The Skeleton coast - a place, where time has stood still

There's a sudden loud bang and my Nissan Hardbody screeches to a halt. “Damn, my back tyre is shot“, I whisper to myself and grip the steering wheel tighter. Carefully I scour the surroundings but it's a barren wasteland. This Mars-like world is actually Namibias' Skeleton Coast - and there is more to it than meets the eye.

Namibias’ 1579 kilometre long coastline is one of the most unique places in the world, it is where the desert meets the sea. While the cold Atlantic Ocean on the one side is teeming with an abundance of fish, the treacherous desert on the other side has claimed many a lost soul. The name skeleton coast is quite befitting as bones are all but a rare sight. “You mean this”, says the game ranger at the entrance of the Skeleton Coast Park and points to a big animal skull resting on the counter. “It’s a rhino… been here for a while”, she adds and continues to fill in our entry permit. Under her breath she mumbles: “Remember, the gate closes at 19:00.” Eerie.

We are entering the Skeleton Coast National Park from the most southern entrance, the gate is located at the mouth of the Ugab river. Here, at the permit office of the Ministry of Environment and Tourism, time has stood still for at least 50 years. The paint is peeling off the old buildings from the pre-independence era, the Namibian flag, which is hoisted proudly every morning, has tattered ends and the hinges on the impressive park entrance gates showing two skulls are worn-out and broken. Bright purple vygies infront of the permit office bring a touch of colour into this desolate world.

As you travel up the salt road deeper into the park, which hasn’t felt the love of grader in what must be an eternity, you will discover something exciting around every corner. Our first stop is the shipwreck “South West Seal”. It’s said to be 90 ton South African fishing vessel that reportedly caught fire and beached there in 1976. Wooden pieces, old fishing nets and a rusted engine block are scattered on the white, sandy beach. If it weren’t for the engine block, this wreck would fit perfectly into a scene of Pirates of the Caribbean.

The “South West Seal” is one of the more prominent shipwrecks still visible to this day along the entire coastline. The most famous one are further south from the park and include the most recent victim of the skeleton coast, the trawler “Fukuseki Maru No. 7”, the trawler “Zeila” or the cargo ship “Eduard Bohlen”. Other shipwrecks like “Winston”, “Dunedin Star” and countless others have almost been completely lost to the harsh elements and are barely recognizable today.

Leaving the wreck behind you will discover another interesting feature of this part of the world. At the mouth of the Huab River a sizable lagoon has formed. It’s a perfect place for some bird watching. Flamingos, Cape cormorants and various other seabirds feed here and only rarely look up at the travellers stopping here to take a photo. Jackals are not uncommon in this area, although it is not always easy to spot these animals perfectly disguised in the desert environment.

From the lagoon you can easily spot another impressive feature of the park, just over the horizon: A massive, collapsed old oil drill rig seemingly dumped in the middle of nowhere. Various stories surround this rusting structure. The most prominent one features a certain Mr Du Preez who had high hopes of finding oil under the desert sand. While the oil drill rig was being built the main cable apparently snapped resulting in the structure to collapse. Due to insufficient funds the site was abandoned in 1972 - and no drill was ever used. Now, this massive structure, serves as shelter for some animals and a nesting opportunity for birds.

Further along you will find various, almost countless, points of interest in the park, most notably the two overnighting facilities Torra Bay and Terrace Bay - both are extremely popular amongst fishermen. Booking is essential though, especially at Torra Bay where guests are only accepted during December and January. Further north the salt road leads up to Möwe Bay - here too, time has stood still. To visit Möwe Bay you will require a special permit. To travel further up to the mighty Kunene river you require another special permit, a lot of time and very, very deep pockets - few people have done such a trip, but everybody describes it as a trip of a lifetime.

I, for one, am almost done changing my tyre on my Nissan Hardbody. I’ll head up to Terrace Bay where I am certain to catch the big one. I peak over my shoulder at the empty salt road behind me, stretching up to the horizon. The skeleton coast really is eerie place, unique in so many ways; and an exciting place to visit.

Erwin Leuschner