| COASTAL STRIP | fish. The Jakkalsputz walking trail leads through the beautiful Solitude Bay with its rocky shores and hummock dunes stabilised by coastal desert plants adapted to grow in harsh conditions. The Omaruru River Walking Trail, a long hike along the riverbed and across the Namib Desert plains, gives hikers an experience of the harsh but beautiful desert environment. Remember to take drinking water along.
Where to eat
The Henties Bay Golf Course is laid out in the Valley. It is a nine-hole course, extending over 2.7 km, and has well-tended grass greens and tees, while the fairways are being planted with grass, which will turn it into a lush green spot in the riverbed. Golf competitions are organised regularly, especially during the December holiday season.
Henties Bay environs
Situated in the Dorob National Park (the former National West Coast Recreation Area), Henties Bay offers the nature lover an attractive albeit sensitive natural environment with diversified fauna and flora and many sites of interest. Some of the biggest and best specimens of the renowned Welwitschia mirabilis grow among the hills of the Messum Crater. This curious plant – some specimens are estimated to be at least 1 500 years old – is endemic to the Namib Desert, from Swakopmund northwards to Mossamedes in Angola. Desert-adapted game species seen on the desert plains and in the dry watercourses include steenbok, springbok, gemsbok and Hartmann’s mountain zebra. Ostrich are commonly seen in southern Damaraland. This wonderland can be explored along 4x4 routes to destinations such as the Messum Crater, Brandberg West, the Ugab Menhir, Spitzkoppe, Omaruru
River and various mineral mines. All roads are signposted and graded. An A2 satellite map with all the routes can be bought from the Henties Bay Tourist Office. Please note that permits are required for trails in and traversing the Dorob National Park. Lichen fields can be viewed at Mile 30 south of Henties Bay, just north of the turnoff to the Cape Cross Seal Reserve and on the way to the Messum Crater. Visitors are asked not to leave the existing roads, but to park their vehicles next to the road and inspect these interesting organisms on foot. If a little water is sprinkled on them, they magically come to life. The Damara Tern, a bird endemic to Namibia that makes its nest in shallow scrapes among the saltbushes (ganna) on the gravel plains, is especially threatened by off-road driving. The nesting grounds of these diminutive birds are between the coastal road and the sea, and there is an important breeding colony just north of the Omaruru River. If you leave the road to reach the beach, stay on the existing tracks. The Omaruru River offers opportunities for walking, quad-biking and 4x4 driving, and has excellent picnic sites.
BELOW Tourist pose in front of the Zeila shipwreck just south of Henties Bay.
LE ROUX VAN SCHALKWYK
While quad-bikes provide fun on the beach, they should be used responsibly and with due consideration to residents and other holidaymakers. Areas specifically designated for their use are 10 km upstream in the Omaruru River environs and the beach either side of the residential areas. When riding on the beach, please take other people into consideration and be on the lookout for children and pets, especially during the holiday season. Quad-bikes are not allowed north of the Omaruru River and east of the C34 or in front of residential areas and campsites.
Henties Bay offers the Fishy Corner Seafood Restaurant & Take-away, Legends Pub & Grill, Desert Sands lapa bar & braai, De Duine Hotel, Pirate’s Cove sports bar and pizzeria, the Skubbe Bar and Solitude, a beach bar and restaurant on the southern edge of town. Good options for coffee and cake are the Coffee House, Misty Bay Café & Coffee Shop, and NamPie coffee shop.
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