Dunes of the Namib Sand Sea - one of the most spectacular features on our planet

On our up coming segment of Holland America's world cruise in April, we will be stopping at Walvis Bay, Namibia.  The photo above was taken by an astronaut aboard the International Space Station (ISS) used a long lens.  Astronauts consider this one of the most spectacular features of the planet.

Here's a short 2 min video fly-over of the Sand Sea and nearby Walvis Bay that I've prepared using Google Earth Pro.  The dunes can be immense... 300 m high x 32 km long (980' high X 20 mi long)... starkly beautiful and other-worldly in appearance!  The dunes extend right into the sea, south of Walvis Bay.  This town of approx 60,000 is about the only natural deep water port for large cruise ships along the coast of Namibia.

The Namib Sand Sea is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

UNESCO
Copyright: © Paul van Schalkwyk
Permanent URL: whc.unesco.org/en/documents/123187

Photo by Luca Galuzzi CC BY-SA 2.5

Here's the location of the Dunes of the Sand Sea in Google Maps:

Upcoming Cruise along the West Coast of Africa

In April we will be joining Holland America's world cruise on board the ms Amsterdam.  I've prepared a short google earth fly-over as an intro to Cape Town where we join the ship.  We will be disembarking in Dakar, Senegal.

On our last visit to Cape Town, we drove to see the African Penguin colony at Boulders Beach.  They nest among the Granite boulders and the South African Parks Service has made it very easy to see them up close, so it is a fascinating wildlife experience.  Unfortunately the penguins are in trouble.

See the interesting article in the NY Times on efforts to save the species:

To Save African Penguins, Humans Set Up a Dating Service