Unlike many towns in Namibia that pride themselves on their German heritage, Henties Bay does not have historical buildings or museums, or a rich diamond history, or even ghosts to speak of, but we do have some interesting happenings and sites as well as a fascinating desert environment that are worth discovering by fun and nature lovers.

INDEX

Fish Festival
Fountain
Gallows
Solitude Beach
Cape Cross Seals
Shipwrecks
Namib Desert
Omaruru River
Omdel Dam
Spitzkoppe
Brandberg

Fish Festival

The Fish Festival is by far the most important and biggest annual event in Henties Bay and many people from all over namibia and even South Africa flock to our small town to join in the festivities and jolly atmosphere.  Make sure to attend this happy event that is presented each year around August.

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Fountain

A strange but very attractive phenomenon is a fresh water fountain that is situated almost on the beach in the Valley, an old tributary of the Omaruru River. Apparently this fountain served as a live-safer to many early explorers, one of those being our own Major Hentie van der Merwe who discovered it in 1929. 

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Gallows

Since its earliest years Henties Bay was primarily an informal holiday settlement that gradually attracted more people every December who initially camped in tents but later on set up small informal wooden houses in the so-called valley, an old tribute of the Omaruru River.
Because there was no infrastructure or somebody responsible for cleaning services, it was a battle trying to keep the area clean, probably leading to much bickering amongst holiday makers who are responsible for the mess and who should clean it up. Eventually in 1978 two of the first permanent residents of Henties Bay, Frank Atkinson and Willie Cilliers, who respectively settled here in 1969 and 1971, fixed an old tree stump with a rope and noose as a “friendly but firm” warning to keep the town and beach clean - or else….!  This gesture is typical of Afrikaner humour and seen as such without any negative connotation reflecting on obscure happenings such as real hangings or slavery (which is, by the way, not part of Namibia’s history).

The gallows, an interesting landmark for more than 20 years is probably the most photographed item in Henties Bay. It became a popular tourist attraction and in 2001 the Municipality had the following inscription affixed:

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Solitude Beach

Probably one of the most beautiful spots along our coastline is Solitude Beach or Farilhao Bay as it is officially known.  The bay is situated south of Henties Bay and boasts a rocky shore visible at low tide and the hummocks, dunes formed by the accumulation of sand around the plants living in this extreme arid area.
This stretch lends itself excellently for long strolls and is known as the Jakkalputz Walking Trail.

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Cape Cross Seals

Cape Cross is open daily from 10:00 to 17:00. Permits are obtainable from the office at Cape Cross. Admission fees are payable, which include a fee per vehicle and a fee per person. No accommodation is available, only drinking water and toilets. Pets and motorcycles are not allowed inside the reserve.

The Cape fur seal is the biggest of the nine fur seal species in the world and breeds only on the west coast of southern Africa.
Cape Cross is home to a breeding colony of between 200 000 and 250 000 Cape fur seals. Decreases in fish resources caused by fluctuations in the upwelling system, from time to time results in mass mortalities although their numbers normally recover quickly.  It seems that nature has its own way of keeping the seal populations in check.

The cows give birth in late November and early December after a nine-month gestation period. The bulls, eating an equivalent of eight percent of their body weight each day, weigh approximately 360 kilos when they return in October to establish a harem of 5 to 25 cows each, which they protect fiercely. Within days of giving birth in November/December the cows mate again. Although the period of pregnancy is less than 12 months, pupping takes place exactly a year later as the cow has the ability of delaying implantation of the embryo in the uterus.
Due to all the activity from fighting and mating, many pups are squashed to death by careless movements of the great bulls. The pups also fall prey to scavengers, such as black-backed jackal and brown hyena.

Cape Cross seals have been exploited for their skins and other products since 1895. Today the seal population is controlled by culling and seals are culled at Cape Cross on a controlled and regular basis. Quotas are given every year by the Government for the harvesting of seals, depending on their numbers.

Shipwrecks

The Skeleton Coast is one of the most treacherous coastlines in the world due to strong crosscurrents, heavy swells and dense fogs caused by the ice-cold fast-flowing Benguela Current. Rocky reefs and sand dunes that stretch into the sea spell disaster for any vessel that get caught up in the gale-force winds and all-enveloping sea fogs, reducing visibility to virtually nil.

