We usually encounter tens of thousands of seals at Pelican Point. It takes us a few hours to scan through all different groups and to find seals with entanglement and we do our best to help them all, especially now that we have 4 rescuers on board instead of 'only' Antoine and Naude.
The last few weeks have been somewhat different, our rescue missions are getting shorter and we don't see as many animals anymore, and we have been wondering why. So where are our seals? Where have they gone?
The possible answer came yesterday through our dear friend Paul Lombard, owner of Travel Uncharted. He often takes tourists into a very inaccessible area called Sandwich Harbour, South of Walvis Bay, where giant sand dunes run straight into the Atlantic Ocean, and it seems that he found our seals!
They are in the South!
Seals in that area are not a new occurrence, but the numbers are usually low and small groups of seals tend to be scattered over a long stretch of coastline. But right now, the beaches are covered in our favourite marine mammal. They are reported to look strong and healthy, they might have simply followed the food, and by that they have evaded our rescue missions.
There is only one conclusion for us - we will have to go South too. It's been in the planning stages for a while anyways because the area is restricted and we need special permits and experienced guides to lead us there. There are no roads, not even tracks, we will have to do a lot of dune driving and wild camping without electricity and running water. It will be a huge adventure and we can't wait.
