fun with FLAMINGOS

As we approached the Namibian coast after a long, dusty drive through the Namib-Naukluft National Park, the sight of clouds on the horizon was refreshing, even though heat still prevailed.

- KEVIN MCDONALD

But there was another sight we were totally unprepared for: ponds at the edge of the desert filled with a noisy, vibrant, pink mass: Lesser Flamingos in their hundreds on the outskirts of Walvis Bay.

It was day 10 of a long-planned road trip through Namibia in spring 2024.

We had entered the country from the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park at Mata Mata, headed south to the Fish River Canyon and, over a period of five weeks, would steadily make our way north to the Zambezi River, where we hoped to visit the breeding colony of Southern Carmine Bee-eaters in the Kalimbezo District. None of us had visited the Walvis Bay area before and, although we'd heard there could be flamingos in the vicinity, nothing had prepared us for the spectacle that greeted us.

Approaching the city from the east, we saw a string of large, reed-lined ponds along the edge of the highway, the golden sand dunes of the Namib Desert rising behind them. We subsequently learned that these ponds were fed by the outflow of Walvis Bay's wastewater treatment plant. The nutrient-rich water created the ideal feeding ground for itinerant flamingos, and it was our good fortune to pass by when hordes of these beautiful birds had descended to feed.