Walvis Bay takes its name from the Dutch "Walvisch Baye", whale bay; Bartolomeu Dias anchored here on 8 December 1487. Britain began claiming it in 1878 and the Cape Colony annexed it in 1884; it stayed a South African exclave through Namibia's 1990 independence until 1 March 1994. A natural deep-water harbour sheltered by the Pelican Point spit makes it a major southern African port. The lagoon is a Ramsar wetland (designated 23 August 1995), and per BirdLife 80-90% of the subregion's flamingos winter here, mostly on the salt-works ponds, or at Sandwich Harbour 55 km to the south. Though inside the tropics, the Benguela Current gives it a cold desert climate with about 13 mm of rain a year.
Nights sit around 13°C and afternoons around 18°C.
Walvis Bay barely changes season: afternoons sit around 20°C and nights around 15°C most of the year.
Rain is hardly part of the picture: about 13 mm a year, with March the wettest month at just 5 mm. Dry, bright months are the norm.
The air stays clean through the year.
Days stretch to about 13.4 hours of light in December and shrink to 10.6 in June — something to weigh if you work to a fixed timezone.
No month in Walvis Bay matches what you're after, so come for the place rather than the weather. Expect slow internet (19 Mbps) and a moderate cost of living (about €1300 a month).
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