Henties Bay

History

Bartolomeu Dias sailed along the Atlantic coast in 1488. Near the area of today's Henties Bay he discovered such an abundance of fish that he named this coastline Praia das Sardinhas, Coast of Fish. The fresh water source was first discovered by Schutztruppe soldiers in 1886. In 1920, a minerals prospector stayed overnight. After tasting the water, he was said to be healed from an affliction. The namesake of the town is major Hendrik "Henty" Stefanus van der Merwe who arrived in the area in 1929 while searching for water. He had been hunting a rhinoceros in the arid hinterland of the Namibian coast near the Brandberg in order to collect a reward from a museum in Pennsylvania that was in search of a rhino skeleton. After shooting the rhino and scraping meat from the bones, water resources of the expedition diminished, forcing the party to load the decomposing carcass and search for water. They chose to head into the direction of the Atlantic coast and reached it close to Cape Cross. From there van der Merwe and his fellows searched southwards for the mouth of the Omaruru River. A few miles south of the river mouth they discovered a deep sand valley with reed grass growing in it, advertising the presence of fresh water. Van der Merwe liked the place and after delivering the bones and collecting his reward, returned the following Christmas to build a wooden hut in the riverbed. The place became known as Henty se baai (Henty's Bay) and developed into a holiday hideout, mainly because of the abundance of fish at this spot. Stefanus was one of the first to promote the town as a tourist resort. In 1951 the South–West Africa Administration mandated to South Africa, proclaimed erven in the Omaruru riverbed that were available for rent, but the erection of permanent…

Geography

Henties Bay is located north of Swakopmund.

Most-observed species

• Kelp Gull

  Larus dominicanus M.H.K.Lichtenstein, 1823 · Aves
  94
• Great Cormorant/European Shag

  Phalacrocorax carbo (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  77
• Cape Cormorant

  Phalacrocorax capensis (Sparrman, 1788) · Aves
  58
• Hartlaub's Gull

  Chroicocephalus hartlaubii (Bruch, 1855) · Aves
  48
• Cape Wagtail

  Motacilla capensis Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  36
• Speckled Pigeon

  Columba guinea Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  29
• White-breasted Cormorant

  Phalacrocorax lucidus (Lichtenstein, 1823) · Aves
  29
• Sanderling

  Calidris alba (Pallas, 1764) · Aves
  25