#pelicanpoint

We woke up early to catch our flight to Walvis Bay. Selma brought J some bandaids and a burn cream to put on the blister left by the blister beetle. We bid farewell to the amazing team at Little Kualala. Obbie drove us to the airstrip. Our South African pilot was waiting for us. He flies for Wilderness Air, which is a sister company to Wilderness Safaris. The flight was one hour long and even smoother than our previous flight.

Surprisingly, Walvis Bay has an international airport and there are flights to/from Johannesburg and Cape Town. We were surprised to land in the desert. This desert was even more arid than Sossuvlei. There was no vegetation or water as far as the eye could see. We shot through arrivals and met our guide from Pelican Point, Eric. Eric picked us up in a Landcruiser and drove us to Pelican Point. The drive was on a sand peninsula between a bay and the Atlantic ocean. We saw many birds, including white flamingos, seagulls and tits. We also saw some black-backed jackals and seals and passed by a shipwreck.

Pelican Point is situated at the end of the peninsula in a 4-story wood building directly adjacent to an old lighthouse. It had an interesting look and we were optimistic. Sadly that optimism was quickly shattered.

We sat down for our normal check-in with the lodge manager, Franz, who promptly told us that the lodge is ‘eco friendly’. We’ve learned what this means. It is a euphemistic way of saying that you are too cheap to pay for electricity and running water for your guests. The electricity was to be limited to 7 hours a day and the water would not work unless the electricity was on. We soon learned that this also meant that the toilets would not flush when the electricity is off.

When we got to our room, we realised that it was 37 degrees out and more than 30 degrees in the room. There was obviously no air conditioning and no fan. We opened the balcony door to try to get air, but there was no screen, and there was a locust infestation and tonnes of flies. The staff brought up a snack platter for us and a couple of drinks, which were very tasty. The highlight were the crab claws, fish fingers and meat balls. We tried to eat them on the balcony but were invaded by locusts. Apparently they’ve been hanging out for the last few weeks and they may have been eating the wood on the balcony.

The room was very spartan and if you stood in the centre of the room, you could look over into the toilet and shower, as there was little separation between the main area and the bathroom area and no door for the shower or toilet. The most perplexing thing is that the bathroom trashcan resides in the shower.

We asked the lodge to take us on an excursion to get us out of the un-air conditioned, sweltering lodge. They obliged and Eric took us on a peninsula tour. On this tour, we got to see a lot of black-backed jackals (including some which live at the lodge), a large group of white pelicans and pink and white flamingos. We also got within a few feet of a seal colony. Eric found a spot along the beach, which was devoid of people, animals and plants, and set up a table and chairs for sundowners. We had fun running into the water, which was cold, and making foot baths in the sand as we had set the table up just at the edge of the tide. At one point, J found a ‘sand dollar’. She asked S to pick it up for her. He didn’t really see it, but she pointed to it. He bent down and touched it, only to realise it was a pink jellyfish. Fortunately, it was dead and it did not seem to have any tentacles.

We returned to the lodge for drinks and dinner. Dinner was very formal. All of the tables in the dining room had been fully set, even though we were the only ones staying in the lodge. There were three different wine glasses, multiple settings of silverware and a candelabra in the centre of the table, all set on a white tablecloth. J had an amazing broccoli soup. S had the tomato and goat cheese tart. We both had the grilled crayfish, which S thinks were langoustines. This place focuses heavily on the food and has paid less attention to guest comfort in the rooms. The service was excellent and the food was lovely. Think 5 star dining at a 2 star hotel.

When S asked for an Amarula after dinner drink, we were told it was out of stock. This was perplexing given that all the guests who come to this lodge come through Walvis Bay, where the lodge could pick up extra supplies. Again, we think this is a cost-cutting measure as there were no after dinner drinks at the bar.

We communicated with our agent, Abercrombie & Kent, and told them the room was unbearably hot and they needed to get us out the next day (a day early). We even forwarded them the photos of the locust-covered deck (see below). S even tried to sleep outside on the floor of the deck on a blanket. Unfortunately, between the locusts and the loud seal colony outside, this proved impossible. Needless to say we got little or no sleep in the unventilated, sweltering heat and couldn’t even open up a window to get some ventilation. We really don’t understand why A&K put us here.