrogen – produced from natural gas with high carbon emissions.
Blue hydrogen – produced from natural gas with carbon capture.
Green hydrogen – produced using renewable energy and considered the most sustainable option.
A guy put up his hand and said, "Have you heard of white hydrogen? The natural one." I hadn't heard of any of them.
Damian explained why Namibia is attracting global interest in green hydrogen. Namibia has abundant sunshine, vast areas of available land, access to ports for exporting hydrogen to Europe and Asia, and a more stable political environment than many countries in the region. These advantages have attracted billions of dollars of potential investment, positioning Namibia as a leading future producer of green hydrogen.
Damian's presentation raised questions about whether large-scale hydrogen production is truly sustainable, noting that it requires significant infrastructure, transport systems, storage facilities, and large quantities of water, which interferes with desert life. And so two sides of the argument were presented.
And we were left with the question of whether it needs further consultation or whether the government is going ahead anyway. Nikola afterwards said there were Government people in the room as well as environmentalists. All governments seem the same, I thought. They will probably box on without all the considerations outlined.
Chantelle got up in the Q&A and said, "Did people not know the desert teams with life?" She offered a free Living Desert tour to anybody in the room to show them how alive it was. I loved that she did this and immediately afterwards booked a seat on her tour, but said we would pay.
In the street Bill recognised the German development company Paolo had worked for. Paolo is Lachie's Italian wife's Dad. He worked for GIZ for 30 years.
The next day, we used Yango (Namibia's Uber) to pick up a rental car at Walvis Bay Airport. We are hiring a car for 10 days.
We drove by the coast back to Swakopmund.
Then it was lunch at the Trading Post, one of Nikola's recommendations. This was my veggie platter. It was yummy.
Home for a bit and then the lovely walk into the CBD (technically accurate term I guess, does Eketahuna have a CBD? Ed.) while the sun was setting.
The walk from our accommodation to Swakopmund Central for dinner is about 2km along the coast.
The next day, we went to the Moon Landscape (Mondlandschaft) and Goanikontes Oasis. It was really fascinating. I am sure they filmed the series "Lost in Space " here (my favourite programme when I was 10). It is like visiting another planet and/or the moon.
It is ~30 km east of Swakopmund. The hills and valleys were carved over millions of years by the Swakop River and its tributaries, leaving a maze of barren ridges, deep gullies, and rocky canyons. Geologists estimate that some of the rocks exposed here are 460–500 million years old.
Bill taking a picture. He spends a lot more time than I do taking a picture, and it meant I had time to take a picture of him.
And while he was taking it I took a photo of me too.
And I took one of the car.
Bill's photos were worth waiting for though.
Maybe Ed will edit this one. (He didn't, Ed.) It is from the internet and shows a different colour.
These photos I took from the car as were driving down to the Oasis where we had lunch.
From internet showing the road down.
Out of the window of the car, a video.
And then the Oasis.
Here is where we had lunch. It was yum. I had butternut soup, Bill had a poke bowl, and we shared lemon meringue pie. Yum.
Here is a history of Goanikontes Oasis. (It reminded me of cowboys and Indians. You know after a long ride, reaching a town to unsaddle your horse and refresh.) - Long ago, in the middle of Namibia's dry desert, Goanikontes Oasis was an important resting place for people and animals travelling through the region. Hidden beside the Swakop River, underground water allowed trees, plants, and wildlife to survive where little else could grow. Nama and Herero travellers stopped here to find water, rest their livestock, and escape the harsh desert conditions. In the early 1900s, settlers established a farm at Goanikontes, growing crops and raising animals using the river's precious water. Today, Goanikontes remains a green oasis surrounded by the rocky Moon Landscape, showing how water can create life even in one of the driest places on Earth.
There are 42 people working here. There is a shop and accommodation. They live here for the week they work, and then in Swakopmund or elsewhere for a week. The lady serving us had worked like this for 6 years.
And then we went back to Swakopmund the same way we came..
Back in Swakopmund, we walked along the beach to the CBD again, just as the night before. Bill took a photo of me taking a photo, which I had offered to take.
Then I thought, I could I jump in a photo with them? I have no idea who they are, but they were happy.
These are guinea fowl that hang around the museum.
It was Saturday night in Swakopmund. So we were entertained.
And in the sunset.
And more ..
We had a drink, then lovely seafood ceviche and fish curry at Andy's. Yum.
The next day, we took a 1 1/2 hour drive north of Swakopmund to see a seal colony
The desert sand changes. As we got closer to the seal colony, it felt more like we were on Mars than the moon.
Cape Cross Seal Colony
At Cape Cross, about 120 kilometres north of Swakopmund, lives one of the world's largest colonies of Cape Fur Seal. Thousands upon thousands of seals gather here on the rocky shoreline to rest, have their pups, and escape predators in the ocean. The colony can grow to well over 100,000 seals during the breeding season! The noise is incredible—pups calling for their mothers, adults barking, and seals splashing in the waves.
Cape Cross is also famous because Portuguese explorer Diogo Cão landed here in 1486 and placed a stone cross on the shore, giving Cape Cross its name.
Fun Seal Facts!
A baby seal is called a pup.
Seal mothers can recognise their own pup's voice among thousands of others.
Cape fur seals can dive for several minutes while hunting fish.
They can swim faster than most humans can ride a bicycle!
Even though they are called "fur seals," they spend most of their lives in the ocean.
Still feels like we are on Mars.
The smell was almost unbearable!
Then back to Swakopmund. These by the side of the road are minerals you can buy. They have a price and then an honesty box to put your money. Too heavy for us to take. There must have been 50 stalls along the road like this.
This coast is known as the Shipwreck Coast, for reasons that might be obvious. There was one on the drive for us, this one from 2008. They generally disappear in ~30 years.
We got back to Swakopmund for a (very) late lunch and watched the Spanish Grand Prix. Great work to get three British drivers on the podium, that hasn't happened since 1968.
Later I had a monthly call with Roz's Sisters group. Roz is a Member of Parliament for the South Cotwolds in England. She is middle top in this photo. She shared how she loved her job. That sounds like my niece, a Member of Parliament for Tuki Tuki in NZ. Maybe they will meet one day as prime ministers.
One thing they do have in common is that they are both humanity-first before all the political banter. Roz once shared that she has friends from all parties and wished they could all be one. I have often thought why our two parties, National and Labour don't form a coalition and act for the country rather than just against each other.
On this call, it was all about the practices we have to keep ourselves in flight mode. I took away to do even more of the things I love to do - more nature stuff, more asking to be in tune with my body from the ethos, or more sharing of my commitment - Young people co-creating and sharing stories about native species thriving. I will look further into my design and keep looking for accomplishments and miracles.
