Coastal Bays Around Lüderitz Peninsula Namibia

Beaches, Rocky Bays, Diaz Point and Penguin Sightings

May 14, 2009 Yolande Pienaar

A short distance from Lüderitz town, a signpost indicates the turnoff onto a gravel road leading to the Lüderitz peninsula.

Visitors should combine the exploration of the peninsula with a picnic and beach walk and must allow a couple of hours to appreciate the splendor of the rocky bays, sandy beaches and historical sites offered. Most of the peninsula can be explored using a normal sedan vehicle and visitors will have only short distances to walk to reach the bays and beaches. To explore some of the smaller bays, visitors need a four-wheel drive vehicle with good ground clearance.

Beaches Around Lüderitz and the Peninsula

• Grosse Bucht

The coastline around Lüderitz consists of rocky bays with few sandy beaches. On the Lüderitz peninsula, Grosse Bucht, meaning large bay, is a 2 kilometer stretch of sandy beach which is popular with sunbathers, anglers and strollers. Swimming is not encouraged as there are no shark nets or lifeguards, but picnic facilities are available.

• Agate Beach

Agate beach is not on the Lüderitz peninsula, but on the opposite side of town. A clearly marked road leads to this sandy beach approximately 8 kilometers from Lüderitz. This sandy beach was named after the agates found there earlier. Today beachcombers will most probably not find any agates on the beach. Picnic facilities are available here, but visitors should take care to stay on the hard sandy surfaces to avoid getting bogged down in the sand.

Rocky Bays Found on the Lüderitz Peninsula

• Radford's Bay

The first bay a visitor to the Lüderitz peninsula encounters is Radford's Bay, which is named after the first white settler, David Radford. Radford's' house was constructed from jetsam and he sold dried fish and shark liver oil to ships bound for the Cape. He traded ostrich feathers for fresh water with northbound ships, as no fresh water was available at Lüderitz.

• Griffiths Bay

According to Willie and Sandra Olivier in The African Adventurer's Guide to Namibia, Struik Publishers, 2003, Griffiths Bay was named after an American naval officer buried there by David Radford. During the American Civil War, Griffiths hid away at Angra Pequena, but when another ship arrived, he was shot as a traitor.

Griffiths Bay affords visitors a spectacular view of Lüderitz town across the lagoon.

Light House at Dias Point on the Lüderitz Peninsula

Bartholomeu Dias was the first white man to shelter in the protected bay at Lüderitz in 1487. On his return from the Cape the following year, he renamed the bay Golfo de São Cristovão and erected a stone cross on Dias Point. An exact replica of the padrão was erected on Dias Point during the Dias 88 festival. A small rocky island just off Dias Point hosts a colony of seals seeking refuge from the stormy waters of the cold Atlantic.

Visitors reach Dias Point by way of a wooden bridge, which was built in 1911 to give access to a steam-operated foghorn on the point. From Dias Point, tourists overlook the 28,8m high lighthouse at Dias Point, which was built in 1910 to replace the one German authority erected in 1903.

See Jackass Penguins While on a Coastal Vacation

North of Grosse Bucht, the cliffs of Guano Bay overlooks Halifax Island where visitors might find flocks of Jackass penguins. Second Lagoon offers a feast to bird watchers and variety of waders, including flocks of greater flamingo frequent the lagoon. Oysters are cultivated on rafts in the nutrient rich water of the lagoon.

The copyright of the article Coastal Bays Around Lüderitz Peninsula Namibia in Sub-Sahara Africa Travel is owned by Yolande Pienaar. Permission to republish Coastal Bays Around Lüderitz Peninsula Namibia in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

Replica Of Dias Cross at Dias Point, Luderitz	Lighthouse At Dias Point, Luderitz, Namibia	Wooden Bridge Gives Access To Dias Point, Namibia
Seal Colony At Dias Point, Luderitz, Namibia	One Of The Numerous Bays At Luderitz, Namibia