Explore the Messum Crater, the biggest volcanic crater in the world

This tour to the Messum crater gives you a good taste of what the Skeleton Coast is all about and has some of the biggest Welwitschia in the world!

This tour involves a fair bit of travel, thankfully most of it is on very smooth roads. Along the way to the Messum Crater you will see Swakopmund and Cape Cross. Swakopmund has some lovely historic buildings in the German style, and Cape Cross is home to the largest Cape Fur Seal colony in Namibia. The Messum Crater is only reachable by dirt track with an off-road vehicle. Continue reading for more details!

Swakopmund

From Walvis Bay, the first town on your tour up the Skeleton Coast is Swakopmund. This town was an important German settlement up to the first World War. While it is quite some distance to the Messum Crater from Swakopmund, the route through the town shows off the rich history and German architecture of the era without wasting any time. Of course you can stop for photos as long as you want, if you want to.

Zeila shipwreck and Henties Bay

The Zeila Shipwreck near Henties Bay at the Skeleton Coast — Zeila Shipwreck

Further up the Skeleton Coast your journey brings you to the Zeila shipwreck near Henties Bay. At the moment, this is the youngest shipwreck in Namibia, and it is deteriorating rapidly due to the action of the waves and the climate. The shipwreck makes for some dramatic subject material for photographs. You should be here fairly early in the morning, so light should still be good as well.

Henties Bay is the last town with shops up the coast, from here on it gets pretty desolate fast. In Henties Bay there are a lot of quaint fisherman’s houses, each with it’s own name. The naming of houses is unique to Henties Bay in Namibia. Up to Cape Cross the road is still pretty good, and you can watch the landscape unfold in peace.

Cape Cross

Seal Resting on monument — Cape Fur Seal

Cape Cross is your next stop, and also it is the last stop with toilets before you start exploring the Messum crater. The Seal Colony at Cape Cross is the only Cape Fur seal colony where you can get really up close and personal with the wildlife, but beware, the air is quite pungent. The walkway that goes between the seals has nice high sides, and is perfectly safe for you. If you can stand the smell! The seals are not afraid of people here, and getting a close-up shot is easy.

There is a Restaurant & Lodge at Cape Cross, thankfully some distance away from the seal colony. The history of the seal colony is interesting, and you will learn more about it during the stop. The restaurant also has an interesting history, with a lot of interesting objects to see, and a small curio shop.

Messum Crater

Discovered in 1939 by Henno Martin, author of “The Sheltering Desert“, this is the biggest volcanic crater in the world with a diameter of 15km. The Messum crater is believed to have formed 132 million years ago, before South America split from Africa. You will be entering this crater via the Messum river bed, with it’s interesting sedimentary rock formations. Along the tracks into the Crater the sedimentary rock formations change shape and color, providing quite a bit of joy to the average geologist. The color and texture also makes for quite interesting photographs, too.

With a bit of luck we will find some quartz crystals lying around on the gravel plains, too.

Plantlife

Welwitschia Miriabilis at Messum Crater — Welwitschia Miriabilis

The Messumb crater is home to quite the variety of hyper-arid adapted plant life. Chief of which is the Welwitschia Miriabilis, an interesting and very long lived plant. It is said that the plant has some very pre-historic traits, missing many of the features of modern plants. Also common are a range of succulents and also a few members of the Euphorbia family. With the clean desert air, lichen are very common on the rocks and plains, with many diverse colors.

Geology

The geology of the Messum crater is quite interesting. As is the case with much of Namibia, due to very little vegetative cover, the geology is right in your face. The riverbed that we follow up in to the Messum crater has some fine examples of sedimentary rocks with different layers, and the rim of the crater is volcanic, of course. The picture above was taken in the outflow of the Messum river from the Messum crater.

Details

Duration: 10 hours
Activity level: Moderate to relaxed

Inclusions

Cool Mineral water, still or sparkling
Free pickup in Walvis Bay or Swakopmund
Private, air conditioned transport
Local guide

Optional Extras

Food For the tour
Special or alcoholic drinks for the tour
Pickup in the harbor, at your ship

Pickup Services

You will only get the best service at Awesome Chapters:

Free pick ups in Walvis Bay or Swakopmund
- Your adventure starts at your accommodation because your private tour guide will pick you up with the tour vehicle.
Time:
- Contact us for free help in picking the best time. As this is an all day long tour, earlier is better.
- Your pickup is fixed during the booking process.
Cruise liners:
- If you are arriving on a cruise liner, you have the option of being collected you from the ship, inside the harbor gates.

Booking – Email

If you are interested in this tour, but you would like to have a discussion with us first, you are welcome to contact us for some human interaction. The booking will be made for you with the information from our chat. We love hearing from you, so even if you do not want to book the tour, and just want some more information, you are still welcome to drop us an email.

Alternatively, drop us a line on the contact form below and we will come back to you!