Although numerous ships have stranded along the Skeleton Coast over the years, very few wrecks are still around today because of the onslaught of the elements. A small piece of the engine block of the Winston (stranded 17.10.1970) is still visible at Durissa Bay, about 23 km north of Mile 108. 

This picture was taken in 1999 and does not look like this any more.  Sometimes it is completely covered by sand while a small piece of it is visible at times.

Thinking of the Namib Desert huge sand dunes immediately spring to mind, but different to the massive sand sea of the southern desert the central and northern Namib Desert are characterized by the Namib plains with inselbergs and rocky outcrops.

The wonder plant, Welwitschia mirabilis is endemic to the Namib Desert and some of them are believed to be 1 000 to 1 500 years old. Although it appears otherwise, the plant has only two leaves, which grow continually from the base, even in the absence of rain. The leaves are apparently able to take up fog-water, although the root, which extends three meters into the ground, is well adapted to find any available moisture in the gravel where the plant lives. Though the annual growth of a leaf in a dry year can be 10 to 20 cm, it can be up to10cm a month during a wet year.

Lichens, plants that may even be older than Welwitschia mirabilis, occur in great numbers in the fog zone along the coast and are also extremely sensitive to damage. There are several hundred species of lichen and some species are believed to live for thousands of years. Lichens are the result of a symbiotic relationship between algae and fungi. The fungus portion of a plant provides the physical support, while the algae carries out the photosynthesis that provides food and energy. Lichens are able to use moisture from humid air as well as from fog.

Saltpans and lagoons in different stages of evolution occur all along the coastline while the soil inland in the fog-belt consists mainly of gypsum. Gypsum soil are extremely sensitive to damage from off-road driving, and tracks on these surfaces persist for decades.

Omaruru River

The Omaruru River offers the opportunity for various activities such as walking, quad biking, 4x4 driving as well as excellent picnic sites.  The "old fig tree" is a well-known and popular picnic site not far from Henties Bay.  One can also drive up the sandy river bed past the Omdel Dam to the Skoenklip and exit the river at Lêwater to follow the route to the Spitzkoppe.  GPS coordinates are available from the Tourist Office.

Omdel Dam

The Omaruru River has large paleo (very old) deltas filled with sand and gravel to form large underground freshwater reservoirs (aquifer).

The purpose of the Omdel dam is to temporarily store ephemeral floodwaters in a large reservoir upstream of the aquifer. This storage would allow the settling of the fine suspended sediment so that clean water can be released in a controlled manner to infiltration areas over the Omdel Aquifer to feed 16 boreholes further down the river. The aim is to transfer the contents of the reservoir to the aquifer during the dry season so that if there were a consecutive good rainy season, there would be storage space available in the reservoir.

The area offers picnic sites, various bird species, especially when there is water in the dam, and interesting desert adapted plants as well as riverine vegetation.

To reach the Omdel Dam take the C35 to Uis for ±27 km then turn right and follow the small track for 14 km to the Omdel Dam wall.
Alternatively the Omaruru River course can be followed with a 4x4 to reach the dam.

The Spitzkoppe is situated about 100 km from Henties Bay on the D1918 to Usakos. It is probably the best-known and most famous landmark in Namibia, known as the Matterhorn of Africa. It offers  fascinating rock formations, rock paintings, picnic and camping sites.  Remember that mountaineering equipment is needed for any attempt to get to the top.
An entrance fee is payable at the office where semi-precious stones are for sale at the kiosk.

The Brandberg is the highest mountain in Namibia and literally means "burning mountain". It is situated about 158 km from Henties Bay and can be reached by the C35 via Uis to Kamanjab.
Local guides from the Brandberg Community Project will accompany visitors to the famous painting of the White Lady, situated in the Tsisab Gorge as well as to Maack’s Shelter and “The Girl’s School”. This requires a strenuous climb of about 1½ hour into the mountain.  They also offer guided tours to the Ga-aseb Gorge, Amis Gorge and the Koningstein summit.