Family visit to flowing Kuiseb River

Just thought I would throw in a pic of our outing to the Kuiseb River. For those who don't live in a Desert, the excitement over these events may seem strange. But live in a desert just for a short while, and water soon becomes really amazing.


Notice the dunes on the far side of the river. That is the end point of the great Namib Sand Sea that stretches down south from here.

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Trip down the Kuiseb Delta

A couple days ago I wrote a post about reading that the Kuiseb River had flooded. Yesterday I was in Walvis Bay with family, and after lunch we decided to go and have a look.

The river was flowing strong. It was adventure trip to go out along the river bed, as the main road along the river is basically covered in dunes.

One highlights for me was finding areas where Dune Larks were fairly abundant. It's a bird I know very well from my time on NamibRand Nature Reserve, but I wanted to find a reliable place to show birders these birds around Walvis Bay. I will need to do some more exploring before I know the area well.

Dune Larks are a Namibian Endemic. Really they are the only bird that is a true endemic, having 100% of their population in Namibia. They are exclusively found in the Namib Sand Sea, so finding them always means getting into the dunes.

The trip was rather fun. We had my wife's grandmother along, celebrating her 83 birthday. It was rather amazing that she managed all this dune driving, including a spell of getting stuck (that wasn't me, I promise.)

The Kuiseb river and Kuiseb delta are amazing areas. The Kuiseb river stops the huge Namib Sand Sea from spreading north. If you look at the Kuiseb from a satellite photo (example here), or on Google Earth, you will see this dramatic line.

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Kuiseb River Foods

It is with interest that I heard that the Kuiseb river has flooded.

The Kuiseb River flows south of Walvis Bay and cuts off the Namib Sand Sea (the huge dune field) from moving further north. This river is very important for the water supply in the towns of Walvis Bay and Swakopmund, as they drill into the river bed for water. So ironically, when the river floods we have water problems.

The kuisebs flooding is of interest to me for various reasons. First, if you live in dry places, it's just cool when a river flows.

Secondly, it is going to have an impact on the urgency with which the plans for a desalination plant get pushed. I am concerned that proper EIA evaluations get cut short. I am all for desalination, as it is probably the only sustainable way for us to get water at the central coastal area in Namibia.

Lastly, I am perhaps most interested because I hope to be taking people to the Kuiseb river on tour this year, and it's just going to mean more birds and more wildlife in the river.

Read about it in the Namibian

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