Saldanha Bay

Rob and I often go for a drive to the nearby port town of Saldanha. We love to sit and watch the birds for one thing, and for another we enjoy watching the huge ore carriers arriving (or leaving).

hungry birds waiting for their lunch

The best place to do both of these things is from the narrow, man-made causeway that joins the mainland to what was once an island, Marcus Island (17 ha). (Rumour has it that there is a wreck buried beneath the causeway, but I still need to find some information on this*). This island is one of five that are near to the port entrance, and although they are small, rugged islands, they are home to some 250 000 coastal seabirds. The 2 kilometre causeway was built in 1976, and between it and the huge ore loading quay there are man made mussel beds that quietly allow the delicious mussels to grow until they are harvested for the table! But I digress!

The other islands are Malgas (18 ha), Jutten (43 ha), Schaapen (29 ha), and Meeuw (7 ha). Meeuw Island is the only one that is not part of the West Coast National Park, but is owned by the Defence Force and is managed as a conservation area. Sadly, since the causeway was built, the bird population has declined on Marcus Island, due to human (of course) interference, and my personal favourite, the 4 x 4 that rampages over everything, including nesting African Oystercatchers. (Thankfully vehicles are now banned from the beaches, but every now and then one pushes the rules!)

'Musselcat'

Every time we sit there we see huge flocks of cormorants just skimming the sea, seals diving or waving their flippers in the sun, and we have been lucky enough to see a penguin or two on the island standing like funeral directors, serious and still. I love the way the Kelp Gulls grab the mussels from ‘Musselcat’, the boat that collects them from the beds, fly high over the causeway and drop the mussel to break the shell before dashing down to get to the meat before their watching "friends" do! It’s like trying to open a macadamia nut without a nutcracker! The gulls accompany the little boat back to the harbour, sometimes perching just out of reach, while the men on board wave their arms to deter the swooping and diving birds.

If we time our visit correctly, we can sit and watch the tankers being bullied and shoved into position by the tugs, like daschunds nipping the heels of a great Dane! Interestingly the tugs are named after the islands, and we have watched Jutten, Marcus and Meeuw pushing and pulling an ore carrier from Hong Kong. These vessels are enormous, I never realised how huge they are, but we have seen the men on board cycling from one end to the other!

brave little tug boat

However, if we time our visit really well, then we can have lunch at one of the restaurants in the area. One of our favourite places was a place called Pedros, where we could sit and have a wonderful seafood platter for 2 (prawns, mussels, calamari, hake and linefish, served with chips, salad and tartar sauce!) while we overlooked the comings and goings of tugs and the pilot boat.

lovely fresh mussels - ready for export

Bird, and boat, watching is hungry work!!

*I have done some research into the rumour of a wreck under the causeway, and discovered that there is indeed the remains of a Dutch East India Company vessel! The ‘Middelburg’ sank 21 July 1781 thanks to the first mate Abraham de Smidt who stayed on board when the rest of the crew had abandoned the ship. He lit several fires deep in the ship to prevent the English from capturing her. She was soon fiercely ablaze and exploded and sank after the fire reached the powder magazine. She was the only Dutch vessel not to fall into the hands of the English that day. There were several half-hearted attempts (between 1788 and 1969) to salvage items from the wreck including 198 pieces of porcelain, tea chests and three cannons. Sadly, it was never properly recorded, and no site plan was ever produced. And once the causeway was built, her final resting place will forever remain a secret.